WEEK ONE
February 10 - February 13

Theme: ENTRANCE TO THE KINGDOM: REPENTANCE

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17), was Christ’s first exhortation when he embarked on his public ministry. Entering into God’s kingdom comes through the doors of repentance, confession and obedience. What is true repentance? Not only is it contrition and sorrow for our sins but more importantly it is a change of heart, a turning away from those things that continually weigh us down. Luke 3:8 instructs us to “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” At the beginning of our Lenten journey together, we look at four individuals whose lives were transformed when they repented. In moments of reflection and self-examination all of us must ask, “What needs to change deep within me in the days and weeks ahead?”

Wednesday, February 10
Ash Wednesday
Scripture: Luke 19:1-10

And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, “Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.” And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, “This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

THE CONVERSION OF ZACCHEUS

There is something folksy about the conversion of Zacchaeus, which makes Jim Lauderdale’s “Zacchaeus” all the more appropriate. Zacchaeus, a man of below average stature, spent his days assisting the Romans in their run-of-the-mill business transactions. This seemingly ordinary business, however, was lucrative and little Zacchaeus grew rich but at the expense of others. One day he hears that Jesus, the miracle-working carpenter from Nazareth, is going to pass by and, perhaps having heard so much about him, Zacchaeus is determined to see him. But there’s a problem. Jesus is thronged by a host of people, making it impossible for the short publican to see him clearly. Now Zacchaeus might be rich but he is not necessarily modest. So, he climbs a tree in order to get a better view. I am not sure if Jesus looked ahead and saw a man in the tree and thought, “I’m going to go talk to that curious man,” or if he was led to Zacchaeus by the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, Jesus approached him and without as much as a “Hi, I’m Jesus” the Savior says to him, “Get down here quickly for I need to visit your house.” Without missing a beat Zacchaeus scrambles down, takes Jesus to his house and proceeds to cause quite a bit of grumbling among the others. Why would Jesus eat with that sinner? Surely if Jesus knew that he was a publican he never would have gone to his house, the crowd reasoned. My guess is that Jesus knew exactly what he was doing – he was deliberately choosing the sinner in order to illustrate the depth of his grace, his redemption and his mission: I “come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Jesus’ actions are an invitation, captured well by Niels Larsen Stevns’ Zacchaeus. Notice Jesus’ outstretched arm in the posture of an invitation. Jesus did not (and does not) condemn but welcomes. He created the space for Zacchaeus to repent and restore what he had taken from others. And is that not the lesson of Lent? Come to me, repent of your sins, satisfy those whom you have wronged and travel the short distance from the one who is lost to the one who is saved. Yet all of this is prefaced on Zacchaeus’ curiosity so we need to ask ourselves: am I curious about the Savior? Do I seek to see him and be changed by him? If not, then Lent is the season to do just that; to adopt a Zacchaeus-like posture, to come on down, to seek the Savior and to be changed as a result of this divine encounter.

PRAYER
God, you sent your Son to earth to seek and to save the lost, including publicans like Zacchaeus. Help me to see myself in Zacchaeus – curious, responsive and repentant. Grant me to grace to seek you, to come on down at your invitation and be saved; and do this all for your Name’s sake. Amen.

Greg Peters, Associate Professor of Medieval and Spiritual Theology