Reading: Making Amends

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ “

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “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.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”

Note: Jewish law required a wrongdoer to pay restitution to the victim (e.g., Ex. 22). When Zacchaeus said he would pay back four times what he had taken, he was applying Old Testament law to his situation. Then Zacchaeus went beyond the law’s requirements by promising to give half his possessions to the poor. This was something additional he chose to do to repair the harm he had caused.

What does it mean to make amends? The act of making amends consists of an attempt to pay back or remedy in some form for loss or harm resulting from wrongdoing. When an offender tries to make amends, he or she shows a willingness to take responsibility for the offense, and manifests the sincerity of his or her confession of and repentance for it.

Restitution is one way of making amends. Other ways can include personal services to the victim or community service. In whatever way, an offender seeks to give something back in order to make up, to the extent possible, for the victim’s loss or harm.

For some victims, an offender’s deep, sincere, and humble confession and apology are important ways to make amends. Amends does not make the harm disappear. Yet it does acknowledge that the offender owes a debt to the victim and community and seeks to pay that debt. In this way, the offender’s efforts to make amends can play a vital role in repairing harm, restoring material or non-material loss, and contributing to possible reconciliation with the victim.

Used by permission - www.restorativejustice.org - a ministry of Prison Fellowship International