Faith+ICS+PC15

=Tuesday, November 18 =

Luke 19:1-10
At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">and if I have extorted anything from anyone <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">I shall repay it four times over.” <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">And Jesus said to him, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">“Today salvation has come to this house <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">For the Son of Man has come to seek <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">and to save what was lost.”

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Summary:
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">A man named Zacchaeus, chief tax collector and a wealthy man, saw a man in a crowd. He was trying to see who this man is. This man is Jesus. Zacchaeus couldn't see Jesus because he was short. He went to a sycamore tree to see him more clearly. When Jesus reached the tree he looked up and saw Zacchaeus. Jesus said to him, "Zacchaeus come down quickly, for I must stay at your house." When everyone saw Jesus and Zacchaeus going home together they grumbled, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." When Jesus and Zacchaeus arrived at Zacchaeus' house he said, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over." What Zacchaeus said means that since he is a rich man he will give half of his things away. They whatever he has taken from other people he will repay 4 times the amount. Jesus then said that salvation was in his house because Zacchaeus is also a descendant of Abraham.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Reflection:
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">I think Jesus is trying to say that even though someone is rich or wealthy they can still be humble. When Jesus told Zacchaeus that he needed to stay in his house it was a test to see if Zacchaeus is a worthy follower of Christ. People everyday perform actions like this. There are places like Metropolitan Ministries where people go and help the homeless and less fortunate. The people who donate things to Metropolitan Ministries are like Zacchaeus because they give their goods the poor. In this passage Jesus also says that salvation has entered Zacchaues' house because he is a decedent of Abraham. When we donate our own goods to the poor salvation enters our house because we too are a descendant of Abraham, the father of all nations.

People can live out the message of my Bible passage by doing community projects. Metropolitan Ministries is a great way to do this. Jesus says that if you are a good follower of Christ, and you are humble and donate to the poor, than salvation will enter your house. We need to live this message that Jesus tells us because we need salvation. People donate things to places like Goodwill and Metropolitan Ministries becasue they do not need it. We are showing Jesus that we can be good followers by resembling Zacchaeus. I go to Metropolitan Ministries to help the poor and I also donate to them.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Prayer:
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Lord, please allow us to become the person Zacchaeus is. Let us become a humble person who does not only care about himself. Help us to be followers of Christ. Lord please allow us to donate our time and items to people who are less fortunate. Lord let us be a Zacchaeus of our time. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Amen.