31st Sunday in Ordinary Time – C
Zacchaeus finds himself up the proverbial tree-both physically and metaphorically. As chief tax collector and wealthy, he would have been hated by the people of Jericho. But you have to praise Zacchaeus for his creativity in his spiritual life. He wanted so much to see Jesus that he literally climbed a tree to get a glimpse – and that glimpse changed his life forever!
Zacchaeus’ creativity in his spiritual life led him to a conversion experience – an experience that allowed him to see the compassion and forgiving love of God, made manifest in Jesus Christ.
The outcome of Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus shows us that salvation requires a right relationship with each other, a pre-requisite for a right relationship with God.
In this gospel episode we see a third characteristic of prayer (the other two characteristics we met the previous two Sundays: Persistence and Humility), namely, Creativity, innovation seeking out God in our spiritual lives. Prayer is also an action: putting our house in order so that we might receive Jesus as our guest, who is our salvation.
The most interesting aspect of this gospel, and perhaps the reason why Luke put the story of Zacchaeus last, was to show us that salvation is available for all who seek Jesus in their lives and change after the encounter. The creativity of Zacchaeus wasn’t just his climbing the tree to see Jesus, it was his very innovative way of conversion: he
replied to Jesus that” he would pay back four times the amount to anyone whom he had wrongly taxed.” His desire to convert from his former ways opened his heart to the salvation offered by Jesus – and ultimately a “new way of life.”
So then, this story answers for us, the question: “who would ever be excluded from salvation?” Only those people who would not seek Jesus or change after the encounter. But salvation isn’t a throw-away gift: salvation is ours when we are in a right relation with God, which entails being in a right relation with each other.
In the reading from Wisdom today, we hear God called “Lord and lover of souls.” Out of love for us, God seeks us out and focuses, not on our sins, but on our intrinsic goodness and little by little seeks to make us “worthy of God’s calling.” Jesus personifies this deep love of humanity when he recognizes in Zacchaeus the faith that others have missed. The hate that the people felt for Zacchaeus would not allow them to see the intrinsic goodness God had placed within him. Zacchaeus blossoms under Jesus’ gentle gaze and his true goodness is revealed for all to see.
As we continue to reflect on this story, today, this week, let us ask ourselves these two questions: 1) “When was it in my life and who was it in my life that noticed the intrinsic good that God placed in me? And, 2) How has that encounter changed my life?
Wisdom 11:22-12:2
2 Thess 1:11-22
Luke 19:1-10