Desiring To See Jesus

 

 Luke 19:1-10

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. ⁷ And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

 Today we celebrate the Presentation of Mary in the Temple as a young child, but we read the story of Zacchaeus as our Gospel.  Is there a connection?  Certainly, Mary so pure of heart rightly found a place in God's house to further prepare her for her mission as the Mother of God, and Zacchaeus, had a conversion moment in his desire to see Jesus, even to climbing a tree, and promising to reversing his misdeeds by giving half his possessions to the poor. They both received Jesus and gave their lives to him. Can we do the same?  May we not only desire to SEE Jesus, but may we conform our lives to do whatever he asks of us and allow him to come into our hearts as our permanent guest,

Bro, Rene

Dear Jesus, bless me with the generosity of Mary and the enthusiasm of Zacchaeus in my love of and service to you. Amen.