The Trumpet Sounds Within My Soul
“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man, he could not see over the crowd.” Luke 19: 2-3
Zacchaeus was a very wealthy chief tax collector living in Jericho. On one occasion, when Jesus was to pass through town, Zacchaeus was determined to see who He was. The crowds on this occasion were massive, so Zacchaeus, driven by compulsion, climbs into a sycamore tree to fulfil his mission!
“But Zacchaeus, what unimaginable force lay behind a man of your position and notoriety to undertake such seeming ridiculous action? Scaling the heights of a sycamore tree, indeed”! Do you not hear the insulting vibes from the jeering crowds?”
A subsequent condemnation of Zacchaeus by his fellow citizens was a summary statement concerning him: ” This man is no child of Abraham as we are; he is a sinner”. Zacchaeus knew only too well the pain of such exclusivity, based mainly upon his profession. But, as revealed later in this account, he would give virtually anything to be called “friend” by another human!
Undoubtedly, a power mightier than anything found in this world often visited the profound loneliness of this man’s soul.
There is, available to every member of the human family, a capacity that turns ashes into roses and loneliness into a symphony of love. This capacity is what Zacchaeus found, or more precisely, It found Zacchaeus!
Truthfully, it matters not how one identifies this occurrence; it is undeniably a part of our humanness, an intervention by otherworldliness.
We are left to ponder the details of the seeming outside intervention involving Zacchaeus. Perhaps it started with his experiences of empty aloneness! It was so with Jesus while in the desert during His temptations. The record informs us that,t finally, angels came and ministered to Him.
Day and night, night and day, whether in the tax booth or walking along the seashore with the lonely cry of the seagulls accompanying him, Zacchaeus was alone! Truthfully, it is often the long night watches, when sleep evades us, that God selects as His time of visitation. Or, as the African American Spiritual has it:
“My Lord, calls me,
He calls me in the thunder.
His trumpet sounds within my soul.
I ain’t got long to stay here”.
Before the present narrative begins, it is evident that ” The trumpet of the Lord ” sounded clearly in Zacchaeus’s soul. Now, its sound obliterates the sounds of mistrust and suspicion against him and any self-ponderance of what some might see as inappropriate behaviour disappeared like a morning mist.
In a candid statement, Luke tells us much in just a few words. Zacchaeus “wanted to see who Jesus was”. On this occasion, Zacchaeus notices the enthusiastic crowds, their faces glowing with delight and approval. He recognises almost every face in the present group, but in their closer company, he sees only faces reflecting hearts of stone.
And then, the outcome! The final part of the narrative. Let the trumpet now play a version of “The Hallelujah Chorus!” Zacchaeus no longer has to stay in the place of constant longing and ill-fated dreams.
No more is Zacchesus besieged by thoughts of being equipped by God to share some innate goodness with his neighbours and friends who, until this moment, have rejected him. But listen, there is not to be anywhere found a human being who bears the likeness of God, who is not equipped to share some personal gift for the betterment of his race.
Listen to the trumpet sounding in your soul and live as a child of God. Be eager to be inclusive, and see worth in all you meet. Be quick to love and slow to judge. Remember Jesus’ admonishment to the critics of Zacchaeu: Zacchaeus, too, is a child of God!
( Luke 19: 9-10)
A Prayer to follow this meditation
My Father,
The sound of Your trumpet in my soul is an
occurrence for which I am eternally grateful.
Sometimes, when the cares of this world weigh me down and threaten to overwhelm me, Your trumpet refocuses my soul to walk with You beside the still waters and into the green fields.
Sometimes, when words of faith are derided and made light of in the group, the temptation is to blend anonymously into the background. The trumpet sounds within my soul. Fear evaporates, and the Lord provides the opportunity to offer His defence in love.
Other times, I hear Your trumpet in the dark of the night when sleep refuses to interrupt the not-so-pleasant memories of my day’s performance. Then the trumpet’s sounding announces God’s calling time, and, before long, in complete reassurance, I fall asleep in Your arms.
Father, in Your merciful love, may I continue to hear Your trumpet’s guiding sound until I reach the gates of my heavenly home.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hymn: Where He Leads ME, I Will Follow
https://youtu.be/e9FqFC0WA-o?si=5F2H_zpPR8skoxEe