我总觉得撒该的故事很吸引人。
撒该听闻耶稣将要进城；关于耶稣的事已被传开了，撒该也很想见见衪。但那时人头涌涌，撒该便爬到树上，为要在耶稣经过时看到衪。然而耶稣却在撒该爬上去了的那棵树前停了下来，祂抬头望着他和对他说：“撒该，快下来！今天我必住在你家里。”
听到这句话的群众感到非常惊讶——是一种不赞许的惊讶！撒该是一个为罗马人收税的税吏，人们都视税吏为贪婪的卖国贼，他们从当地勤奋的居民身上取利。
然而群众目睹撒该改变了。他慷慨地捐助穷人，又四倍偿还给曾被他讹诈的人。整个场景和耶稣与其他很多人的接触都不同。耶稣不是医好撒该身体上的疾病，也没有赐食物或水给撒该。事实上，耶稣向撒该却有所要求——就是要住在他家里。
你若跟我有一样的想法，你可能会等待人的邀请才与他们相聚——特别是在你忙碌时更是如此。然而，神有没有提示你在今天要与哪一个人联系呢？
神啊，我为你在我周围的人身上所有的工作感谢你。求你帮助我看到，谁是我可以接触和联系的人。阿们。
路加福音 19:1-9
1耶稣进了耶利哥，正经过的时候，
2有一个人名叫撒该，做税吏长，是个财主，
3他要看看耶稣是怎样的人。只因人多，他的身量又矮，所以不得看见。
4就跑到前头，爬上桑树，要看耶稣，因为耶稣必从那里经过。
5耶稣到了那里，抬头一看，对他说：“撒该，快下来！今天我必住在你家里。”
6他就急忙下来，欢欢喜喜地接待耶稣。
7众人看见，都私下议论说：“他竟到罪人家里去住宿！”
8撒该站着对主说：“主啊，我把所有的一半给穷人，我若讹诈了谁，就还他四倍。”
9耶稣说：“今天救恩到了这家，因为他也是亚伯拉罕的子孙。
"Zacchaeus . . . said to the Lord, '. . . Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.'" - Luke 19:8
The story of Zacchaeus always fascinates me.
Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming to town. Word had spread about Jesus, and Zacchaeus wanted to get a glimpse of him. The crowds were so thick that Zacchaeus had to climb a tree in order to see Jesus pass by. But then Jesus stopped right in front of the tree Zacchaeus was in, looked up at him, and said, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."
The crowd overhearing this exchange was surprised—and not in a good way! Zacchaeus was a tax collector for the Romans, and the people saw tax collectors as greedy collaborators who took advantage of hardworking local citizens.
But then the crowd watched Zacchaeus transform. He gave generously to the poor, and he paid back four times what he had cheated from people. This whole scene was unlike so many of Jesus' other interactions with people. Jesus didn't heal Zacchaeus from a physical illness. He didn't give Zacchaeus food or water. In fact, Jesus asked Zacchaeus for something—a place to stay.
If you're like me, you might tend to wait for an invitation from someone to spend time with them—especially when you're busy. But is there anyone whom God might be prompting you to connect with today?
God, thank you for all of your work in the lives of the people around me. Please help me to see whom I can reach out to and connect with. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
