What Jesus says to Zacchaeus in our gospel today, Christ Jesus says to us here and now: “I must stay at your house today.” When we hear him inviting himself into our hearts, we may jump to respond as Zacchaeus did, being elated to welcome Christ Jesus into the abode of our being. We may, however, not even hear him because we are so busy about whatever has our attention today and hence fail to respond at all. Or perhaps we think we might be hearing that voice, but assume it couldn’t possibly be real; Christ Jesus surely wouldn’t want to stay at our house--so we ignore his Presence. Or we know our house is an absolute mess, not prepared to receive a Divine Guest so we procrastinate and say, “Not today—I’m not ready.” Or . . . (you name it.)

Zacchaeus can be a good role model for us. He wanted to see Jesus, and he didn’t let anything stand in his way. While he likely wasn’t expecting or maybe even hoping for any interaction with the rabbi who was causing such a stir, he didn’t hesitate when that opportunity presented itself. After experiencing Jesus’ presence in his home, he was inspired to amend his life, to walk henceforth in the way of Love. May it be so for us.

Fortunately, we don’t have to climb a tree when we want to see Christ Jesus. We can soak in scripture and prayer allowing them to open our hearts and put out the welcome mat. We might pray and sing the hymn:

“Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus,

To reach out and touch Him and say that we love Him.

Open our ears, Lord, and help us to listen;

Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus.”

(Rob Cull, p.170, Songs for Worship)