Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man

We all know the story of Zacchaeus. I always pictured him as a victim – the small guy everybody picked on until one day Jesus strolled in and made all those bullies be nice. But the opposite is actually closer to the truth. Zacchaeus was a jerk, a traitor, an exploiter, and a thief. He was despised, not because he was small, but because he wasn’t worth liking.

When Jesus came walking into Jericho and the crowds raced to His side, He fixed his eyes on the small man up in the tree. Imagine being Zacchaeus, watching the mob move as one with Jesus at the core, right over to your tree. Dozens, if not hundreds, of faces staring up at you, but only Jesus invites you down. Everyone else’s stares are screaming, “Stay there!” And you know the end of the story – Zacchaeus comes down to have dinner with Jesus and makes a covenant to give half his possessions to the poor and repay those he’d stolen from four times what he took.

What Zacchaeus did was bold, not because it cost him a lot of money, but because he shifted his place in his culture. Doing something radical requires not just a sacrifice of material possessions, but a sacrifice of your place in your world. For Zacchaeus it was for the better. Surely he gained at least a few people’s respect through his actions. More importantly, he decided he would no longer be the filthy rich guy living off other people’s money. He was changed by his encounter with Jesus.

We’ve all designated our own place in our own world. Maybe we WANT to do something radical for Jesus, but it would require sacrificing that place, those friends, this house, that career, this paycheck, etc. We see Jesus looking up at us, but the faces of the crowd keep us in the tree. Maybe it’s time you came down, ignoring the crowd, and joining Jesus for a life-changing conversation that will lead you to God knows where.

Fire in my heart

Last week I spent time meditating on a verse in Jeremiah 20. Here’s the passage:

“O Lord, you seduced me and I was seduced;

you overpowered me and prevailed.

I am ridiculed all day long;

everyone mocks me.

Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction.

So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long.

But, if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,”

HIS WORD IS IN MY HEART LIKE A FIRE,

A FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES.

I AM WEARY OF HOLDING IT IN;

INDEED, I CANNOT.

I love the imagery of the word of God being a fire inside of me that I cannot hold inside. I love the IDEA of it, but sometimes that’s not reality. I wish God’s word was a fire that I cannot hold in when I’m talking with my neighbor, Chris, who desperately needs the Lord in his life. I wish it was an uncontrollable fire in my bones when I’m at a high school for lunch, talking with students who don’t know Jesus. I feel it when I’m alone, if only when I was with other people.

What is the word of God like to you? Is it a fire that you cannot hold inside?

Thoughts

Christina’s grandmother died last Friday and her funeral was Wednesday in Oklahoma City. The Jones fam loaded up and drove from Houston to OKC Tuesday and back Wednesday. It was quite a haul, but well worth it. Being with family is always fun, even if it is for a funeral. Some thoughts from the weekend:

1. Christina’s grandmother instructed her children to use the savings she had left to pay for hotel rooms for the entire family making the trip to the funeral, and for a special meal together. That was how she wanted her life to be celebrated – by a coming together of those she loved most. If that’s not a communion analogy I don’t know what is. We come together each week as the family of those loved by God to remember Jesus. The McCarty family spent their time together laughing, sharing old pictures, telling stories, hugging, crying, catching up, all the things a family does when it comes together. I feel that sometimes we miss the point of communion when we treat it as though it’s the only time of the week we have to be alone with God. We have all week for that; communion is community, a coming together of the body of Christ. I sometimes wish we did it a little differently.

2. Christina’s dad, Mac, has now lost both parents. I spent a lot of time thinking about that the past couple of days. Obviously, he is now of the age that he no longer relied on his parents the way a young child does. He is now a husband, father, and grandfather. Nevertheless, it HAS to be a strange feeling when both parents are gone. I couldn’t help but wonder if he felt at least a twinge of uneasiness over this. I wonder what it will be like when I’m in that position. What will it be like when my children are there?

3. On the way to and from the funeral Christina read two books aloud. First we read “90 Minutes in Heaven.” Not what I expected, but it was very appropriate and reassuring as we traveled to a funeral. On the way home we read Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love.” I explained to a friend that we had been taking some small steps forward in our faith. “Crazy Love” shoved us over a cliff!!! Read it. It’s conversational in tone, much like Francis Chan’s preaching style. But it will force you to consider how you go about living out your faith. Great stuff.

4. I’ve just ordered multiple books from Amazon. Typically I only get one at a time for fear that the rest will just sit on my bookshelf, never to be opened. But I gave in and got “Jesus Wants to Save Christians” by Rob Bell, “The Great Emergence” by Phyllis Tickle, and “Same Kind of Different as Me” by Ron Hall. I wish I read faster than I do because I’m EXTREMELY excited about all these books. Any other suggestions from Blogland?

I pray you’re all having a great holiday season. It snowed in Houston yesterday. Yes, you read that right. Unfortunately we were on the road and missed it. We did pull over once so I could use the restroom and I flung a snowball at the car just to remind myself what it felt like.

I’m so rich…

Over the weekend our high schoolers participated in World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine. At one point during the weekend I asked those participating to fill in the blank: I’m so rich ______________. The responses were interesting. I’m so rich:

my dog is fat

if I want to starve, I have to do it on purpose

I have a car

I have clean water

There were many others. I thought I’d throw it out to Blogland. How would you finish the statement?