Homily: 33rd Week of OT - Tuesday - Zacchaeus and the Dark Night of the Soul

“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, addressing us by name, wanting to come ever deeper into our life, wanting to come stay in our houses, in our souls.

In the 15th Century, St. John of the Cross wrote a poem called “On a Dark Night” or “The Dark Night of the Soul” in which the human soul, finally having freed itself from worldliness and selfishness, meets God in mystical union.  The poem begins:

One dark night,

fired with love's urgent longings

- ah, the sheer grace! - 

I went out unseen,

my house being now all stilled.

In the Gospel, we see Jesus, breaking into Zaccheaus’s life, in a moment of sheer grace.  The free act of God, calling out to him because he loves him.  Zacchaeus, responding in love, coming down quickly to meet the Lord. 

As chief tax collector, Zacchaeus had a lot of responsibilities, he no doubt worked hard.  Upon hearing that Jesus was coming to Jericho, he could have made excuses, not to go out, not to seek the Lord.  Similarly, we make excuses not to pray, and let worldly pursuits keep us from that deeper more intimate encounter with the Lord in prayer.

St. John of the Cross teaches us the need to make still our houses, that we may encounter more deeply the Lord’s love for us.  In other words, to quiet ourselves down, to quiet our lives down, and to make room in our lives for him, to seek above all that deep union with God.

The Lord calls out to us, personally, “come quickly, I wish to stay in your house”.  Could you imagine if Zacchaeus would have said, “sorry, there is no room in my house for you, it is too distracting, my life is too busy for you”.

Rather, Zacchaus made room for Jesus and welcomes him with joy into his house.  So too, we find joy, when we take those next steps on the interior journey, where we seek to be free from worldliness and worldly pleasures and worldly attachment, and meet the Lord in the quiet, having stilled our houses, stilled our souls.

This meeting of the Lord in prayer in the stillness of our houses, is what our souls truly long for.  May we respond generously to the Lord’s call today, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.