“Jane, can we bring the bishop to your house for lunch?” It was a Sunday, the day after a freak March windstorm had rendered much of Stamford without power, and our bishop was making an annual Visitation. We held dimly lit worship at church, and shivered through a coffee-less coffee hour, but the only place with electricity where the Vestry might have lunch with the Bishop was Jane’s house. Jane is of the generation that views a bishop’s visit as a Big Deal worthy of weeks of cleaning and polishing – but she said yes, and tidied as best she could, and got out the fine china, and hosted us. Ready or not.
Must have been a shock for Zacchaeus, sitting in that tree. “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.’” A shock, and a challenge – Jesus, a celebrity so big he gathers crowds as he moves through town, is coming to Zach’s house. It would be like being told the President or a Nobel laureate was coming over. It’s exciting, and a social coup – and ratchets up the pressure. What am I going to cook? When did I last clean the bathroom? What will we talk about?
Besides, Zach was safely hidden away up that tree. Now he’s going to have to meet this guy he wanted so badly to see. He responds with grace: “So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.”
How would you respond, if you got an email from Jesus today: “I’m coming to your house this evening.” Would you want to see him? Would you try to put if off?
Would you invite anyone else, or just enjoy the chance to talk to him by yourself?
Let’s try another imagination prayer today – imagine that scenario: the email, the preparation, your response, the greeting at the door… What happens? What do you talk about? See how fully you can place yourself into that scene and see where it goes. It’s another way of talking to Jesus in our imaginations, placing him in our daily lives. (Write it down afterward!)
I’m pretty sure Jesus does send us that message, every day, something like this:
“I want to come to your house. I want to spend some time with you. I want you to get off the sidelines, out of the bleachers, off the fence and into relationship with me. I’m not just some guy in a book or a stained glass window. I’m the one who made you, who became like you so you could become like me. I love you more than you can ever imagine, and I can transform your life if you let me in. I can transform the world through you if you let me. Can I come to your house, to your heart, today?”
Maybe you always say “yes.” Maybe you say “later,” or “maybe.”
We don’t have to clean the house or cook a fancy dinner. Jesus knows how messy our lives are, how full, and how beautiful. What he wants is our time and attention (just ask Martha of Bethany...) It’s the most life-changing dinner we could ever imagine. Every time.
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