Postscript: Turning life around
Zacchaeus is transformed by his encounter with Jesus (Luke 19:1–10).
Introduction
Zacchaeus has a disability – he is short in stature. But he is determined and resourceful. He is also probably corrupt, and lonely. He is complex, as we all are. Jesus does not lecture or reprimand him, but gives him the opportunity to discover a new, more generous, side to himself. Jesus sees potential in Zacchaeus that others have missed.
Context
The Paralympic Games in Rio last month left us with some inspiring memories. Ellie Simmonds and Ellie Robinson demonstrated what swimmers of short stature can achieve.
Meanwhile at the Vatican, Mother Teresa, revered for her work with the poor in India, was being proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis.
Reflection
The Channel 4 comedy show The Last Leg, broadcast during the Paralympics, gave permission to talk about disability, even to make jokes – to laugh when appropriate, and cry when appropriate. A few people with disabilities achieve superhuman feats. But all people with disabilities are human – the same complex mixture of success and failure, confidence and fear, vulnerabilities and capabilities as the rest of us. What mattered about Zacchaeus was not that he was short, or rich and successful, but that he was willing to change.
All the athletes at Rio had a backstory, whether we were told about it or not. We all have a backstory. Things happen behind the scenes that other people don’t get to know. Who we are today is the result of all we’ve been through, good and bad. I wonder what Zacchaeus’ backstory was – why he acted the way he did. We also have a future, and transformation is possible, even if the turning point is not one we would choose. The T42 runner Dave Henson won a bronze medal in the 200m. Five years earlier he had his lost his legs in an IED explosion in Afghanistan. Most importantly, transformation involves acceptance of the can’ts, making peace with our fragilities.
This coming Tuesday is All Saints Day, which some churches may be observing on Sunday. Because Mother Teresa’s lifetime is within living memory, we know that she was a controversial figure. She was criticised, for example, for her belief that bad money could be redeemed by putting it to good use. Even saints, perhaps especially saints, are complex human beings, called to be ‘signs of contradiction’.
Zacchaeus did not let his shortness of stature get in his way, either when it came to making a fortune, or getting to see Jesus. But determination alone was not doing him any good. By inviting him to give, rather than to take, Jesus showed what was missing. Jesus sees our vulnerabilities and capabilities, and invites us to be the best we can. Sometimes that involves the confidence to achieve, and sometimes it involves the humility to confess our mistakes.
The restorative justice programme ‘Sycamore Tree’, run by Prison Fellowship, is named after the tree in Luke 19:1-10. Meeting a victim can have a profound, transformative effect on prisoners. One offender wrote, ‘I have spent about six years in (prison). Six years of self-pity, sorrow, regret, questioning, and final epiphany. Before this time, I was a conceited and deluded kid. … (Doing the Sycamore Tree course) taught me just how far the effects of crime can go. In meeting a victim of crime and hearing about other offences I have gained a deep, almost painful, understanding of how emotions can last months, years, even entire lives.’
Prayer
This is a private prayer of self-offering. It takes inspiration from Psalm 139.
O God who knit me together in my mother’s womb,
you know my vulnerabilities:
the things I can’t do,
the things I’m frightened of,
my failures and my disappointments.
You know too my capabilities:
the things I’m good at,
the things that excite me,
my successes and my hopes.
Take both my vulnerabilities and my capabilities
– the complex mixture that I am –
and show me how to use them in your service.
For the darkness and the light are both alike to you.
Amen.
Questions
What setbacks have you had to overcome in your life?
Where does true confidence come from?
Action
Think of a gesture you could make, or a gift you could offer, to someone you have wronged or upset.
Young people
How accessible is your church/school/youth group to people with disabilities? How could it be made more welcoming? Could you borrow a wheelchair, or find another way to test out the accessibility for yourself?
Ann Conway-Jones is an associate tutor at the Queen’s Ecumenical Foundation, Birmingham. One of the turning points in her life was the year she spent living with the L’Arche community.
PostScript is also available via Twitter and facebook
ROOTS publishes weekly lectionary-based worship and learning resources online and in two magazines.