How to make a fool of yourself…and do it right.

If you are like me, and most of the human race, you dread making a fool of yourself. But we never learn anything and we never grow till we are prepared to look stupid…at least for a short time. The Gospel story of next Sunday has a fine story about this. Zacchaeus was a leading tax collector who had become rich oppressing his fellow Jews while collaborating with the Roman enemy. You can be sure he was hated by those around him. When Jesus came to visit his town Zacchaeus was too short to see but he really wanted to see Jesus. So he went out on a limb literally, he climbed a tree. He was prepared to look like a dork to get what he wanted. No doubt the people around saw this as the chance to ridicule him. But Jesus didn’t – he looked into Zacchaeus’ heart and saw the opportunity for growth and change. Zacchaeus was so moved by Jesus’ kindness that he became a changed man. He even offered to pay back everyone he had cheated four times over and give half his possessions to the poor!

We all have times when we are fearful of stepping out and doing something different. Maybe it is going back to church, or going for the first time. Maybe it is the first AA meeting. Maybe it is going to TAFE or Uni or taking anger management classes. To get over our fear, we need to keep our eyes on our goal, and know that God is with us in such situations Talk to God and ask for God’s love and grace to strengthen you as you step out into the unknown.

Loving God, your Spirit moves within us calling us to grow but our fears can often overwhelm us. May the presence of Jesus give us the courage to take new steps to grow in life and love. We ask this in his name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris