Jesus and Zacchaeus

Imaginative contemplation is a way of getting to know and even meeting Christ in the gospels. The ultimate goal is personal encounter with him. Take your time with this kind of prayer. God is in no rush . . . .

We rely on many things in our lives. On other people; on our wealth or our possessions; on our power, or reputation, or status; on our own ingenuity and talents. But as I enter into prayer now, can I put all those things aside for a moment, and place all my trust in God, my light, my hope, my salvation?

First we familiarise ourselves with the passage:

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today. So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’

At the beginning of the prayer, spend a minute letting God look at you or be with you in any way that God wants . . . . . .

Take your time to settle, listening to the sounds that you can hear around you . . . . . . let them all be there . . . notice the sound and rhythm of your own breathing . . . as you inhale, breathe in God’s love . . . as you breathe out, give to God anything you want to hand over: any tension, concern, desire . . . take three deeper breaths, breathing in God’s love . . . . . . at the start of this prayer time what is it that you desire? . . . share this with God . . .

Now begin to set the scene of the gospel story . . . it is the town of Jericho under a Mediterranean sky; a crowd has gathered around Jesus and Zacchaeus will need to climb a sycamore tree to see him . . . Place yourself in the scene . . . you might be someone in the crowd or perhaps a disciple or even Zacchaeus himself . . . who are you? . . . if you are Zacchaeus you’ll need to adapt what I say so that it makes sense to you . . . now look at Jericho from your new perspective . . . the town with its buildings and spaces . . . the vegetation to include at least one tree . . . look up at the sky . . . feel the sun’s heat on your face and your hands . . . what are you wearing? . . . is it traditional or modern? . . . feel the touch of the fabric against your skin . . . notice the crowds . . . listen to the sounds of the place . . . smell the air . . . what is the mood?

Where is Zacchaeus in all this? Find and study him for a while . . . what does he want? . . . now watch as Jesus comes forward . . . study him too . . . how he moves . . . don’t strain to see his face . . . does he notice you? . . .

He goes to the sycamore tree and calls Zacchaeus down . . . ‘Zacchaeus, come down; I must stay at your house today’ . . . how does he speak? . . . what happens to Zacchaeus? . . . watch him climb down . . . how is the crowd reacting? . . . how about you? . . . watch Zacchaeus as he offers to give half his possessions to the poor and to pay back those he has cheated . . . how does this affect Jesus? . . . what does Jesus say? . . .

Now let Zacchaeus head home to prepare for Jesus . . . now is your chance to go to Jesus yourself or let him come to you . . . how do you look at each other? . . . what words are spoken . . . what happens? . . . . . .

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.