WATCHWORD:
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:1-10
Meditation:
The Rest of the Story…
I’m sure some of you remember Paul Harvey and his radio program entitled The Rest of the Story. He was famous for telling stories about little known or forgotten facts on a variety of subjects with some key element of the story, maybe the name of the person or the event, held back until the end. Toward the end of his broadcast, he would share that key element, then conclude his broadcast with “Now you know the rest of the story”.
Think about this, there are innumerable stories in the Bible where we would dearly love to know the rest of the story. We do not have to dig too deep into the Bible, without encountering a story of a person who appears for a brief reason, then off he goes, we don’t know the rest of thatr story. Then there were encounters with Jesus. What happened to Lazarus after he was raised from the dead? Or how about the rich young ruler who went away said because he was rich. Did he change after he thought about what Jesus has told him? What about Bartimaeus whose sight was restored to him there at Jericho, and he followed Jesus. Also in Jericho, what about Zacchaeus who was touched by Jesus. Were these people changed? Did they go on, following the Lord? What’s the rest of their stories?
We know a bit about Zacchaeus and his family following the encounter with Jesus. We know that he was committed to a change of behavior, and he said to Jesus “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” We know that even before Jesus left Jericho, the tax-collector went about following through on what he had promised. That’s a piece of the rest of the Zacchaeus story.
One of the greatest misunderstandings of repentance is to regard it as merely a feeling, maybe of grief, or remorse, or sorrow, or a response, or a bad conscience. Repentance should be accompanied by something, action, behavior, an indication of a true change. A continuation of the changed story.
John the Baptist said, “Bear fruit that will show your repentance”. Jesus said, “A tree is known by the fruit it produces.” To accept Jesus as Lord and savior is to take on a new life. What do we really become new unless we make specific and actual changes in the ways of behaving that we have come to realize is wrong and hurtful and weak. Can we truly put aside those habits that we have embraced so fondly?
To go through life feeling you are grubby and inadequate creatures is absolutely useless. I love the phrase, “You’re never too old” because I believe that if we’ve got breath and life, then God still has a purpose and mission for us. The rest of the story is worth telling, living, sharing. Jesus is Lord…
Let me mention one more thing, the most important part of the story itself, for without this part there is no story. In the story of Zacchaeus, it was Jesus who invited himself into Zacchaeus’ house and opened the possibility of his repentance. It is God’s grace that leads us to our repentance and makes it possible. That is the rest of the story. Invite yourself and share it. Amen.
Prayer of Repentance:
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in us the fire of Your love. Send forth Your spirit and Lord we shall be created new. Through us Lord You shall renew the face of the earth. O God who by the light of Your Holy Spirit instructs our hearts to be faithful, grant us that by that same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in the graces and the gifts You give to us through Christ our Lord. Amen.
