As Thanksgiving approached, our family worked to find a time for most of our adult children to come home for the day; and my mind began to recall Thanksgiving meals of the past.  Our second Thanksgiving as husband and wife found us missing the big meal due to the extra early arrival of our tiniest blessings in 1984.  I have no idea who actually ate the meal prepared by my sister in law at Gary’s parents’ home.  Over the following years we took turns visiting my family or eating with Gary’s family . As our kids grew and our family expanded, we tended to have the meal in our own home more and more. Those memories of being a host have me remembering one of my favorite Bible stories – one of a very unlikely host. 

Zacchaeus was a tax collector in the town of Jericho.  In Jesus’ days on earth, tax collectors were not trusted members of their community.  They took more money than was necessary and kept the “extra” for themselves.  Zacchaeus had become a very wealthy chief tax collector through his years of taking more than was needed.  It is hard to imagine anyone wanting to be a guest at his home.  But one day he became a very unlikely host without any plans to do so.  

In the book of Luke we read the story of Jesus passing through Jericho. The road was full of people wishing to see Jesus. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus as well,  but he was too short to see over the crowds, so he climbed a tree. Surprisingly, when Jesus reached the spot where Zacchaeus was, He looked up and spoke to him saying, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately.  I must stay at your house today.”  Imagine the commotion that followed.  We read in those few verses in Luke 19 that the people muttered all about Jesus being the guest of a sinner.  

Zacchaeus was immediately a changed man and told Jesus he would give half his possessions to the poor and pay back those he had cheated four times the amount he had taken. I believe his determination to see Jesus changed his life in ways he had never considered. His determination also changed the lives of those he had cheated in ways they had most likely never imagined.  More importantly, his determination allows us to see that Jesus truly came for everyone to have the opportunity to learn of HIS FATHER’S love for them.  What a testimony the Unlikely Host had to share!  

As Thanksgiving week leads into the Christmas season, I hope that through any event I attend or host others see that Jesus is always present in my words and actions.  It is by his unexpected birth, death, and resurrection that we are able to one day live with Him – the most amazing HOST ever!  

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost,”   Luke 19:1-9, NIV