October 30th 2022. Thirty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Luke 19:1-10

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

 

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

 

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GOSPEL: Luke 19:1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the town when a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance; he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him: ‘Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.’ And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully.

They all complained when they saw what was happening. ‘He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house’ they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, ‘Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost’.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

 

1. Zacchaeus is used to climbing on others to make himself important. Jesus calls him down so that he can discover his true importance.

For the thirty-first Sunday of the year, we read the splendid story of Zacchaeus, his call by Jesus, their sharing of a meal and his conversion. The Gospel is prepared by the first reading from Wisdom in which we hear that God does not disparage, or feel disgust for, anything that he has created. Often we disparage ourselves or others, which is a very damaging thing. Zacchaeus is short of stature and yet becomes the leader of the tax-collectors – a profession used by the Romans to exploit and oppress the people. In a sense, he is a man used to climbing above the heads of others. When Jesus sees him, he invites him to descend, to come down, to change the direction of his life. Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus into his house with joy, but the people begin to grumble. For everyone in the locality, Zacchaeus is nothing more than a sinner, someone to be despised. The tax-collector, however, promises to change his life and to compensate those he has defrauded. In response, Jesus says that salvation has come to this house, for this too is a son of Abraham. This is the point: for everyone else Zacchaeus is a sinner, but for Jesus he is a child of Abraham. God recognizes our beauty and our preciousness! God does not love us simply because he is good, but because we are fundamentally lovable! As the book of Wisdom says, it is not possible for something to exist unless the Lord willed it. Zacchaeus is not a mistake! Each of us needs to discover who he is in the eyes of God.

 

2. Satan wants us to disparage ourselves, not realise how much we are loved and valued by God.

If we had met Camillus de Lellis when he was living a life of great immorality, we would have disparaged him and excluded him, but we would have been excluding someone who would become a great saint, someone who would reform the care of the sick and become a pioneer in a certain sense of the modern hospital. If we had met Francis of Assisi as a boy, we may have disparaged him also, just as we disparage ourselves, forgetting that salvation can enter into our house. As John  the Baptist says, God can raise children of Abraham from stones. God can do great things with us, but Satan, who not by chance is called “the accuser”, makes us look negatively upon ourselves, accusing us day and night before God. He says that we count for nothing, but the cross of Christ reveals how precious we are in the sight of God.

 

3. May we come down from our trees, the structures by which we claim to be important, and discover our true importance – that we are loved, valued and saved by God.

The liturgy this week calls us to enter into salvation, into the light and joy experienced by Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus is searching for Jesus, but Jesus sees him first, just as he raises his glance towards us before we ever seek him. So many of us live in a state of constant self-sabotage, not knowing how precious and loved we are. Jesus did not die for us for no reason! We are worth it! God loves us because in each one of us there is something extremely beautiful. That each one of us might come down from our sycamores, descend from the structures by which we puff ourselves up in a vain effort to overcome our limits, pretending to be important in ways that do not matter. Instead, let us rest and celebrate with the One who truly values us, who  wants to be in our house and in our life.

 

Alterative homily

Zacchaeus is a tax-collector, someone who has become rich by the systematic exploitation of others. He appears to be beyond redemption. Why does Jesus visit his house? Because the Lord is looking for the precious gem that exists in the heart of Zacchaeus and in the hearts of you and me. As the first reading tells us, God created us and appreciates what is good and noble in us. Jesus is desperately seeking out the goodness and beauty that lies in the depths of each of us. And when we allow the Lord to visit us, then this beauty comes to the surface and we become the authentic person that the Lord created us to be. As soon as Jesus enters Zacchaeus’ house, the tax collector is transformed! He becomes joyful and promises to undo all of the wrongs that he has done to others. He discovers an incredible generosity inside of himself. If you or I wish to spread the Gospel, then we must do as Jesus did and seek out the child of God that exists within every person. Spreading the Gospel is not about spreading a system of moral rules or regulations! No-one embraces the Gospel because they are looking for an ethical system. We embrace the Gospel in order to be reborn, to become our true selves! God made us for relationship with him and others. Our hearts are restless until, like Zacchaeus, we allow Jesus to enter our hearts with his love. How many false and wayward relationships we engage in! Let us consider the extent that Jesus goes to in order to seek us out and enter into communion with us. Once Jesus enters our house then we become fully ourselves. We discover the generosity, joy, goodness and love that God planted in our hearts when he created us.