As many of you know, I went away to a boarding high school seminary in high school. This school was in another diocese, I didn’t know anyone at first,, and we could only call home once a month. Not surprisingly, I was terribly homesick, wondering if I made the correct choice. Then I had the experience of meeting Bishop Gaydos at the opening Mass for the school year and he somehow knew my name even though I was not one of his seminarians. From the first meeting even til now, he knows my name and that simple gesture made such a powerful impact on me. I hope you’ve had a similar moment in your life. Whatever our own experience is, there is something powerful about being acknowledged by another person, especially when we presume that person is too busy or important to care about little-ol-me!
Hold onto this feeling, this memory in your own experience and go back to the first reading. The author reminds us of the majesty of God. He is all-good, all-knowing, all powerful, any superlative, that is God. The universe is like a grain of sand or a drop of morning dew. Would you or I give a second thought about a piece of sand or a speck of precipitation? Probably not! But, the author of Wisdom tells us, God does! He loves every thing, every person he created and every thing that exists, even pesky mosquitos and annoying cubs fans, do so because God loves them specifically. He knows you and me and every single human individually and completely. He understands us better than we understand ourselves. Even though he is infinitely greater than the entire universe, the Lord is interested in you and me. What a mystery! Sometimes I think, “why do you care”, “am I a waste of your time?” But God cannot hate the work of his hands no matter how far we wander away from him. Which brings the first reading to its very fine and powerful point: God is not indifferent to our sins and the evil of the world. He notices it, it hurts him and he wants us to stop. But he shows us mercy, He gives us opportunities, loads of grace, and so much mercy in the hopes that we will repent and turn back to him. He is patient and thoughtful and corrects us little by little with the intention that his kindness will break through our pride and selfishness. He truly loves us, cares about every detail of our lives, and wants to be at the center of our minds and hearts just as we are for him!
Now hold onto this mysterious desire of God, knowing that it was burning in the heart of Jesus and go back to the gospel with the wonderful story of Zacchaeus. Keep in mind that this vertically-challenged fellow was not just a tax-collector but the chief tax collector. He was the worst of the worst in the eyes of his Jewish countrymen because he coordinated with the Romans, oversaw all the taxes, and made his wealth by charging extra and skimming off the top. So let’s address a few questions that might pop into our head as we heard this unusual story:
1) Why does Zacchaeus climb up a tree? It’s not just because he was short of stature. That is part of the reason, yes. But also, as the chief tax-collector in a large Jewish crowd, if he is recognized by people there is a good chance he will get a severe beating or something even worse. The tree provides a better view of Jesus and also some degree of safety as he separates himself from the crowd and hides in its branches.
2) How does Jesus respond to this little man in a tree? He acknowledges him, he calls him by name, and he calls him out of the tree. How exhilarating and terrifying it must have been for Zacchaeus to hear Jesus call out to him! The messiah knows who I am! He cares about ME! Not only that, he wants to come to my house for dinner, which in the ancient world signaled friendship, acceptance, and peace. Jesus is living out the truth of the first reading, where almighty God seeks out every human person and makes him or her the center of the universe.
And yet, Jesus’ invitation comes at cost. Zacchaeus has to leave the safety and isolation of the tree. He has to re-enter the angry and unfriendly crowd. But notice what Jesus does! He absorbs the anger of the crowd towards Zacchaeus and takes it upon himself. Now the crowd is upset with Jesus for eating at the house of a sinner and Zacchaeus is safe from their wrath. Lesson to be learned? Whatever danger comes with following Jesus’ invitation, he will be right there with us to help and protect us. But we have to stay close to him.
3) What is the result of Jesus’ invitation to Zacchaeus? He cannot remain in his sin. Jesus is gently calling him to repentance and holiness but Zacchaeus has to change the parts of his life that are at odds with God’s law. And this he does as he says, 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.” The same is true for us. God seeks us out every day and wants us to invite him into our hearts. But that means we have to give up the willful sin in our lives. We cannot hold onto God and sin at the same time. God is gentle with us and willing to be patient with our weakness but we have to move towards him as well, no matter how setbacks we experience.
Last question: What does this story mean for us? We have so many excuses to let Jesus pass on by us each and every day. We are busy, we don’t know how to pray, we don’t have time to pray, we feel unworthy, what will people think of us, whatever our excuse, we all have one. Like Zacchaeus, we are called to climb that tree, to go out on that limb to get a better look at Jesus and learn more about who he is and what he is all about. The beautiful part of our gospel story today is that Zacchaeus moved past the excuses and fears, many of them legitimate, and put himself out there to meet Jesus. And the lord of the Universe, was waiting for just this little opening in the heart of Zacchaeus. Once that opening was there, Jesus rushed in and, by sharing a meal, set the path of conversion for this once-sinful man. Every day, in some way, Jesus is passing through our life. Will we, like Zacchaeus, make the commitment to go out on a limb to see him? Will we accept the Lord’s invitation to let go of our sins and join him in the most holy of meals, here at Mass?
