Long before the actual beginning of Lent, the church announces its approach and invites us to enter into the period of pre-lenten preparation. It is a characteristic feature of the Orthodox Liturgical tradition that every major feast or season is announced and “prepared” in advance. Why? Because of the deep psychological insight by the Church into human nature. Knowing our lack of concentration and the frightening “wordiness” of our life, the Church knows our inability to change rapidly, to go abruptly from one spiritual or mental state into another. Thus, long before the actual effort of Lent is about to begin, the Church calls our attention to its seriousness and invites us to meditate on its significance. Before we can practice Lent, we are given its meaning. This preparation includes 5 consecutive Sundays preceding Lent, each of them- through its particular Gospel lesson - dedicated to some fundamental aspect of repentance.

Source : Fr Alexander Schmemann

Sunday of Zacchaeus - The very first announcement of Lent is made the Sunday that the Gospel lesson about Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) is read. It is the story of a man, Zacchaeus, who was too short to see Jesus but who desired so much to see Him that he climbed up a tree as Jesus was passing by. Jesus responded to his desire and went to his house. Zacchaeus also said “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” and Jesus responded, “Today salvation has come to this house.” Thus the theme of the first announcement of the church is desire. Zacchaeus desired the “right thing”; he wanted to see and approach Christ. The desire and effort to see Jesus begins the entire movement through lent towards Pascha. It is the first movement of salvation.

"Today salvation has come to this house" (Luke 19:9)

Sample discussion (from the Garden of the Theotokos Curriculum): After reading the story directly from the scriptures in Luke 19:1-10 - Why do you think we remember the story of Zacchaeus right before lent begins? Do you remember the word “desire”? What does it mean? It means that someone wants something very badly. We want to have a desire for Jesus just like Zacchaeus did. Before Lent begins, the Priest reads the story of Zacchaeus for us at Liturgy. And we must begin to pray and ask God to give us a desire for Him as big and strong as the desire that Zacchaeus had. This is how we want to begin our Lenten journey!

Activity Ideas:

• Go Tree Climbing! I can’t think of a more fun way to remember and connect with the story of Zacchaeus than by going tree climbing! You can even read the story from the Bible and act out the story!

• Memorize a Prayer O Lord, give me a strong desire for You just like Zacchaeus had. Amen

• Color an Icon of the story of Zacchaeus - The OCA has a number of FREE coloring pages available! If you click this link scroll down you will find one of Zacchaeus

Book Recommendations:

• For Biblical Stories, we prefer to read them directly from the source! Two of our favorite children’s Bibles are The Children’s Reader Bible (this story is on page 224) and The Picture Bible (page 630) which is illustrated much like a comic book

• Zacchaeus Meets Jesus : Level 1 (I Can Read Series) by Crystal Bowman

• For the adults: I highly recommend Great Lent by Alexander Schmemann. It is a simple read illuminating the liturgical tradition and it’s meaning, and it walks the reader through each week of the Pre-Lenten and Lenten journey. You can buy it through SVS Press HERE

Originally I had this information included in my February Guide, however I learned that different jurisdictions place this day on different days in the Liturgical Calendar, so instead, I’ve included it in its own post to eliminate any confusion! All that to say, this story and it’s significance during the pre-lenten weeks is still relevant!