April 18: Of reflection struggles, pie crust promises, and forgiveness

Joshua 16:1-18:28

Luke 19:1-27

Psalm 87:1-7

Proverbs 13:11

It took me a long time - 2 extra days - to understand what to write, after reading Monday's readings.  You see, it took reading this a few time before I was led to wonder about Zacchaeus - the small tax collector unable to see Jesus, who climbs a sycamore-fig tree so he could watch Our Lord pass.  There were crowds obviously, but when Jesus comes to the tree, He picks Zacchaeus out and asks to stay in his house that day.  The people start to mutter about the suitability of Jesus's choice, start to point out the kind of man Jesus has chosen to be with, and before you know it, Zacchaeus blurts out that he would give half his possessions to the poor, and repay back any fraud he might committed fourfold.  And Jesus proclaims that salvation has come upon Zacchaeus's house that day.

What struck me, though, was the realization we don't know whether or not Zacchaeus followed through on his word.  We don't know whether his declaration was one from the heart, or one triggered by the unwanted attention, the peer pressure, the desire to better to his neighbors than the sinner he knew he was.  We don't know if he'd made what was, to quote Mary Poppins, "a pie crust promise - easily made, easily broken".  If it had been, it would not have been the only one - just a short time later, Peter would declare his unfailing loyalty to Jesus, and then deny Him thrice when He'd been arrested.

Have you ever done that?  Made a pie-crust promise to our Lord?  I certainly have.  My life is littered with crumbs from the the innumerable pie crust promises I've broken.  And it sometimes tends to get very discouraging.  

The good news is that it didn't seem to matter to Jesus.  We know He continued to love Peter after the betrayal, even commissioning him to "feed My sheep".  And we know that it didn't matter to Jesus when He was with Zacchaeus, because not only did He stay with him, He proclaimed that salvation had come to Zach's house.  And He declared that He had not come because of Zach's pie crust promise - nor mine, for that matter.  He came to seek and to save the lost.  Thank God for that.