HYMN FOR PENTECOST 21 Zaccheus
- Gracia Grindal
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Text and tune: Anonymous
Zacchaeus was a wee little man,
and a wee little man was he.
He climbed up into a sycamore tree,
for the Savior for to see.
And when the Savior passed him by,
he looked up in the tree,
[Spoken] and said, 'Zacchaeus, you come down,
for I'm coming to your house today
For I’m coming to your house today.'
Text: Gracia Grindal Tune: James E. Clemens
He climbed into the tree a rich man
To see Christ Jesus passing by,
Be when he clambered down to greet him
His idols he had trusted died
The idols he had trusted died.
For there before him stood Christ Jesus,
Our God in human flesh and form,
And as he felt the power of goodness,
Zaccheus vowed he would reform
Zaccheus vowed he would reform.
"I will returen to those I've cheated
Four times what I have filched from them."
Chrst said, "Salvation has been given
Unto this son of Abraham,
Unto this son of Abraham.
Zaccheus suddenly was richer
that he had ever been before.
Eternal life was now his portion,
An heir to life, no longer poor,
An heir to life, no longer poor.
Rejoice! that Jesus comes for sinners
And loves them for their company.
He climbed another tree to save us
And makes us rich eternally.
And makes us rich eternally.
REFLECTION
There is always time in a young child’s life when this song is perfect. I have loved to sing it for the young in my life—when they are about two. To be an older, elderly aunt prancing around singing it with the motions is one of the pleasures of my life. They look with bemusement at me. They like the wee part because they are wee. And so it is good news for them, that Jesus loves the small.
The good news doesn’t have to be much more than that. Jesus loves you. And wants to be with you. Of course, Luke, as a master story teller, is doing a lot more in this tale. He is showing how a man is utterly changed and made new by his encounter with Jesus. It is like a healing. A tax collector in the eyes of his countrymen at the time needed to be healed or changed. We get echoes of several other stories of healing in Luke’s language. One of my favorite echoes is with the song of Mary when the Angel Gabriel says what is impossible with humans is possible with God. God will do what is impossible: here he will save a rich man! Especially in Luke that is a miracle.
One also hears echoes of the healing of the woman with an issue of blood, or the poor woman of the street washing Jesus’ feet, or also the turning away of the rich young ruler whose riches prevent him from doing what Jesus says. Zaccheus after experiencing Jesus' love decides to reform his life.
This healing brings joy to Zaccheus and his entire household, and to those he has cheated. He will repay them far more than the law requires. He does this as a reaction to Jesus’ coming to him with grace. They must have had quite a party at his house when Jesus came to it.
Today he comes, the Scripture says. And Zacchaeus is restored to being a “son of Abraham.” All is set right. This is what we teach the little ones when we sing this song to them, joy all around when Jesus is there.
HYMN INFO
We know nothing about this chestnut of a Sunday school song, but it, like the best of them, doesn’t even need to be printed. We hear it a couple of times and we can sing it over and over again. Enjoy! The hymn I wrote on the story has a bit of jthat oy and maybe even humor in it. But even more so—Zaccheus climbed tree to find Jesus, Jesus hung on a tree to make his salvation possible!
LINKS
Praise in Motion Music
3LittleWords
Veggie Tales Official
NB:
For those thinking of Christmas gifts, you might consider the book Jesus the Harmony. It has a poem for every day of the year and Bible references for each poem that put Jesus in what has been called "the red thread of salvation." Many have been using it for daily devotions; others in group Bible studies.
Click here to check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145