The life of St Zaccheus
Jesus stopped beneath it, called him down by name, and asked to stay at his house that day. Moved by this, Zacchaeus repented openly, promising to give half his wealth to the poor and to repay four times over anyone he had ever cheated.
After the Lord's Ascension, Zacchaeus became a companion of the apostle Peter on his travels, and church tradition holds that Peter in time made him bishop of Caesarea in Palestine. There he served his flock faithfully and died in peace. His encounter with Christ, brief as it was, is read each year on the Sunday that opens the season leading into Great Lent, remembered as the moment a man climbed down from hiding to be truly seen.
