Inspiration In the history of art there was a period of
painting known as the Minimalist School. Piet
Mondrian was a minimalist who limited himself to
the prime elements of art--the colors of black, white, red, yellow, blue
and the shapes of squares and rectangles only. There was not much to hide behind; the
message was either profound and powerful or it
fell flat on its face. The gospel story of Christ and Zacchaeus is
deceptively simple and minimalist in its presentation: A man climbs a tree,
sees Christ, Christ goes to his house and the man gives away huge sums of
money. A very
quick account that, interestingly enough, only appears in the Gospel of
Luke. The simple elements of
this story may cause you to miss the very profound expression of truth it
contains.
The first simple element is that Zacchaeus was
a short man. This handicap made it difficult for him to see Jesus as He
walked by. We all have some obstacle
that could block us from God if we allowed them. For some it is laziness, or
forgetfulness, or despondency for others its worldly pleasures,
responsibilities or egoism. But
Zacchaeus was determined to see this important Man and he found a way to
overcome his handicap by climbing a tree.
A wise man once said, “he who sets out in
search of Truth, no matter in which directions he goes, will ultimately
find it.” So too, if our aim is to
find God and to know Christ, then we should be just as resourceful and as hopeful as Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus was also a rich man. Wealth is not a sin but how one aquires it can be.
In Zacchaeus’ case, he overtaxed the citizens and kept more than his
share. The remarkable thing in this
Bible story is how his heart was changed so radically by Christ that he
immediately understood and saw his actions as God knows them. His promise
to give half of his goods to the poor and to restore four-fold to any that
he defrauded was indeed remarkable.
When we apologize to those whom we have hurt do we just balance the scales
or do we give beyond what is required as Zacchaeus did? Truly, Zacchaeus acquired a contrite and
humble heart the day he encountered Jesus.
Another element that is easily missed is how
Christ invites Himself into Zacchaeus’ home. In that time period, to dine
with a sinner such as a tax collector was to defile oneself. Indeed, our Lord attracted criticism for
this gesture but we know that this is not the first time that He went
against the social norms of the day.
The real lesson here is how Jesus saw the man and his need and ignored any biases or dangers that
would restrict his ministering to Zacchaeus. The last line of this Gospel
account proclaims, “…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that
which was lost.” In our own philanthropia we are called to imitate our Lord
and offer our charity—that is, our love—to those in need without regard to
the inconven-ience and discomfort it may cause
us.
Truly this short account of a simple meeting
between a sinner and God conveys a profound message. Upon meeting the Lord, Zacchaeus recognizes a higher purpose
and calling for his life and takes drastic actions to fulfill that purpose.
Christ then tells Zacchaeus “Today salvation has come to this house.” It is
notable that all his household is blessed by his
repentance and righteousness. Let
us, then, imitate both Zacchaeus for his repentance and humility and our
Lord for his mercy and love.
