I have been enjoying putting myself into biblical stories lately. Well, maybe “enjoying” isn’t the exact word because it isn’t always enjoyable, even when it is very valuable. I don’t do it very well. I find it difficult to imagine myself into these stories, or any stories for that matter. I don’t know if it is an overly cerebral approach to anything written or if it is a lack of visual imagination caused by bad eyesight or something else altogether. I may not be good at it but I still do it.
Our Gospel lesson is an especially vivid one. The story of Zacchaeus is familiar and has some delightful details that make it easier for even someone like me to visualize. There is the short main character, there is the tree, a crowd, a road . . . even I can put some mental pictures together. When I visualize a story I try to put myself in it first as an observer and then as a character. Anyone can do this and I encourage you to give it a try. Which character do we want to be? Well Zacchaeus of course! We can’t be Jesus and who wants to be part of the dense and judgemental crowd? But when I think about it, I realize I fit best in the crowd. It isn’t a very delightful realization but nonetheless, on most days, that’s where I fit.
This Sunday’s sermons are about what it might mean to be a member of the crowd; what it says about God, about us, about others.
Let me know what you think about this take on a very well known story.
Blessings,
PS Anyone able to think of Zacchaeus and not have the song “Zacchaeus was a wee little man” go through their head at least a little bit? No? I didn’t think so 🙂
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