Climbing Trees
"Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way."
I remember climbing trees when I was young. I loved it. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of that, and these days I try to keep my tree climbing endeavors to a minimum elevation (as evidenced by the photo above). The truth is, apart from professional tree workers, adults just don't often climb trees because tree climbing is the province children.
That was likely the case in first century Israel as well. And yet, in our upcoming Gospel reading, we find Zacchaeus up in a tree. Why was he there though? As the text tells us, he wanted to get a look at Jesus, but he was short and couldn't see past the crowds. So in his determination he made a way – and it paid off big time. Not only did he get to see Jesus, but Jesus saw him and invited himself to his house. And through that encounter, Zacchaeus' life was forever changed.
The thing I love about Zacchaeus is that he was so excited and determined to see Jesus that he went full on child and climbed a tree to make sure it happened! Doubtless, people stared at him disdainfully (even more so than usual, given his despised status as a tax collector). But it seems Zacchaeus didn't care. All that mattered to him was seeing Jesus. It reminds me of the Lord's words from Matthew 18: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
And Zacchaeus' willingness to do just that brought him into God's fold as he repented of his sins while he dined with the Lord. At the end of the reading, Jesus said: "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Friends, let's allow Zacchaeus' story to remind us of what matters most – experiencing Jesus. And with simple, humble hearts, may we pursue that goal even if it means a child-like devotion that has us climbing trees.
Darin+