‘G etting on….and….falling out.’ Forgive and forget…the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus, the tax collector.

Working together and playing together is not always easy, as we all know. We have rules and codes of behaviour to help us get along.

As we grow up we learn social skills to help us work together to solve conflicts when things go wrong. Co-operate Communicate; talk & listen Respect others Help Share Control anger Negotiate

What qualities do we want our friends to have? Be kind Be honest Be thoughtful Have courage Be respectful Have confidence in themselves

What characteristics would we prefer our friends NOT to have?

We all need good friends. Good friends make our lives happy and friends look after us, they share their toys and listen to us when we need to talk.

Sometimes we do fall out with our friends. What could friends fall out about?

How could friends get together again and ‘make up’? Co-operate Communicate; talk & listen Respect others Help Share Control anger Negotiate

When Jesus lived in Palestine his homeland wasn’t ruled by his own people, but by the Romans, another country. A huge Roman army had marched into Palestine and conquered it and the people had to serve the Romans and do as they were told.

Every family in Palestine had to pay taxes to the Romans and all the money was sent to Rome. The Romans made local people collect the taxes, these people were called ‘tax collectors’ and they were hated by the people in Palestine.

The man they hated most was Zacchaeus because, not only did he collect the taxes for the Romans, but he also overcharged people and made money for himself too.

Zacchaeus was shouted at by everybody and no one wanted to be his friend.

One day, Jesus visited the town where Zacchaeus lived. Zacchaeus wanted to go and hear Jesus speak, but he knew he would have to be careful because if people in the crowd saw him they would shout at him.

So, he climbed a tree and watched as Jesus spoke to the crowd. All the people in the town were gathered there and they invited Jesus back to their homes so he could eat and rest.

“Come and eat at my house, Jesus” said one. “Have a rest at mine,” invited another. But Jesus, politely, turned down their invitations and he looked around the crowd.

Jesus saw Zacchaeus and called out, “Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus, come down from the tree. I am tired and hungry and I am coming to eat and rest at your house, with you.

Zacchaeus was shocked and nearly fell out of the tree! The crowd was angry and they yelled and shouted, “He is a thief!” “He steals our money!” “Why are you going to eat with him?” “A holy man should eat with honest people!”

Jesus and Zacchaeus talked. After Jesus left the city, Zacchaeus changed. He was so affected by what Jesus did and said to him, that he gave all of his money to the poor.

What do you think Jesus might have said to Zacchaeus? What do you think Zacchaeus might have been thinking?

We all need good friends. Zacchaeus was a mean, greedy man who took money from people. Until Jesus was kind to him Zacchaeus had no friends and was very lonely. After Jesus showed him how to be friends Zacchaeus became a generous, caring man and he felt much happier.

Dear Lord God, We should be good friends to each other and try to see the good in other people. Please help us to be good friends and when we fall out with our friends help us to make friends again, Amen.