The Holy Apostle Zaccheus
Today we celebrate the Holy Apostle Zaccheus, who wanted so badly to see the Lord, that he climbed a tree to see Him. Zaccheus was a tax collector and not at all liked, and it was certainly eyebrow raising when Jesus went to dine with him. The Gospel shows Zaccheus' change of heart and recognition of the responsibility he needed to take for his past sins.
I love the immediacy of Zaccheus' change of heart and his almost impetuousness throughout the entire story. It would've been very undignified for him to be climbing trees at that point in his life, certainly for someone of his position in the city. His declaration to Jesus of the way he's going to change his ways is super over the top. He's not going to just pay people back for what he stole, he's going to pay them back four times over! Four times - that's a lot of money! And he presumably took money from a lot of people!
May we like Zaccheus also be reckless in our love for Jesus and others. May we not be held back by what others may think of us, or what something is going to cost us.
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