'Dudus, come to Jesus'

THE EDITOR, Sir:

DEAR CHRISTOPHER, I would like to tell you a story and, as you read it, I ask you to stretch your imagination a bit!

It is the story of a man who was a thief. He had gained a fortune by very shady means. If it had been the year 2010, he could have been involved in many of the things you are now accused of: extortion, gun-running, drug dealing, womanising, etc.

In this man's case, he had become wealthy and, as we would say in our Jamaican dialect, he had 'money fi stone dawg'. On the surface, he seemed happy. He had a mansion, maybe many like you do, but in his heart, he was a lonely man. Let's give him an address. It was situated along Redemption Avenue, off tree-lined Jericho Boulevard.

From the people he oppressed on daily basis, he had heard the story of a man called Jesus who had been visiting the area for almost two years. Fantastic stories had been told about Him. He healed both those sick in mind and body - the lame and the halt. The bottom line is: He gave desperate men and women a desire to go on living.

Our man knew he had to meet this Jesus. But how could he do it? Here he was, wealthy, lacking nothing of this world's goods but he couldn't get a meeting with Jesus. His countrymen hated him for several reasons. He had sold them out of their oppressors; then he turned around and exacted taxes from them and handed it over to the same oppressors. To add insult to injury, he stole some of the taxes and flaunted his ill-gotten wealth before them.

Troubled conscience

Now this man's conscience was troubling him in no small way. He wanted to see Jesus but he could not do it in the normal way. He devised a plan. You see, aside from all the failures in his dealings with his people, there was a physical drawback. He was very short. Even if this man had been able to blend in with the crowd, he would not have been able to get a glimpse of this Jesus whom he so badly wanted to see.

So Zacchaeus, for that was his name and you can read all about him in the Bible, knowing that Jesus was going to pass along Jericho's main rod, decided to climb a tree from where he could get a full view of the Saviour. The added advantage to this plan was that nobody would see him. But do you know what happened? When Jesus came down Jericho Boulevard with a large crowd following Him, he stopped directly under that tree - a sycamore - and he looked up and spoke to the man hiding in the tree. This is what he said to him:

"Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must dine with you at your house ... . This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he is also a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Christopher, it didn't matter how people felt about Zacchaeus. It was not important what he had done up that point in his life. What mattered was that Jesus pardoned him and set him free.

Today, Jesus can do the same for you. No more will you be a hunted fugitive, separated form your loved ones, fearful of being mowed down by those who are searching for you and those who want to silence you.

Please break the cycle that has controlled your life thus far. Rumour has it that your father led a similar life to yours and in the end he was destroyed by those who were supposed to be his friends. Do not pass on that legacy to your children. Give them the chance of experiencing the simple joy of living.

Jesus is standing under the tree where you are hiding. He is calling to you: "Christopher, make haste and come down, for today I must dine with you at your house."

I am, etc.,

Leonie Roberts