9 ~ ZACCHAEUS

~ 9 ~

ZACCHAEUS ~
“Make haste and come down;
for I must stay at your house today.”

I prepare my heart for prayer
As I begin, I take a moment to become aware of the Lord present to me,
looking upon me with love, desiring to speak to my heart.

Prayerfully, I read Luke 19:1-10
After prayerfully reading, I ask for a grace I desire in this time of prayer.

Using my reasoning:

• Think about what is happening in the scene; what are the action words?
• Who are the people in the scene? What is the place? What things are described?
• What words catch my attention? What does this mean to me?

Using my imagination:

• Imagining myself in the scene – am I an observer or participant? To whom am I drawn?
• Using all of my senses – what do I see? What do I hear? What do I feel, smell or taste?

Reflect on what God is saying to my heart:

• As I reflect, I use my spiritual senses to acknowledge what is transpiring in my heart – my thoughts, feelings and desires. (Acknowledge means to see, to notice, to become aware of, to name.) This is important to do, as my thoughts, feelings and desires shape my actions.

• I look for the truth the Lord is communicating to me. I ask Jesus to give me his mind and his thoughts to see with the eyes of his heart what he wants to reveal to me today. How is Jesus calling me to apply this truth to my life?

Guided Reflection
Quoted from “An Ignatian Introduction to Prayer,”
by Father Timothy M Gallagher, O.M.V¹ 

I see the crowd, filling the narrow streets of Jericho. I see Jesus in the midst of them, passing through, on his way …

And I become aware of this figure, Zacchaeus, hoping for so little, simply to see the Lord … and unable to do so because of his small stature. He senses all that is wrong with his life, how he is rejected by his own people … and in his own eyes.

I see him move ahead of the crowd, climb the tree … and wait. I am near him, perhaps I take his place … I, too, long to see the Lord: “My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.’ / Hide not your face from me” (Ps 27:8-9). I wait …

And then, like Zacchaeus, I find that it is the Lord who sees me. He stops. He sets aside his journey, he seems almost to forget it entirely in his desire to see Zacchaeus, to see me …

He looks at me … “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down … I must stay at your house today.”

I sense the wonder and the joy in Zacchaeus as he realizes the desire of the Lord to be with him. He makes haste to respond … My own heart begins to grasp the desire of the Lord to be with me. I too respond …

Now they – we – are together in the house. What takes place between them? A meal? A conversation? I see Jesus and Zacchaeus together. I am there, with them.

What does Jesus say to him? To me? What does Zacchaeus say to Jesus? What do I share with Jesus about my life, my hopes, my fears, my desire to change?

Zacchaeus is made new … his whole life is filled with a new freshness and a new hope. With courage, the courage of Lord’s presence, the Lord’s love, the Lord’s words to him, he will make the changes … A new sense of hope fills my heart too …

“Today salvation has come to this house …” Today … I hear Jesus’ words, I sense the gift offered to me, even today as I pray. My heart responds …

I ask for this grace in this time of prayer:

Converse with God²

Acknowledge:

• What are the thoughts arising in my heart? I think …
• What are the feelings arising in my heart? I feel …
• What are the desires arising in my heart? I desire …

Relate:

I honestly relate these to God; I talk to him about them, trusting he is present and listening to me, his beloved child.

Receive:

• I listen to what the Lord wants to say to my heart, knowing his love is gratuitous and unconditional.  I receive his love and consolation. I trust he longs to console me, to encourage me, to strengthen me, to heal me, to forgive me …

• I allow him to lead me; perhaps returning to the scripture …

Respond:

• I conclude my prayer time speaking to Jesus, God the Father, and/or the Holy Spirit as I would speak to a friend. I may also invoke the intercession of Mary and the Saints.
(St. Ignatius calls this a colloquy.)

Praise him – give glory to God for who he is; for being all good and loving; for being my Lord and savior …

Thank him – for our time together; for his word to me; for the gifts he has given me today …

Ask him – for his help, grace, strength, wisdom, deeper faith …

• Based on what God is saying to my heart, I resolve to act in the following concrete way to love God and love neighbor (which could be something small). Today I will …

Rest in the Lord: Be still and know that I am God
Psalm 46:10

1 Gallagher, T., 2008. An Ignatian Introduction To Prayer: Scriptural Reflections According To The Spiritual Exercises. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company.

2 This way to converse with God in prayer often called ARRR is taught by The Institute for Priestly Formation out of Omaha Nebraska. For more information see Father Traynor, Scott (2013) The Parish as a School of Prayer and Dwyer, Karen and Lawrence (2011) WRAP Yourself in Scripture (IPF Publications).