Simply Fellowship Episode 2

Zacchaeus

WELCOME

Welcome to Above All Love. This is Simply Fellowship — the Good News, quietly told.

This is a gentle space. No pressure, no performance. You don't have to have it together to be here. You don't have to be respectable, or popular, or have a good reputation. You're welcome exactly as you are, wherever you are reading this.

If you need to take a break, step away and come back later — that's completely fine. There's no right way to be here. Just be here.

HYMN

We begin with a hymn verse. Read it slowly. You might want to sit with each line before moving on.

Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

PRAYER

Loving God,

Thank you for seeking us out — even when we have climbed our own trees to watch from a distance, not daring to get too close.

Help us to hear you calling our name today.

Give us the courage to come down and welcome you in.

May we know that we are seen, loved, and invited — by you.

Amen.

SCRIPTURE

Our reading today is from Luke chapter nineteen, verses one to ten, from the Easy English Bible.

Jesus went into Jericho and he was walking through the town. A man was there called Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and he was rich. He wanted to see who Jesus was. But he could not see him because of the crowd. He was not a tall man. So he ran ahead and he climbed up into a tree to see Jesus. Jesus would pass that way. Jesus came to that place and he looked up. He said to Zacchaeus, 'Come down quickly. I must stay at your house today.' Zacchaeus came down quickly and he was very happy to receive Jesus. The people who saw this were not pleased and they said, 'Jesus has gone to stay with a man who is a sinner.' But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 'Lord, I will give half of everything I own to poor people. And if I have cheated anyone, I will pay them back four times as much.' Jesus said to him, 'Today, God has saved this home. This man is also a son of Abraham. The Son of Man came to look for the people who are lost and to save them.'

DEVOTION

Zacchaeus is not a popular man. He collects taxes for the Roman occupiers — which means he takes money from his own people, and often takes more than he should. The crowd knows it. And Zacchaeus knows the crowd knows it.

So he doesn't push to the front. He finds a tree. He watches from a distance. Safe. Hidden. But still — curious. Still drawn to Jesus, even if he doesn't think he belongs anywhere near him.

And then Jesus stops. Looks up. And calls him by name.

Not to scold him. Not to expose him. To invite himself to dinner.

The crowd is outraged. This is not the right kind of person to sit with. But Jesus doesn't seem to notice, or perhaps he simply doesn't care. He has come to find the lost — and Zacchaeus, for all his money, is very lost indeed.

Something happens in that moment of being seen and welcomed. Zacchaeus comes down from the tree a different man. Before Jesus has even said a word about sin or repentance, Zacchaeus is already transformed by grace.

That's what love does. Not pressure. Not judgement. Love.

Many of us have been Zacchaeus. We've watched from a distance, not sure we'd be welcome. Not sure we're the right kind of person. Not sure God would want to come and stay at our house, given what our house is like.

But Jesus looks up into the tree and calls us by name.

WONDERING QUESTIONS

These aren't questions that need answers. They're just things to hold and sit with. You might want to pause here, step away from the screen for a few minutes, and let them settle.

I wonder what it felt like for Zacchaeus to be called by name when he expected to be ignored?

I wonder why he climbed the tree — was it just to see, or was there something more?

I wonder if you have ever watched from a distance, not sure you were welcome?

I wonder what it means that Jesus invited himself — that Zacchaeus didn't have to ask?

I wonder how it felt for Zacchaeus to come down from the tree?

I wonder what changed in him before Jesus said a single word about how he had lived?

I wonder if there is a tree you are sitting in right now — and if you can hear someone calling your name?

A Query — in the spirit of the Quaker tradition:

Is there any part of me that is hiding — watching Jesus from a safe distance — and waiting to be called by name and welcomed in?

A MOMENT OF QUIET

Before you read on, you might like to pause here. Close your eyes, or look out of a window. There's no rush. Just rest for a moment.

AN INVITATION

Before you go — a quiet word.

If you have never followed Jesus, or if you're not sure where you stand — you don't need a grand gesture or the right words. You just need to come down from the tree. Like Zacchaeus, you don't even have to ask first, because He has done the work. He has already called your name. If you want to respond, you might simply say, in your own words or in the quiet of your heart:

Here I am. I'm coming down. Come and stay with me.

And if you already follow him — if you have walked with Jesus for years, or are finding your way back after a long absence — may this be a moment of renewal. A reminder that you are still seen, still known, still called by name. The invitation is not just for beginners. It is for all of us, every day.

GOING OUT

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

May you know today that you are seen —

not from a distance,

but up close, and called by name.

May you come down from whatever tree you are hiding in

and find that Love has already arrived at your door.

May you go from this moment knowing you are welcomed —

not because you have earned it,

but simply because that is who God is.

Amen.

Thank you for being here. Above all, love.