Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Luke 19:1-10

Dear God, in the spirit of letting the Holy Spirit examine my heart, I have to ask myself this morning, “How am I like Zacchaeus?” It’s ironic because I don’t think Christians ask themselves that question very much when they read this story. They look at this interaction and the talk about how great Jesus is and how desperate Zacchaeus is, but I don’t often hear people ask themselves if there is any of them in Zacchaeus.

For me, as I sit here this morning and consider this question, what comes to mind isn’t monetary thievery, but still a bit of a duplicitous heart. I am still pretty distracted by some earthly pleasures. And not that there is anything wrong with enjoying things that are in the world, but do I let them distract me too much from you? Am I doing the things you have put on my heart and following your call on my life? You’ve given me some writing projects that seem to have stalled. Should I be doing more there? There are people who might need me to be reaching out to them more proactively. While Zacchaeus was corrupt from a monetary standpoint, am I selfish with my time?

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, search my heart today and reveal to me where I might be selfish. If it is money…time…personal comfort. If maybe I’m too timid when I talk about you. Do I need to share you with others more? Do I need to get better at managing the relationships between those who work with me? Help me to lean on you in every moment of this day. I give you my worship and praise.

I pray all of this under the authority of your Holy Name,

Amen