| Wisdom 11:22—12:2 2 Thessalonians 1:11—2:2 View Readings | Psalm 145:1-2, 8-11, 13-14 Luke 19:1-10 |
As chief tax collector, Zacchaeus must have been loathed by
his fellow Jews.
Remember tax collectors were seen as cheats and
collaborators with the Roman occupying forces and therefore betrayers of their
people.
Zaccheaus had become very wealthy, at the expense of
others. So, as chief tax collector he was
probably the most hated man in the community.
Yet, in Gospel story after Gospel story we hear how Jesus came to save
men just like Zaccheaus and just like us.
So, this Gospel story is for us very good news. Even someone who is despised and loathed,
guilty of extortion and theft, Jesus came to save.
Jericho, in the bible, is always a place of sin. So this story of Jesus passing through
Jericho is a story of Jesus coming into the life of sinners, inviting us into a
new relationship with God through himself.
As loathsome and sinful as Zaccheaus was, something inside
him urged him to seek out Jesus. Maybe
it was his dissatisfaction with his way of life. Maybe he saw how all of his wealth really
made him no less happier. But something drew him to seek out Jesus of
Nazareth.
Feelings of guilt are good, when they lead us to Jesus. Zaccheaus is the man who knows something is
wrong with his lifestyle, but doesn’t know how to change it. So he looks to a savior, the savior.
It wouldn’t have been emotionally easy for Zaccheaus to wade
through a crowd of people who hated him.
But he tried. And when he couldn’t
see Jesus, he went to another extreme measure.
He climbed a sycamore tree, not something a grown man would normally do,
especially not wearing fancy clothes like he was.
This cost him some physical and mental strain, but he did so
to know Jesus more deeply. Are you
willing, like Zaccheaus, to go, “out on a limb” to know Jesus more deeply?
Suddenly, the Lord looks up, and calling him by name, says,
“Zacchaeus, come quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” Almost the whole spiritual life is contained
in that one line…the Lord calling out to us personally, wanting to take up
residence in our life.
Jesus address this man by name and he invites himself into
the man’s house. The only people we
usually have in our homes are people we are close to, our families, close
friends, or people who we want to know better.
Jesus is saying to Zacchaeus, that’s the sort of relationship I want
with you, you public sinner, you hated man, I want to know you intimately, and
I want you to know me intimately. Salvation
from a sinful lifestyle always involves Jesus coming into our life, more
deeply.
What does the more intimate relationship with Jesus
entail? Spending more time with the Lord
in daily prayer, coming to mass throughout the week once and a while, stopping
into the Church once and a while to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament,
seeking the voice of the Lord by reading our Bibles at home throughout the
week. An intimate relationship requires
commitment and energy, and that’s the sort of relationship Jesus wants with us. But that renewed commitment and effort will
bring greater peace and joy.
Now, what was the crowd’s reaction to this exchange between
Zaccheaus and Jesus? They grumbled that
Jesus was staying in the house of a sinner.
If we decided to spend our lunch hour praying the rosary or reading
scripture, yes, our coworkers might grumble, perhaps even mock us.
Are we afraid of appearing enthusiastic about our Christian
faith? Why?
In I Corinthians, Paul tells us that we Christians are to be
fools for Christ, we shouldn’t be afraid of appearing foolish in the eyes of
the world.
Coworkers might call us fools for praying at work, we might
appear foolish for saying grace before our meals in a restaurant even at a
sports event, family members might call us fools for coming to Church every
week, government leaders might call us fools for supporting the Church’s
teaching on marriage and the dignity of human life; I know a priest whose
parents thought he was a fool for entering the seminary, they kicked him out of
the house, saying, “no son of mine will become a priest.” Today, he is a happy holy priest, a pastor of
a parish, and his family has since reconciled with the Church. But he was willing to risk appearing to be a
fool for the sake of following the Lord’s call.
Jesus on the sermon on the mount said, blessed are those who
are ridiculed because of me.
The encounter with the Lord filled Zaccheaus with joy and he
knew that was a changing point for his whole life. He said, “Behold, half of my possessions,
Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I
shall repay it four times over.” How foolish! Yet, he knew that the encounter with Jesus was life changing. he couldn't go back to the old way of life.
We see this story playing out over and over throughout
Christian history. In the life of St.
Francis, giving up, not just half his possessions, but all of his possessions
and embracing radical poverty in order to spread the God news of Jesus
Christ. Mother Theresa, likewise
embracing poverty to care for the poor of the poor.
A living saint brimming with joy and spiritual energy is so
powerful in bringing others to Christ. St. Bernard when entering the Cistercian
monastery brought 30 vocations with him including five of his brothers and two
of his uncles; countless Christians over the centuries have endeavored to
imitate St. Francis life of radical poverty for the sake of the kingdom.
Yet, you and I too, are called to draw others to Christ
through our joyful life of faith.
Why couldn’t Zacchaeus see the Lord? The crowd was in the
way. And we need to reflect very deeply,
have I made it hard for others to see Jesus, have I set a bad example, by
grumbling and arguing and blaming and complaining. Have I been cold, when I should have been
hospitable, have I been closed, when I should have been welcoming, have I been
selfish, when I should have been generous, have I been private about my faith,
when I should have been public in joyfully witnessing to the saving power of
Jesus? Have I made as much time for
Jesus as I have for pursuing my own ambitions?
Many of us made time for trick-or-treating this week, for
costumes, and decorations, but did we make time for the Holy Day of
Obligation. If we didn’t, we certainly
need, to make time for the sacrament of confession.
A challenging Gospel for all of us, but an open door as
well, to encounter the Lord calling out to us, inviting us into a deeper, more
intimate relationship with him, that we may extend that same invitation to
others, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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