a gentle sort of kindness

“[Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”” (Luke 19:1-10, NAS95S)

The tax collector, Zaccheus, was shunned by society, hated and despised by his fellow Jews and scoffed at by the Romans for selling out his own people. When he climbed that low hanging tree, it was not primarily because he was short or because he didn’t want deal with the inconvenience of pushing through the crowd. I think it was because nobody in the crowd would stand aside to let him in to see Jesus. The crowd was pressed in before him, and he was of course pushed out. You know the scene. It is not so different from when you were in gradeschool and your classmates, gathered in a circle, would not break the circle to let you stand with them. Likewise, Zaccheus was excluded.

But you know what? Jesus saw him immediately. And what He said there in that place was something that today rarely leaves the lips of believers. Our Lord, with words of confidence and joy invited Zaccheus to come and be a part of His life.

The Holiest of men, the creator of all wisdom, accepted this sinner on the spot. And more than that he showed interest in him and an expressive love for him. Notice how he makes no mention of Zaccheus’ secret extortions. Instead, he does something amazing, he gives him a chance to rise on his own. Jesus gave Zaccheus the opportunity to come, and from out of his own initiative, set right his wrongs. Jesus did not tell Zaccheus what he thought he should do. But He assessed the situation and instead let Zaccheus think for himself.

I think as Christians we are very sensitive to other people’s sins and quick to point them out or offer suggestions as to how we think it best to remedy them. I do not think this is wrong, and in fact I know it can be very fitting at times. But when people are broken and their countenance has fallen, when they are crushed by their own failures these sorts of words only bring discouragement and increase the weight of shame on their shoulders. Our good Lord showed a kindness in this encounter that we should strive to imitate. It is a kindness that stands beside the broken, helps to bear the weight of their shame and speaks confidence into their lives. It is a soft-spoken, gentle, and deeply loving word. An act of understanding and a silent expression of unconditional and unchanging love. Jesus was the Master of discerning the state of man. This sort of kindness only comes with close obsevation to the mental, emotional and spiritual condition of a person. In Christ’s words as well as in His acts there is a sort of careful subtlety that we often forego in order to speak our minds and indulge our desire to preach.

The deepest acts of kindness are often found in those moments when shame and wretchedness are cast aside, and the broken are given the chance to rise again, albeit on weak knees and unsteady legs. The Lord Jesus has done it for us, let us do it to one another. Pay attention to the faces and voices of our brothers and sisters, they speak volumes to the condition of their souls.