In imagining Zacchaeus as only vertically-challenged, we risk missing three other key points about him. He was: 1) a tax collector, 2) rich, and 3) seeking to see who Jesus was.

We know that tax collectors were hated in Jesus’ day because they were seen as traitors (taking from Jews and giving to the Romans) and cheats (skimming a ton of money off the top). What is most inspiring about Zacchaeus, however, is that he recognizes that the security of his wealth is not fulfilling, which leads him to seek out Jesus. He finds something far greater than wealth and power, and this encounter changes his life.

Zacchaeus is much like today’s saint, Elizabeth of Hungary, the daughter of a King who abandoned her wealth for a life of asceticism and service. May we have the courage to see, as they did, that there are far greater things in life than financial security and prestige.

—Dan Dixon, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province studying at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, CA.  

Prayer

O God, by whose gift Saint Elizabeth of Hungary recognized and revered Christ in the poor, grant, through her intercession, that we may serve with unfailing charity, the needy, and those afflicted. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

—From the Collect for the Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary