Hurry down, Zacchaeus By Künstler unbekannt (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Deliver me, O Lord. Save me . . .
from broken relationships
from fear for my family
from the fear of what might be or might not be
from not knowing
from the need to know
from the need to be right
from this horrid and subtle self-centeredness
from looking down on any other human being
from feeling misunderstood and undervalued
from being defined by my past
from judging others by their past
from manipulating my neighbor with clever words
from feeling not enough
from what I cling to
from all my failings
from all my accomplishments
Not later. Not at some point in time. But now.
Right this minute. I want change, deliverance, peace . . . salvation.
I don’t want things to continue as they are.
Save me. Now. Do it.
Pete Enns, 1961- , American Bible Scholar
________________
When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,
“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”
So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.
All who saw it began to grumble and said,
“He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.”
Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”
Then Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
prayer & verse 