You may notice something a bit different with this version of my sporadic email. There’s more! My plan is to put one out every other week with three features; a blog post, my latest Failing Boldly podcast episode and a little feature I’m calling Three Up where I share three things that I’ve enjoyed lately. My thanks to my sister-in-law Stef Curry for helping with this email design.
When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today.” So Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus. (Luke 19:5-6, CEB)
My daughter surreptitiously took this photo on the bus the other day and texted it to me and suggested, “You should put this sticker on your laptop.”
JESUS IS COMING PREPARE TO MEET HIM! reads the not-so-subtle message from this man’s construction hat. My hunch is that this statement is meant to have apocalyptic/Left Behind tones and that theology has never been terribly influential on my own faith, but if I did have this sticker, I’d still be tempted to put it on my laptop.
Like many of you, my calendar has events listed on it every day. I use the calendar app on my computer/phone so each block has a certain color for a certain category. Today, for example, I have three: our weekly staff meeting this morning, a podcast interview this afternoon, and a pre-marital counseling session tonight. It’s easy to see these calendar blocks as simply things to check off and complete, but it would be a better practice to paraphrase this sticker and ask myself, before each gathering, “Will Jesus be present? Am I prepared to meet him?”
I’ve come to love the Zacchaeus story more and more over the years and am sorry that some know it only as a children’s song. A outcast in the community (tax collectors weren’t terribly popular) risks humiliation by climbing a tree to catch a glimpse of this popular teacher named Jesus, who shocks everyone by calling Zacchaeus out and inviting himself over for dinner, bringing honor to Zacchaeus and his household. Was Zacchaeus prepared? Probably not. But his interaction with Jesus still was transformative.
As you look at your own calendar and to-do list for the day, ask yourself these questions before engaging: Will Jesus be present? Is my heart prepared to meet him? Jesus is nothing if not surprising and may show up when you’re not expecting it. Including on a bus, in a text, and on a construction hat.