Easter is coming!
Tomorrow, the first hints of the approach of Easter are heard.
Before Easter comes Holy Week; before that, we have Lent to prepare us for Holy Week and Easter; before Lent, four Sundays of pre-Lenten preparation have developed in the Orthodox Church (I'll write about those later). However, tomorrow, at least among Russian Orthodox (the Greeks rather hastily jump straight in to pre-Lent, and skip pre-pre-Lent altogether!) we have the last Gospel reading of the Lectionary before the Lenten reading cycle begins: the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10).
As you may remember, Zacchaeus was a tax collector (a profession renowned for dishonesty at the time) who, upon hearing that Christ was coming, climbed into a tree to see Him. Christ looked up, and announced that He'd be staying at Zacchaeus's house. When people were scandalized, Zacchaeus declared that he'd give half his possessions to the poor, and return back fourfold what he'd stolen from anyone.
We can learn from this a few things; one is that Christ comes for everyone, no matter how obnoxious they may seem. Another thing is that Zacchaeus repented, which goes along with the whole Lenten theme of repentance. A third thing is Zacchaeus's eagerness to see Christ, which was rewarded. If we look at religion as a chore, we're likely to get very little out of it. On the other hand, in the next few weeks, if we see Lent as a tree we can climb, we'll be rewarded by the sight of Christ.
Before Easter comes Holy Week; before that, we have Lent to prepare us for Holy Week and Easter; before Lent, four Sundays of pre-Lenten preparation have developed in the Orthodox Church (I'll write about those later). However, tomorrow, at least among Russian Orthodox (the Greeks rather hastily jump straight in to pre-Lent, and skip pre-pre-Lent altogether!) we have the last Gospel reading of the Lectionary before the Lenten reading cycle begins: the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10).
As you may remember, Zacchaeus was a tax collector (a profession renowned for dishonesty at the time) who, upon hearing that Christ was coming, climbed into a tree to see Him. Christ looked up, and announced that He'd be staying at Zacchaeus's house. When people were scandalized, Zacchaeus declared that he'd give half his possessions to the poor, and return back fourfold what he'd stolen from anyone.
We can learn from this a few things; one is that Christ comes for everyone, no matter how obnoxious they may seem. Another thing is that Zacchaeus repented, which goes along with the whole Lenten theme of repentance. A third thing is Zacchaeus's eagerness to see Christ, which was rewarded. If we look at religion as a chore, we're likely to get very little out of it. On the other hand, in the next few weeks, if we see Lent as a tree we can climb, we'll be rewarded by the sight of Christ.