Only Luke tells us the lovely story about Zacchaeus. Jesus has just arrived in Jericho on his way to Jerusalem and all that that means. There is a man called Zacchaeus who was not only a tax collector but a chief tax collector. This made him a doubly despised man in his community. He was taking money from his own people and giving it to the hated colonial power, Rome, and, in the process, making a tidy profit for himself. But even he wanted to see Jesus - but very discreetly - from the shelter of the leaves of a sycamore tree. To his surprise - shock? - Jesus saw him and invited himself to Zacchaeus' house. The people are disgusted. Of all the people in Jericho, Jesus has to pick the most hated person in the town. Unlike Jesus, they did not know their man. Because he was a tax collector, the people only saw a despised stereotype. But Zacchaeus was not like that at all - he is going to give half of what he owns to the poor and to repay four times whatever he may have cheated people of. Once again, Jesus sees the real person behind the public image. This is something we have to learn to do all the time.