As I say in the reading guide, Zacchaeus is a wonderful example as we prepare for the arrival of Lent. He didn't hold back from being foolish. He just wanted to see Jesus, and he didn't care how silly he had to look to do that. How often do we back off from expressing our faith, just to keep from standing out in the crowd? Zacchaues is a reminder to never let anything hold us back from Christ.
Additionally, Zacchaeus is a model of repentance. He didn't just mumble a half-hearted apology for his actions and go right back to his old tricks. Zacchaeus turned around. He went the other way. He really and truly changed. That's the challenge of Lent. Reflect. Change. And mean it when you say it! Zacchaeus Sunday is our wake up call. It's that reminder that Lent is on its way, whether you're ready or not!
This is the last Sunday in ordinary time. Next week, we'll launch into the Lenten Triodion, and the taste of the season will be in the air. Today, we don't even have a troparion to sing to Zacchaeus. Nothing marks him liturgically except for the Gospel reading of his story. He's not flashy, but he's poignant just the same.
So, we did our first reading tonight. The older kids read the Scripture and the guide, and my four year old read the Zacchaeus story to us from her children's Bible. Then, it was craft time. In our family, I will try to incorporate at least one craft or other young children's activity per week. I will also try to match the Scripture readings to her Bible if at all possible. The rest of the time, she'll just absorb what she can from our reading and color icon pages while we read aloud.
I used this craft idea. We made a sycamore tree to represent Zacchaeus. First, my older daughter, Lonna, helped the younger one, Hilary, trace her arm to use as the tree trunk.
Then, Hilary cut out the trunk and glued it to a piece of construction paper.
Next, she colored sycamore leaves to glue on the branches. My husband took this image, shrunk it down, and created a custom sycamore leaf coloring page. Any leaves would do, though.
The result was a stylish sycamore tree, and hopefully a little bit of a lesson on willing to be a bit foolish for Christ.
Speaking of young children absorbing things, I share this story. Saturday morning, my husband and I were in our room trying to decide whether we could drag ourselves out of bed on such a gloomy morning. Hilary came into our room, walked up to the side of the bed, and said, "Oh, Daddy! I had the most wonderful dream! It was beautiful!" We smiled to ourselves at her sweet, soft voice. I asked, "What was it about?" She answered, "Church." My heart swelled. Could it be? She got it. She finally got it! Perhaps it was the smell of the incense that filled her dream. Perhaps there were bells or four part harmony flooding her brain as her sweet, angelic face slumbered on her pillow. That's what I was thinking, UNTIL...."Yes, I dreamed about Church. We had toast with syrup on it and sprinkles and whipped cream. It was delicious!"
My four year old was so touched by her wonderful, beautiful dream...of coffee hour! Sigh. Oh, well. At least we were in the same building as the altar.
My point is, don't hold back from sharing your faith with your children. No, they won't get it all the first time. Or the second, or the hundredth. Heck, I still have to hear the same things over and over. Why should they be any different? I don't think Hilary understands repentance. She can't explain the theological significance of this date in the liturgical cycle. But she knows that there was once a man named Zacchaeus who followed Jesus. And maybe that will be just enough to make her want to follow, too. Toast and sprinkles aside, the Church fills her dreams. It's my job to make sure it fills her life, as well.
Read Scripture with your kids. Pray together. Let them see you pray by yourself. Take them to church. Talk about God when you see a beautiful flower or when there's a bump in the night. They'll get it. They will. The greatest example to them will be your desire to share. They'll see that it matters to YOU, and that...that will make all the difference.
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