Read Luke 19:1-10 

Marcie one more time!  

When we first moved to South Bend we started a tradition of ‘Pastry Friday’. Each Friday, Andrew and I pick a local spot and get a few pastries to share with our morning coffee. It was a bit of an accidental tradition, but one that has stuck and gives us something to look forward to each week. So, I encourage you, next time a Friday rolls around, grab a pastry, find a friend and share a conversation about your week. 

Read Luke 19: 1-10. 

I don’t remember a time in my life when my height helped me see what was going on around me. It’s quite the opposite actually! I have a collapsible step stool I keep in the kitchen and use daily.  

I’m always in the front row of group pictures. On a recent trip to see a live theater show with my daughter, the usher brought me over a booster seat so I could see the stage better from our seats! 

As a person of short stature, I appreciate Zaccheus in this passage, “A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.   He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.   So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.” 

He knew he wanted to see Jesus and was eager to do whatever it took to see him. Imagine what Zaccheus thought when Jesus stops, calls him out and ends up joining him at his house. 

Even with onlookers muttering at his choice to stay with a sinner, Jesus enters Zaccheus space and Zaccheus repents and finds salvation. 

I love that Zaccheus was eager to experience what 

Jesus has to offer and found a way to see Jesus, then Jesus saw that eagerness and responds. 

When you think about your own life, are you eager to experience life with Jesus?  

What are you doing that shows that eagerness? 

Do you see others around you who are eager to experience Jesus? What can you do to help them to experience Jesus? 

Spend a few minutes quietly reflecting on how God has responded to you in moments of eagerness to experience him in your own life. As you sit quietly try repeating this simple breathing prayer a few times: 

Inhale: God of restoration and salvation 

Exhale: Give me an eagerness to walk with you daily