Daily Lesson for June 9, 2015

Today's daily lesson comes from Luke 19 verses 2 through 4:

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.

One of my great aunts used to say that Jesus came not only to seek out and save the down and out but also the up and out as well.

Zacchaeus was one of the up and out -- literally.  We all remember the song from childhood. Zacchaeus was such a wee little man that as Jesus passed through Jericho Zacchaeus had to climb a sycamore in order to see him.

But there was another reason why Zacchaeus was up in that tree I think. I think he wanted to see but not be seen. In other words, I think he was hiding.  He was hiding because he was a tax collector -- a rich man, yes, but a rich man whose wealth was at best controversial amongst the people and at worst perhaps even villainous.  In was in the tree I believe because he was not only small of physical stature but also, though powerful, also small in person.  He was up in the community; but he was also out of it as well.

But Jesus went out on a limb for Zacchaeus -- or at least beneath one. And Jesus looked up at Zacchaeus in that tree, and though he knew many would not like it, he asked Zacchaeus to come down and in -- down the tree and back into community. And Zacchaeus was so humbled and moved by Jesus' invitation, that he agreed to make reparations for anything he had done to exploit anyone as a tax collector.

We all know someone who is up and out in or community.  They may seem distant and perhaps even arrogant or haughty, but they probably feel smaller in stature than we might guess. The question today is in knowing who they are can we do what Jesus did -- can we risk in going to them, reaching out to, and inviting them to come down from their self-imposed isolation and into a redemptive relationship with us and the community.

As Jesus said of Zacchaeus, "He too is a son of Abraham."  And he too needs a chance at sharing in the Gospel.  For it is true -- Jesus came not only for the down and out but also for the up and out as well.