THIS SUNDAY'S GOSPEL
I asked the kids if they played any video games. You can guess the response. "Yes; yes' yes' are you kidding, Deacon Charlie!" Then, I told them I had a lot of free time on my hands, and I was thinking of starting myself. I wondered if they might have any suggestions. And the suggestions were unending. All kinds of video games--so many, I can't remember all the names! As the names came, so did the descriptions of the games--killing zombies, playing soccer and football, even dancing. As different as all these games are, I asked whether there was something that made them all the same. Lots of good answers, but not what I was looking for.
What makes every video game the same is that every one not only gives us a chance, but really wants us to try again.
ZACCHAEUS AND THE SYCAMORE TREE
This Sunday's gospel is my absolute favorite. I showed the kids that Zacchaeus and his sycamore tree hang
It's the story of the baddest guy in town, and everybody knows he's the baddest guy in town. He's also the shortest. So, when word comes that the Jesus parade is about to pass through, the baddest and shortest guy is muscled away from curbside by the rest of the crowd. That's when he climbs the sycamore tree and perches himself for a bird's eye view of this Jesus.
The parade stops at the sycamore tree; Jesus looks up; calls Zacchaeus by name (amazing, since they've never met!), and tells him to come down quickly, because tonight Jesus will eat dinner at Zacchaeus' house.
And the crowd's reaction? The kids all got it: "Not fair!"
So, why did Jesus go home with the baddest guy in town? Jack Reilly, a first-grader had the bestest answer: "Maybe Jesus just wanted to talk to him about being bad." Right on, Jack!
The Zacchaeus story is the story of our salvation. Like the video games, we all not only get the chance, but Jesus really wants us to try again.
No comments:
Post a Comment