Dearly Beloved,
I've been thinking this week about going out on a limb. After all, that's what Zacchaeus does wanting to see Jesus. You remember the song:
Zacchaeus was a wee little man
and wee little man was he.
He climbed up in the sycamore tree
for the Lord he wanted to see.
I'd never quite put together the common phrase "going out on a limb" with this story of the rich tax collector who's cheated people to gain his wealth, who's taken from the poor whether or not they could afford the portion they owed in taxes. But it is what Zacchaeus does -- go out on a limb. Literally. Climbing up into a tree so that he can catch a glimpse of this guy Jesus. Surely Zacchaeus doesn't expect what will happen next: that Jesus will invite himself over for dinner. Much less that he -- Zacchaeus -- will be so moved by his encounter with Jesus that he promises to give half of his wealth to the poor and repay people he cheated four times over.
Scripture tells us that Jesus says to Zacchaeus: "Today salvation has come to this house." It can read like a quid pro quo: you care for the poor and finally do the right thing and look, salvation is yours. But I think something more nuanced than that is happening.
In my home, we are all familiar with the re-do (Ezra's Star word for 2025) and repair (the word Ezra decided he DIDN'T want for 2025). We all mess up, say or do things that hurt each other whether intentionally or simply out of thoughtlessness or carelessness. And our practice is to practice repair with each other. Sometimes it looks like an apology and a commitment to try to do better next time. Sometimes it looks like a re-do or do-over in the moment.
I think that's part of what's happening for Zacchaeus. He has made some mistakes. He's hurt people intentionally or simply because he can, collecting taxes is his job after all. And he realized that he's also benefited from the way the system and his behavior within it has harmed people. And here he is, committing to repair the harm he's done. The Greek word sozo translated as saved can also be translated as healed or made whole.
I know from my own life, that the repair we do at home, the re-do's we practice together heals the hurt we've caused in the moment, it makes us whole again. Perhaps Jesus is not so much proclaiming the reward for Zacchaeus's changed behavior but is describing what happens when we choose to repair what we've broken, or re-do in a new way what we've done wrong. Healing and wholeness have come to Zacchaeus's whole household.
I think the lesson is clear: going out on a limb is risky business. Sometimes it leads us to behavior that our wider culture or common thinking might dismiss as foolish (giving half of our money to the poor, repaying the people we've cheated or taken advantage of, repairing relationships that we've used to our own benefit). But there is too the good news that going out on a limb might lead us to an encounter with Christ that will change us, that will transform our lives and bring healing and wholeness to us and our households in ways we might never have imagined!
Where are you being called to go out on a limb?
Where in your life have you practiced repair or utilized a redo? What healing and wholeness has followed?
With love and hope,
Thandiwe
