Luke 19:1-10 tells of a tax collector named Zaccheus whose life changed after Jesus came through his town. According to the story, there was a crowd gathered and Zaccheus, as curious as the others about who and what this man might be, climbed a tree to get a better view, because he was a short guy and couldn’t see over all those heads.
A friend of mine once suggested that Zaccheus might have had a secondary motive in climbing the tree. Perhaps his idea of a “better view” of Jesus included obscurity for himself. He was, after all, a “bad guy” in the perception of the people and most likely in reality as well; tax collectors were unwelcome at best, with broad opportunities for graft. As my friend put it, “perhaps for Zaccheus personally, the Good News threatened to be bad news.”
If hiding from Jesus was, indeed, part of his plan, it didn’t work for Zaccheus any better than it does for the rest of us. Jesus went right up to that tree, spoke to him, and even invited himself to his house. Busted! The masses, of course, found plenty to gossip about in that. But for Zaccheus the news was Good after all, as he was accepted as a worthy man and freed up to meet his potential as such.
There are many examples in traditions, literature, and our very own lives when bad news turns into Good. Some unwelcome events become huge blessings in disguise. Others bring significant loss, but even tragedy holds the potential for Good. Time for adjusting must be respected, but it seems we start seeing and living into the Good that is always there as we are able to stop resisting the change.
Leckie Conners
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