167. The Lord Calls Zacchaeus to Repentance. Lk. 19:1–10

Then the Lord entered Jericho and was passing through it. And there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who was rich, and he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was short of stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he knew that Jesus would pass by there.

When the Lord Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him and said to him: “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hastened and came down and received him joyfully. And all who saw it began to murmur, saying that he had gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.

But Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord: “Lord! I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” The Lord Jesus said to him: “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”