Explore & respond

• Middle Eastern tradition sees the traveller as a gift of God; whereas people from the West might react with suspicion to travellers, those from the Middle East are generous with their time and their resources. Hospitality is central to the Middle Eastern lifestyle. Jesus’ request for hospitality and welcome brings the opportunity for change for Zacchaeus. Hospitality is key to Christian life. In her book Take this Bread, (Ballantine Books Inc., 2008, ISBN 9780-345495792) Sarah Miles, one of many who have written on the power of Christian hospitality, tells of the dramatic change in her life after she was welcomed to the Eucharist.
• Zacchaeus was trapped in the stressful lifestyle of middle management. As chief tax collector he would have employed local people to collect the taxes, from which he took his percentage, before handing the rest on to the Roman rulers. Middle management is a known predictor of stress. Maybe it was this that precipitated Zacchaeus’ curiosity to see Jesus, and to be noticed. Jesus sees Zacchaeus, recognises his problem and need, and comes and spends time with him. Often we reflect on spending time with Jesus, but perhaps it should be the other way round. Perhaps we need to let Jesus spend time with us.
• The instruction of Isaiah in 1.17 is a recurring theme in Scripture. Deuteronomy 27, Exodus 22 and Psalm 68 all remind the people of God of their responsibility to care for the orphan, the widow and the stranger. It is found again in Mary’s song (the Magnificat, Luke 1.46-55). Care for the poor, the weak and the vulnerable are the building blocks of a just and healthy society. Isaiah reminds us that God’s priority is not how we order our worship, but how we welcome others to it.
• What was Zacchaeus like, and how had his life changed, 10 years on from this encounter? Did he ever play back in his mind the dramatic change he experienced as a result of that encounter with Jesus? We can only speculate. But that encounter offered him a welcome he was not used to while living on the margins of society, enjoying great wealth but regarded with contempt by his community. His marginalisation would surely have affected his whole household. Jesus’ welcome restored his sense of self-worth, and gave him the courage and determination to make restitution to those he had cheated. When we look back on our lives, particularly at moments of dramatic life changes, can we see God’s presence with us?

Sharing your gifts

Divide the congregation into groups, and give each group a sheet of paper and some pens. Ask them to discuss all the skills and talents they could share with others in the wider church and local community. Invite the groups to imagine that the piece of paper is a table to be prepared for a sharing feast – but instead of food items, the feast is made up of their gifts and talents. Ask them to write or draw their sharing ideas on the paper. You could display the results by placing the pieces of paper on or near tables used for refreshments after the service.

W E A

Play a change game

Divide the congregation into small groups, and give each group some play dough (or a couple of pipe cleaners). Each person in turn should mould a figure or an object of their own choice, then hand it to the next person. That person then makes something different. Allow each person a set amount of time (say, 15 seconds), so that things move quickly. You can mark the time with a whistle or a shout. As they are doing this, invite everyone to reflect on this action as representing God reshaping our lives. E S

Enjoy a feast

Divide the congregation into groups, and give each group a ‘tasting plate’ of Middle Eastern foods – the sort of foods that Zacchaeus might have given Jesus, such as flatbread, fruit, cheese, hummus, falafel (see Prepare the space) – and invite them to try all the items (remember to warn about allergies, where appropriate). Ask the groups to discuss the best foods to choose for a party, to make sure everyone feels welcome. W E S

• When Paul had first written to the Thessalonian community of believers it had not yet taken on the identity which we define today as ‘church’, so translating the Greek ecclesia in this way, as the NRSV does, is somewhat anachronistic. However, when the same word appears in 2 Thessalonians there is no doubt the recipients would have a clear understanding of what ecclesia had come to mean within their culture. ‘Church’ becomes the description of the body of believers. The term is deliberately inclusive of the whole community. The letter is not addressed to specific leaders, such as the companions of Paul mentioned in the opening phrase. No one is singled out, and none are excluded. The letter is for men, women, slave, free, Jew and Gentile, Greek and barbarian, adults and children.

• The words that are used in greeting, ‘Grace to you and peace’ with the addition here of the words ‘from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ’ now sound like a liturgical formula that might be used to begin Christian worship.

• The opening business of the letter, following Paul, is thanksgiving, first for the Christian life of the community (vv. 3-4). The NRSV, like most translations, uses the term ‘boast’ in verse 4. The word today has most unfortunate connotations which were not intended by the writer. Indeed, to grasp the meaning it is probably helpful to look at his source in 1 Thessalonians 1.8 where Paul writes ‘the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it.’

• Our reading concludes in verses 11 and 12 with a wish-prayer that this life may be fulfilled by God. It omits the reflection on the judgement of God (vv. 5-10) which seems to have more in common with hellfire preachers than with the gospel of salvation.

Cast: Two narrators; number 2 is female.

N1: There was once a little man called Zac.

N2: This was short for?

N1: Zacchaeus.

N2: A long name for a short squirt like him.

N1: Are you listening, or trying to make funnies?

N2: Sorry. Pray continue.

N1: Zac's enemies, and he had plenty, called him...
 
N2: Rude names?

N1: (ignoring N2) ...Zacky the lackey, as he worked for the Occupation, or Tackey Zackey as...

N2: Money stuck to his fingers?

N1: Right!

N2: So he was a financial wizard

N1: A shark.

N2: A taxation expert.

N1: A big fiddler.

N2: Thought you said he was short?

N1: Oh shut up! This Zac was like a reverse Robin Hood.

N2: He robbed the poor and gave to the rich, like the Chancellor of the Exchequer?

N1: No, he robbed the poor, shook down the rich, unless they bribed him, and gave as little as he could to the imperial revenue. This Zac...

N2: Zac the tax, the lackey, the tacky...

N1: The same. He had no friends.

N2: Not one?

N1: No.

N2: Not even an tincey, incey, wincey one?

N1: No.

N2: (Sighing) Oh. Why not? After all, he must have had some redeeming features.

N1: He was rich...

N2: There now, I could get to like him.

N1: Filthy rich

N2: I could like him a lot .

N1: But he was short and fat.

N2: I do prefer a tall and slim man - but he was very rich? (Pauses) I suppose I could still get to like him if I made an effort.
 
N1: But he was really rotten.

N2: Really, really rotten?

N1: Yes the pits.

N2: No, I couldn't even begin to like him at all.

N1: Nobody did. So he filled his luxury penthouse suite with the latest hi-tech equipment: a 40 gigabyte abacus, a fan-assisted barbecue with laser control and a turbo-charged ox cart in his double garage.

N2: But these didn't compensate for his lack of friends?

N1: No, he was rich, rotten and lonely.

N2: Serves him right I say.

N1: Then one day Jesus came.

N2: He gave Zac a mouthful, I bet.

N1: Actually, no.

N2: What happened then.

N1: There was a crowd, you see.

N2: And Zac couldn't.

N1: Couldn't what?

N2: See, stupid!

N1: Yes, he could, but only legs and bottoms.

N2: He was only a micro in a maxi world...

N1: Who's telling the story?

N2: Well, get on with it, then.

N1: He tried crawling through peoples' legs to see Jesus but they just kicked him.

N2: They must've enjoyed that.

N1: He then tried squeezing his way through.

N2: But he was too fat?

N1: Right - so he ran round the side of the crowd and clambered up a sycamore tree.

N2: He what?

N1: He climbed up a sycamore tree.

N2: He was lucky not to get a hernia.

N1: I'd be more worried about the tree.

N2: What happened then?

N1: Jesus stopped under the tree and said 'Zacchaeus come down; I'm coming for dinner!'

N2: What eat with Zac. Tacky Zacky?

N1: Yes.

N2: I bet that went down like a string of pork sausages with the local rabbi.

N1: Zacchaeus slithered down the tree so fast that you'd think he had All-Bran and prunes for breakfast. Then he panted off yelling for his cook and butler. But you 're right about the rabbi.

N2: He was not happy?

N1: Let's just say his face turned puce under his sun tan. 'Fancy eating with that louse,' he muttered.

N2: I don't suppose Jesus worried did he?

N1: Not a bit. He just happened to say that God cared about louses too and followed Zac back home. But the surprising bit came later...

N2: Let me guess: Zac changed his mind.

N1: Wrong. Zac had a change of heart.

N2: What?

N1: Zac opened his cash box, gave away half his money on the spot and promised to pay back anyone he cheated four times the amount he'd taken from them.

N2: I bet there was a long queue. Is he still there? I'm sure I overpaid on my last assessment. Now let's see... 4 times 13 shekels equals...

N1: He's nothing left now... he's bankrupt. He gave away everything.

N2: (Slowly) So all his money's gone. He gave away everything.
 
N1: Everything. But he's a happy man.

N2: Bankrupt but happy.

N1: Yes. However he's got lots of friends.

N2: Good on you Zac. This Jesus must have made a real difference. Now, I wonder if I could introduce him to my tax inspector.