One day, I thought about the Sunday school song, Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man. It got me thinking, what if Zacchaeus was a wee little cat? Well, you get this cartoon, of course!
Here are the lyrics:
Zacchaeus was a wee little man,
Anonymous
And a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see.
And as the Savior passed that way
He looked up in the tree,
And he said, “Zacchaeus you come down,
For I’m going to your house today!
For I’m going to your house today!”
We don’t know who wrote this song. But it’s been around since I was a wee little lad in Sunday school. Of course, we would sing it whenever our story for the morning was based on Luke 19:1–10. And if you would like to hear the tune, here is one version:
Why Does Zaccheaus’ Story Resonate With Us?
Zacchaeus’ story is so powerful because it’s one about redemption. It reminds us that no one is too far gone to turn from their current path. Anyone can have a new story.
However, we forget that, don’t we? We reason this person is too far gone and stuck in their ways. As a result, we label them and write them off. We find that we write off people and consider them unredeemable.
Jesus didn’t see people that way. The Pharisees complained that he hung around with notorious sinners. They didn’t just dabble in sin. They made a career of it, like tax-collecting Zacchaeus.
It was hard for the crowd to embrace what Jesus embraced. And it isn’t easy now. If I’m honest, it’s hard for me now. But this story in Luke’s gospel reminds me that no one is too far gone to be saved.
Cats and little men seem to be fascinated with trees. Boys especially love this story of Jesus calling a man out of a tree. Now there’s a story! I wonder if a cat was up there with Zacchaeus?
In the meantime, I imagine I will be humming this toon throughout the day. But I’ll be thinking about Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Cat!
Editor’s Note: I originally published this blog on October 6, 2015. I revamped and updated it for timeliness and comprehensiveness.
