What Does Jesus Want You to Know?

The Word Among Us Press Sample - Not for Printing

“Honey, what are you drawing?” asked a mother, morning coffee in hand, as she watched her little girl. “Mommy, I’m drawing a picture of God,” the girl replied. Chuckling a bit, the mother said, “Well, honey, that’s nice, but nobody knows what God looks like,” to which the girl responded, “Mommy, you will when I’m done.” Jesus said something quite similar—not about a drawing, but about himself: “Whoever has seen me

As Jesus comes into this town, a wealthy tax collector named Zacchaeus is provoked to curiosity and wants to see this Jesus of Nazareth. Tax collectors, scorned by their fellow Jews, worked for the Roman government and had the option to take a little extra for themselves. They were seen as untrustworthy sinners—disgraceful swindlers to avoid at all costs. Zacchaeus, a short man, can’t see Jesus because of the crowds. So he runs up ahead and climbs a tree. Having no idea what God has in store for him, he just wants a chance to see Jesus. As it happens, Jesus comes directly under the tree and looks up to Zacchaeus. He calls him by name, saying,

from his heart and says to Jesus, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over” (Luke 19:8), to which Jesus replies, “Today salvation has come to this house. . . . For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost” (19:9, 10). From the moment Jesus looks at Zacchaeus and addresses him by name, God the Son reveals that he wants a relationship with him. By inviting himself into Zacchaeus’ home—a personal space reserved for family and friends—Jesus offers him a personal friendship. Zacchaeus understands, and his heart is radically transformed. While he has sought happiness through an accumulation of wealth, he now recognizes his true purpose—a relationship with God that frees him to respond generously with the wealth he has acquired. Knowing that he is seen, known, and loved by God is a treasure that changes his whole perspective on his search for happiness.

doubts, or sins seem to get in the way of your ability to receive his love, his peace, and his joy? What treasures have you hoped in that have not brought you the happiness you sought? Just like the little girl who drew a picture of God, Jesus wants you to know what God looks like. And what does God look like? God is a loving Father who created you and has joy, purpose, and peace for you that’s found in him. Pope Benedict XVI said this:

The Word Among Us Press Sample - Not for Printing has seen the Father” (John 14:9). To a world struggling to know who God is, what God is like, and what his will is, Jesus says, in effect, “You will when I’m done.” Jesus came to reveal the Father in himself. The Letter to the Hebrews says that the Son is the exact representation of God, “the very imprint of his being” (1:3). So as we look at Jesus’ life—his words and his actions— we are looking at God himself.

It’s personal.

In Luke 19:1-10, we read that as Jesus is passing through the affluent town of Jericho, large crowds follow him—not only to hear his profound teachings, but also to behold the signs and wonders that accompany him. The crowds follow him in hopes that he might truly be the Messiah, the Christ, whom God had promised through the prophets and who would rescue his people from every kind of oppression.

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“Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19:5).

Zacchaeus comes down quickly. By the time he’s on the ground again, he is already a changed man. While some people murmur and grumble about this rabbi going into the home of a sinner, Zacchaeus speaks

It’s life changing.

Zacchaeus isn’t the only one whom Jesus calls by name, looks in the eye, and beckons into greater freedom through friendship with God. The risen Jesus, present to us now through the Holy Spirit, continues to do this for each one of us.

The source of Christian joy is the certainty of being loved by God, loved personally by our Creator, by the One who holds the entire universe in his hands and loves each one of us and the whole great human family with a passionate and faithful love, a love greater than our infidelities and sins, a love which forgives. (June 5, 2006)

That’s the good news—the life-changing good news of God’s freely given, unconditional, proactive, and personal love. Every time we come to know it—to know Jesus— even a little more, it changes our lives.

What tree must you climb to seek Jesus?

What do you need to do to see him and hear him above the noise and commotion of the crowds? What fears,