癤?
The Encounter
(Luke 19:1-8)

Our life is series of various meetings. We can enjoy happy life through blessed meetings during our lives. The most important meeting is to meet Jesus. Meeting with Jesus makes our life renewed and changes our destiny. Today?셲 scripture reading tells us how Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, was completely transformed after meeting Jesus.

1. The person who lives in problems
Before meeting Jesus Christ, Zacchaeus was blamed by his fellow-Jews. His name represented ?쁝 person of righteousness and integrity??but his life was very opposite from what his name meant. As a chief tax collector of Roman Empire, he became wealthy by extortion ??taking money from his fellow-Jews. However, he had emptiness which couldn?셳 be filled with anything else in the world. Likewise, people in the world live in amid of empty feeling, fighting against vainness and meaninglessness because it?셲 impossible to be truly satisfied without God. Therefore we should live humbly thinking of our last day. Then, we can live a meaningful life thinking of God, who is the Absolute.

2. The person who meets Jesus
Zacchaeus was troubled with problems of emptiness in life, which couldn?셳 be solved by money or power in the world. He had heard about Jesus who healed the sick, raised a dead person, and became a friend of sinners as well as tax-collectors. And he heard that Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through and he wanted to see Him. However, he encountered a big obstacle hindering him from seeing Jesus. He was too short to see Jesus, because the road was surrounded by enormous crowds. But he never gave up, so he climbed up the sycamore-fig tree to see Jesus. At that moment, Jesus looked up him, called his name, and said to him that Jesus would stay at his house. Zacchaeus willingly welcomed Jesus and Jesus gave him the grace of salvation. What kinds of obstacles do you have to meet Jesus Christ? You need to jump over the obstacles with faith. And meet Jesus. Once you meet Jesus, you will have true solace of soul.

3. The person who has been transformed
Zacchaeus was entirely transformed after meeting Jesus. Even Zacchaeous promised to give half of his possessions to the poor and decided to pay back four times the amount if he would cheat anybody out of anything. After meeting Jesus, his value was greatly shifted from living for himself to living for his neighbors and God. The master of his life was no more money. He realized that the owner of his life was Jesus Christ. Once we meet Jesus, we can be transformed just like Zacchaeous could. A person who loves the world can be transformed to a person who loves God. A person living for his or her interest will live for the glory of God. He or she can live a happy life by getting out of miserable life.