21st Sunday after Pentecost

Does knowing Jesus transform our lives?  The Bible reading assigned to this week is the story of Zacchaeus.  Jericho was a very prosperous town where the Romans would have been able to levy a considerable amount of taxes.  Zacchaeus was good at his job of tax collector and so had amassed a considerable sum of money for himself.  Yet, he was not happy.  He was reaching out for God.  When he heard Jesus was coming by, he courageously made his way to see him.  As a hated servant of Rome, he would have been punched and kicked while he was in the Jewish crowd and the crowd would have mocked him for not being tall enough to see.  None of this deterred Zacchaeus who resolved to climb a fig-mulberry tree.  But perhaps the most significant thing about this story is the change wrought in Zacchaeus after meeting his new best friend, Jesus.  He decided to give half his goods to the poor (a 50% tithe) and to repay any he had wronged four times over.  This was way over what was legally necessary and demonstrated that he had been genuinely transformed by the kindness of Jesus.  How much more should we, who now know the depth of Jesus’ love for us, be equally transformed?