Zacchaeus was a wee little man
And a wee little man was he
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see
And when the Savior passed that way
He looked up in the tree
[SPOKEN] And said, ‘Zacchaeus, you come down!
For I’m coming to your house today!
For I’m coming to your house today!‘ — Unknown
Every now and then, I get an earworm, and the only recourse for it is to let it roll around in my head until something replaces it, or I physically sing or write about it. I have no idea how this got in my brain a day or so ago. It has become annoying and long past welcome, as much as I enjoyed singing it in Sunday School, Children’s Choir, and Vacation Bible School.
The story of Zacchaeus comes in the Gospel of Luke, 19:1-10, which will not be in our Daily Office Lectionary until fall. Yet somehow, I need to think it through before it stays yet another day.
Zaccheus was a short man, though not the only one in town in all probability. Still, Jesus called him out because: (a) he was a tax collector with therefore at least two strikes against him, (b) he was short, and (c) he accidentally but very fortunately encountered Jesus passing by. He was desperate to see this wonder-worker and teacher, but he knew he’d never get through the crowd that blocked his view.
But, Zacch was resourceful. Standing near a sycamore tree, he climbed up, perched on a branch, and looked over everyone else’s head. His visibility allowed Jesus to stop, look up, acknowledge Zacch’s presence, and announce that he, Jesus, was going to visit Zacch in his own home. I don’t know how many skid marks Zacch gained on his rush down the tree’s trunk to the ground, but any pain would have been worth it.
We often think of short as lacking something, as though Zacchaeus’ lack of inches in height somehow reduced him. Shortages in our bank accounts make us anxious, while being short-changed, whether in money or goods, usually makes us angry. Our stores are experiencing shortages in many material and edible products we need to live, just as many workers show their dissatisfaction with what they consider poverty-level wages. Shortages make prices go up, just as people struggle to get by as best they can and without many things they previously took for granted.
Something I have been considering is that there are two things, at least, that we can count on as never being in short supply: God’s love and God’s grace. God, being so much greater than we can even begin to imagine, can love infinitely and spread grace the same way. Granted, some cannot conceive of, much less accept, such gifts since they are invisible and incomprehensible. They are only perceived by those who have experienced them – much, I bet, as Zacchaeus experienced them from his perch on the tree branch.
I think it behooves me to think about with what I am gifted instead of what I lack – in inches or anything else. I will be reminded of Zacchaeus again this fall, so I have time to practice climbing my personal sycamore tree in anticipation and wait for the gift to come into my house.
There. The earworm is gone, but the memories of happy times singing the tune and making the gestures that go with it linger. Still, I will be grateful for the memories but will pray for a new tune to start running through my head soon. Maybe “Christ Is Made A Sure Foundation” or “Cwm Rhondda,” please?
PS: For some interesting information on liturgical practices involving this gospel reading in Eastern Orthodox, Slavic tradition Greek Catholic, and Byzantine/Greek churches of the Eastern churches, please see Liturgical Practices under the heading Zaccheus, Wikipedia. Great Lent begins March 7, 2022.
Image: Zaccheus being called down from the tree, From book: The Life of Jesus of Nazareth. Eighty Pictures by William Hole (1908). Source: http://www.swordofthespirit.net/bulwark/oct07p5.htm. Found at Wikimedia Commons
Linda Ryan is a co-mentor for an Education for Ministry group, an avid reader, lover of Baroque and Renaissance music, and retired. She keeps the blog Jericho’s Daughter. She lives with her three cats near Phoenix, Arizona.