Jesus and Zacchaeus

 Lk 19:1-10

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. 
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature. 
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.” 
And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” 
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”
And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. 
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.”

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This is the Gospel reading from Mass yesterday. Here are some thoughts that come to my mind. What do you think? 

1. The Lord said to this little man, Zacchaeus, that He wanted to go to his house that day. Jesus knew the man’s reputation. Everyone did. Why would Jesus choose to invite Himself over to Zacchaeus’ home to spend the day with him? Pretty amazing.  

2. Spiritually speaking, He says the same thing to each one of us.  “Today I must stay at your house.” 

3. Put youself into the story. You are the one up in the tree trying to get a glimpse of Jesus. He comes right to you. What is your next move?


4. Revelation 3:20, is one of my favorites. The latch of the door is on the inside. It has to be opened from the inside. Think about it. 


5. Both Luke 19:1-10 and Rev. 3:20 are related to the Eucharist,- Christ’s real presence. “Take. Eat. This is my body...” 
1 Corinthians 11:24.
and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”


Revelation 3:20
 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.