Listen to this post:
Zacchaeus, a man from Jericho, climbed a sycamore tree so he could get a look at Jesus as he passed. When Jesus got to the spot, he looked up, saw Zacchaeus, and was so impressed that he went to the guy’s house for the night.
This caused some consternation with Jesus’ critics because Zacchaeus was a tax collector, and — then as now — tax collectors were not popular people.
Zacchaeus is back in the news right now because of Drew Breivogel, the coach of the Arizona team that made it to the Little League World Series.
During a game that Hawaii eventually won, the Arizona pitcher was struggling, and the coach went to the mound, as coaches do, to help settle down his young charge.
“So proud of you. So proud of you,” Breivogel told the young man during the mound visit, which was televised and is now a viral clip. “I’ve known you since you were 8. Not a lot of people get to see the fruit of the labor that you put in, right? Remember Zacchaeus in the Bible? Someone planted that tree 30, 40 years prior so he could climb up into it. Salvation! We’re talking salvation! It’s a baseball game. If you walk the next five guys, Jesus is still Lord. If you strike out the next five guys, guess what? Jesus is still Lord. OK? I love you. Have some fun.”
I did a little web-searching and found an article that said Breivogel’s mound visit “divided fans.” Apparently the TV feed set up the coaches with microphones so viewers could listen in on moments like this. Although a lot of people found Breivogel’s talk inspiring, there were more than a few people who thought it was inappropriate. Not only that, said the naysayers,“he only said that because he knew the mic was live.”
I just have to sigh sometimes. It’s amazing what some people find divisive.
But guess what? If he was trying to calm his pitcher down and inspire him, Jesus is still Lord. And if he was trying to showboat for a TV audience, Jesus is still Lord.
