Why is this happening?
Not for the first time this weekend, today I woke up to bad news–the same news we’ve all been waking up to, or tossing and turning all night over for the last week. Not for the first time I found myself asking, what is going on?
How quickly things seem to change. How easily pain takes hold, fear and anger spread.
Not for the first time, this morning I found myself searching for Jesus amidst the confusion, like Zacchaeus trying to push through a crowd, finally having to be content with merely glimpsing the Savior from afar, perched high in a sycamore tree. You remember the children’s church song.
Maybe Zacchaeus could barely make out the expression on Jesus’ face as he preached to the crowd. Maybe he didn’t even see Jesus’ face. Maybe he had to strain his eyes just to see the Messiah’s hands moving as he spoke. But even a glimpse from afar was worth the climb, worth the childishness of the stunt, to Zacchaeus.
How miraculous it must have felt, then, when Jesus saw Zacchaeus, when he approached him almost like an old friend, and invited himself into Zacchaeus’ home. I’d be willing to bet Zacchaeus almost fell out of the tree in shock. He was a tax collector. No respectable person wanted to visit his house.
But how could he refuse? This was Jesus. This was the man, tales of whom had traveled across seas and deserts, whose signs and wonders bespoke a kind of hope and reconciliation the world had never seen before. This was Jesus, and Zacchaeus’ hope had been merely to see him.
If he could only see him, that might change everything.
And it did. Because Jesus saw him back.
More accurately, Jesus saw Zacchaeus the whole time. And unbeknownst to Zacchaeus, his simple act of faith that day invited Jesus in.
Right now I feel like Zacchaeus. Unsure, surrounded by obstacles, desperate for some guidance, some hope, some sign from Christ that he really is redeeming everything, when things only seem to be falling apart. Seeking Jesus in this chaos, almost afraid of not finding him–but knowing that even a glimpse of his glory would be enough to change everything.
Dear friends, may the love of Christ reveal a glimpse of itself to you today.
May his people cross rivers, scale mountains, climb trees to seek him. May Jesus meet us there, as though we had planned it together all along, and invite himself in.
And may we accept him when he does.
“I lift my eyes up to the hills; where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.” -Psalm 121:1
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