Gospel Text: Luke 19:1-10
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Michel de Verteuil
General Textual comments
This Sunday’s passage tells the story of Jesus’ meeting with Zacchaeus. It is a very touching story, full of character, so deep that we are always finding new things in it, treasures we had not noticed before. God however did not write the story for us to admire St Luke’s extraordinary artistry as a storyteller, but so that we could recognise ourselves in it and discover how he has been and continues to be at work in the world.
There are three characters in the story: Zacchaeus, Jesus, and the complainers. Each of these is a universal symbol; all people and all communities have lived the three stories at one time or another. In your meditation then, you are free to identify with any of them – though not at the same time.
Zacchaeus is the symbol of those who experience that “salvation has come to their house.” The word “house” invites us to recognise that it “comes” to both individuals and communities.
“Salvation” is a word we Christians use frequently but it has become very vague. This is not a happy state of affairs; it means that we have no practical way of evaluating whether we are “saved” or not, and so we can easily deceive ourselves. The Pharisee in last Sunday’s gospel thought he was saved, but was not, and we must be “on our guard” against falling into the same error. The story of Zacchaeus tells us – as always, speaking to our experience – “this is what happens when salvation comes to a house.”
We know from our faith that final and complete “salvation” will “come to our house” only at the end of time. In the course of our lives what we have are temporary and partial experiences of salvation. These are very significant, however, since they
– give us a glimpse of what the final experience will be like (Jesus’ teaching based on experience, as always);
– are a pledge that we will experience it.
The story of Zacchaeus tells us that “salvation” is an experience of healing and reconciliation, so deep that we exclaim with gratitude in the words of Jesus, “Today salvation has indeed come to this house,” or “Yes, God really seeks out and saves what was lost.”As individuals, we remember times when quite unexpectedly we felt accepted and loved
– by the other members of our family,
– by God in prayer, at a retreat or a Life-in-the-Spirit seminar- by friends,
– by fellow workers in our work place,
– by the other members of our profession.
We felt able – perhaps for the first time – to “stand our ground” and speak up for ourselves, affirming who we were, our past failures and the good deeds we intended to do.
We celebrate “salvation moments” for communities too:
– a local church is converted to the cause of the poor and welcomes them into its inner life, renouncing power and prestige, ignoring the comments of sceptics;
– and ethnic group which had been discriminated against is now fully accepted as part of the community;
– religious groups, enemies up to now, are reconciled and commit themselves to work together;– on the occasion of a tragedy (e.g. September 11) a nation is warmed by the sympathy of the human family;
– labour and management experience reconciliation in the work place.
The details of the story invite us to retrace the steps which lead to the moment of “salvation”.
a) The tentative start: Zacchaeus was “too short” – he was not up to meeting Jesus as an equal. The “sycamore tree” he climbed was a safe place from which he could peep out; the most he could hope for was to “catch a glimpse” of Jesus.
b) The moment of grace: he experienced Jesus “looking up” at him, and heard those wonderful words, “Come down, hurry, because I must stay at your house today.” This represents the time when we no longer feel isolated; we can invite Jesus (in whatever form we meet him) into our home, not at some time in the vague future but “today”. We feel totally free, do what we have to do without anyone having to tell us. Like Zacchaeus, we are no longer “too short” but can “stand our ground”.
c) “They all complained when they saw what was happening”: how real this is! Salvation is never a simple process, it always has a negative side – a “letting go” of something that was holding us back. We continue to hear voices from the past (parents, teachers, priests, nuns) telling us that we are “sinners”, not good enough to have Jesus stay at our house. Now we hear another voice telling us that they are merely “complaints,” not the truth. God’s truth about us is that we too are “children of Abraham.” We celebrate the Jesus person who said that to us.
Jesus is the symbol of the care-giver, the one who “comes to save what was lost,” “bringing salvation to houses” by inviting the marginalized (communities and individuals) into the mainstream.
Here again we must not allow ourselves to be vague.
We know of many instances where preachers ended up dehumanizing individuals and communities instead of “bringing salvation to their houses.” In this story Jesus teaches us by example, “This is how a Son of Man brings salvation.”
We think of
– parents or grandparents with children who are shy or withdrawn;
– teachers with slow students;
– parish leaders, clerical or lay, with “backsliders”;
– managers with employees who are awkward and are forever doing or saying the wrong thing.
We think too of those who do something similar fro groups, reaching out to those who are alienated;
– Israelis to Palestinians and Palestinians to Israelis;
– between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland;
– in work places where industrial relations have broken down.
Jesus proceeded in steps, each of which we can identify with and celebrate.
a) He “looked up”. This is very significant; he was “going through the town” but still found time and energy to notice Zacchaeus hiding in the tree.
b) “come down”, meaning “let’s talk as equals.”
c) “Hurry, I must stay at your house today.” The invitation is spontaneous and unconditional; it invites mutuality. There isn’t the slightest trace of condescension. Jesus is saying, “I need your help now.”
d) “Today salvation has come to this house.” Here again no condescension, it is a moment of celebration.
e) “This man too is a son of Abraham.” Jesus makes an “option for the poor”, he consciously and deliberately protects the poor against the “complainers”.
f) The “Son of Man came to save what was lost.” In the light of the above, we can see that he is neither possessive nor condescending; he “saves” by providing the right environment so that Zacchaeus decides of his own accord to be the best he can be.The complainers are ourselves when we are mean and self-righteous. We are like them as individuals; as the Church; as members of a social class, race, ethnic group, or nation.
This is a story of grace. We are not meant to condemn them but to identify with the journey Jesus is inviting them – and us – to make:
a) The starting point is the “complaint”: “He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house”. The basic problem is personal insecurity, as we know from experience. We can identify two ingredients:
– we cannot bring ourselves to celebrate the blessings enjoyed by those who differ from us, belonging to a different religion, social class, ethnic group or ideological position;
– our thinking is static, we do not allow for growth on the part of those we have categorized as “sinners” – failures in some way.
b) The end of the journey is when we are able to say, “He too is a Son of Abraham.” We celebrate the person (or it could have been an event) who led us along that journey.
How we respond to the story of the complainers will depend on our present situation. We can
– celebrate that we have made the journey as individuals or as a community (thanksgiving),
– become aware that Jesus is calling us to make the journey (repentance),
– recognise that the journey will be very demanding (petition).
Prayer Reflection
“God communicates himself to all persons, redeems them and stamps their being with an orientation towards sharing his life.” …Karl Rahner
Lord, we thank you for the people who have been Jesus for us.
When we felt inadequate, too short,
so that we could only catch a glimpse of that dream we had for ourselves,
you sent someone who looked up and saw more in us than we ourselves did.
They were not aggressive, didn’t force themselves on us,
just said they were happy to stay in our house.
We felt a surge of joy within us.
We knew that others were calling us sinners, but that didn’t stop us,
we felt free to stand our ground, confess whatever wrong we had done
and commit ourselves to making a new start.
Salvation came to our house that day,
we knew that we too belonged to the family of Abraham
and experienced that you came to seek out and save what was lost.“The most terrible walls are the walls that grow in the mind.” ...Nelson Mandela
Lord, we pray that your Church in every country
will be more like Jesus in seeking out those who are lost.
Teach us when we go through our towns to look up and notice
those who like Zacchaeus have made an appearance but hide themselves
because they feel inferior and want merely to catch a glimpse of us.
Teach us to stay with them in their houses and so bring out the best in them
so that they may experience that they too are descendants of Abraham.
“The Word of God is red-hot iron. And you who teach it, you should go picking it up with a pair of tongs lest you burn yourself.” Georges Bernanos, Diary of a Country Priest
Lord, forgive us for when we do not believe in the power of the gospel
to save what was lost.
We have written off people as sinners,
but if we had taken the trouble to stay in their houses
we would have seen salvation come there.
“The captains, merchant bankers, eminent men of letters, distinguished civil servants, chairmen of many committees, industrial lords and petty contractors all go into the dark.” …TS Eliot, The Four Quartets
Lord, we thank you for the artists and poets and Pope Francis who remind us
that we are all sinners
and we can have no grounds for complaint
when we see your saints staying at a sinner’s house.
“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but yourselves can free your minds.”
Lord, forgive us for preaching salvation in a way that is possessive.
We pray that like Jesus with Zacchaeus
we may assure those to whom we want to bring salvation
that we need their hospitality so that they may stand their ground
and choose freely the way of salvation.
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Thomas O’Loughlin,
Liturgical Resources for the Year of Luke
www.Columba.ie
IntroductionIs there a more memorable scene in the whole gospel than that of the little man Zacchaeus climbing a tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus? Then despite Zacchaeus being the outcast in the community, Jesus choosing to have supper with him. The Lord has come among us today, coming to seek and save, and calling us to share his supper now in this sacred banquet. Let us focus our minds on our need to be forgiven, our need to begin afresh, and that we are gathered around the Lord’s table.
Gospel NotesThis story, found only in Luke, brings together several of his major themes in a most memorable incident. Zacchaeus is a marginal Jew, someone on the fringes of society, who is perceived as abandoned by God because of his actions. He is typical of those to whom Jesus says that he is sent in his work of re-gathering the scattered flock and forming the New Israel.
Four themes come together in this reading.First, there is the theme of the hospitality of God and his acceptance of those who seek him. Jesus calls on the man to be hospitable and then accepts him. Both Zacchaeus and Jesus behave in a God-like way — so distinct from the expectations of those around that they voice their horror — and by so doing they mirror the Father’s love and forgiveness.
Second, Zacchaeus becomes part of the new table fellowship that is centred on Jesus. This new belonging and eating together forms the New Israel where the boundaries are those of welcome for all who seek the Lord and care for all who are in need.
Third, there is the theme of a proper attitude to wealth, which must be seen in the context of care for the poor, and of acting with justice.Lastly, it is a Son of Abraham who is converted. He is not converted back to what he was or should have been, but is converted to be part of the new people who have accepted the Son of Man.
How this story was understood in the late first century is revealed to us in a little detail that is certainly the voice of Luke: ‘Today salvation has come to this house’ — note it is not to this man. This shows that it belongs to the time of the household churches — found in Acts where baptism is often of households — and these households (which cannot be identified with what we call ‘a family’) were the location for the gatherings of the Christians for the eucharistic meal. Therefore, the meal of Jesus and Zacchaeus would have been seen as one in a series of meals of the new people, of which their own Sunday assembly at a eucharistic meal would have been another.
Homily Notes1. There is a tendency with the story of Zacchaeus to reduce it to such a simple message that we lose sight of what it might show us about God’s love for us. The reduction works like this: Zacchaeus is a sinner, Jesus seeks him out, Zacchaeus repents and has a ‘firm purpose of amendment,’ Jesus forgives him and now one who was lost is saved. This then leads to a practical point: this forgiveness through meeting Jesus is available in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. So what is wrong with this presentation? After all it has been used in this way in umpteen catechetical programmes. What is wrong with this approach is,
firstly, that when the divine/human encounter is presented in this way it becomes a simple transaction (‘he has what I want and I can do something to get it from him’ – the encounter with a dentist or buying the paper are functionally similar).
Secondly, that message can be taken out of any number of gospel scenes or parables which reduces the richness of the gospels to a series of oft-repeated slogans.
Thirdly, it is driven by its sacramental conclusion. If one starts from the position that the Sacrament of Penance is of great importance, then any gospel story that seems to promote its frequent reception is then seen to be understood if it serves that purpose. However, the task of the preacher of a homily at the Eucharist is to present the good news as it is found in the church’s stories, and preaching on the importance of a particular practice is another matter.
firstly, that when the divine/human encounter is presented in this way it becomes a simple transaction (‘he has what I want and I can do something to get it from him’ – the encounter with a dentist or buying the paper are functionally similar).
Secondly, that message can be taken out of any number of gospel scenes or parables which reduces the richness of the gospels to a series of oft-repeated slogans.
Thirdly, it is driven by its sacramental conclusion. If one starts from the position that the Sacrament of Penance is of great importance, then any gospel story that seems to promote its frequent reception is then seen to be understood if it serves that purpose. However, the task of the preacher of a homily at the Eucharist is to present the good news as it is found in the church’s stories, and preaching on the importance of a particular practice is another matter.
2. There is a central theme of reconciliation in this story, but the key to it lies in its particular context of welcome and acceptance. Moreover, there is no hint that Zacchaeus considered himself a sinner or that he was penitent or contrite. He merely states that he will now be someone who will care for the poor and that if he has cheated anyone, he will repay fourfold.
3. The starting point is a society that is riven with divisions, riven with injustice, where some are wholly excluded, while others are claiming holiness. It is a scene that is further complicated by people having a sense of being occupied by foreigners, of racial questions as to who have the right bloodlines, and that their religious purity has been compromised. This is the familiar scene of fractured societies where prejudice and bigotry have become substitutes for commitment and faith. What is particularly wrong in this case is that the
society is intended to be a community: they are all children of a single father – Abraham – and they are supposed to be the community of the covenant which bears witness to God’s working in human history.
society is intended to be a community: they are all children of a single father – Abraham – and they are supposed to be the community of the covenant which bears witness to God’s working in human history.
4. The first act of Jesus is to cut through all the divisions and offer welcome and acceptance to this son of Abraham.
5. Jesus then welcomes Zacchaeus back, not to an abstract notion descriptive of an ideal covenant community (the qahal/ ekklesia of the Lord) but to an actual table fellowship. He is welcomed back into the community and the community can accept his hospitality: a new society is formed around the table of the meal. This new table fellowship is, for Jesus, the coming kingdom of God: in the new mutual acceptance of his table, the transgressions of Israel become past events, a new way of living is begun, and the Father’s home – salvation – is foreshadowed.
6. Zacchaeus can rejoice that the new life of the kingdom had begun and he has been given a place in its banquet, so he too can begin to live life in the new way that is appropriate in the age of the Christ.
7. Jesus’s welcome and acceptance is both the good news and the new life. It is sacramental – but not in terms of the Sacrament of Reconciliation – because sharing in his table both establishes the new covenant and anticipates the life to come; and it is in terms of that sacramentality of the Lord’s table fellowship that we gather for the Eucharist.
8. If there is to be a practical challenge at the end of the homily it might go like this:
- Is our table fellowship today, here, one which breaks down the barriers and divisions that prevent us acting as the New People?
- Is our gathering one which can be seen as modeling the welcome of the kingdom?
- Is our community one with the right attitude to wealth and the care of the poor?
Sean Goan
Let the Reader understand
www.Columba.ie
Gospel Notes
Again this Sunday a tax collector plays an important role in the gospel story. This time, however, he is not a character in a parable but a real life person whose experience of Jesus changes him and causes consternation among those who know him. Zacchaeus would have been well known in the Jericho area because as a tax collector he was considered a collaborator with the occupying Roman forces. He would have bought the right to collect taxes there and probably would not have been too scrupulous about how he made his profit. Because of his stature he was also possibly a figure of ridicule. Imagine then the surprise of the people of Jericho as Zacchaeus is the one Jesus speaks to and it is to his house that Jesus goes. Once again in Luke the themes of repentance and forgiveness are linked to the refusal of the so-called virtuous to celebrate this man’s return to the fold.Reflection
An interesting feature of biblical history is the extent to which problems are caused not by the godless sinners but by religious zealots of various kinds. The story of Zacchaeus is a joyful one but most of the witnesses, who are probably fervent and devout people, don’t see it that way. Instead they complain. The troubles in Thessalonica were probably stirred up by the lunatic fringe there and Paul is called upon to offer some balance and help them focus on the essentials. This should serve as a kind of warning to us. We need to be careful about what drives our religious fervour and so ensure that we are not hindering the spread of the gospel by our self righteousness or our dogmatism.
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Donal Neary SJ
Church Reflections, Year C
www.Columba.ie
Made to belong and to share
In the presence of Jesus, Zacchaeus, the little man with a big story, found out who he, really was and,what he was made for. That’s the way it is with Jesus.His big story wasn’t impressive. The whole town knew of his corruption, and his exploitation, Many could tell a story of being diddled by him into paying more tax than was just. He carried this burden all the time and somehow the arrival of Jesus impelled him to climb a tree so that his life would be changed. Our stories are all a mixture of good and evil. We carry burdens of guilt and sin and hurt and anger. We need to get free and be the self we can be.
Zacchaeus found he wasn’t the mean person he had been showing all his life. He found that restoration of ill-gotten gains, and a promise to help his neighbour, would bring more happiness than his past. He found in meeting Jesus the acceptance that allowed him to change, to go public on his change, and to continue a changed life no matter what others thought.
He was made for community, belonging and sharing; not for isolation, loneliness and greed. He knew now he was made for love for he found himself loved by God in Jesus, so that the one everyone was talking about visited his house now.
It didn’t make Jesus popular. They blamed him for going to the house of someone like that. IT s often like that; we would like Jesus to look down on the ones we look down on. The only time Jesus looks down on us is from his cross – to raise us up to the heights of love and humanity we are made for.***
From The Connections:
THE WORD:
As the chief tax collector of Jericho, a very prosperous trade and agricultural village just northwest of Jerusalem, Zacchaeus was a very unpopular man with his fellow Jews (see last Sunday’s notes on tax collectors). Though very wealthy, Zacchaeus (the name, ironically, means “clean”) was a very unhappy and lonely man who desperately sought the peace of God taught by this rabbi Jesus. But it is Jesus who takes the initiative and seeks out Zacchaeus, calling Zacchaeus down from the sycamore tree and inviting himself to Zacchaeus’ house. In seeking out Zacchaeus, Jesus calls forth the good will of Zacchaeus that his neighbors fail to see. The Messiah has come explicitly for the Zacchaeuses of the world: to lift up the fallen, to seek out the lost, to give hope to the poor and the forgotten.
HOMILY POINTS:
In today’s Gospel, Jesus affirms and upholds the compassion and integrity of the shunned tax collector Zacchaeus, transforming the life of the man in the sycamore tree. We are called by Christ in the same way: to respond to the love of God in whatever way we can and to enable others to do the same, thus transforming the darkness that engulfs us into the light of God’s peace and justice.Loved by God, our Creator and Father, and redeemed by Jesus, every human being has much to give, if we enable them to give and their gifts to be accepted.
In our own humble efforts at kindness and understanding and our seemingly inconsequential acts of generosity and forgiveness we can bring to our own homes the “salvation” that Jesus brings to the house of the faithful Zacchaeus in today’s Gospel.
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ILLUSTRATIONS:
Fr. Jude Botelho:
Today’s first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, written a century before Christ points out that salvation doesn’t necessarily come primarily only to those who are focused against sin, which is negative, but to those who are open to God’s love, which is positive. It puts everything into proper perspective. Before the Lord the whole universe is as a grain on a scale, very small and insignificant, or as the morning dew. On the other hand, God is almighty and all powerful. Yet this mighty God cares and is concerned not only about the universe but also about each and every one of us and is merciful towards us. He gently corrects us and leads us from evil back to him. How do we respond to this great love? In the words of the psalmist we say: ‘I will bless your name forever more.’
He wants the best for us
A columnist, Scott Bennett, tells the story of a man ‘Michael’, who was facing a series of devastating reversals in his life, leaving him desperate and defenseless. He had no job, his car had been repossessed, his marriage was ending, and his father had just died a month earlier. One night, in a frantic cry for help, Michael lifted up his face to the stars. And then the incredible happened. This is how he expressed it: “I felt I was one with…. call it God, call it creation… I don’t know. I do know I felt a peace that I have never known before or since. A power and a purpose was revealed to me that night that I cannot put in words. But I never doubted again that life is precious and has a purpose. –As Christians we are blessed with a faith that teaches us we have in God a compassionate, caring and loving father, whose thoughts are above ours as the heavens are above the earth. God who created us loves us, cares for us and will never cease pursuing what is best for us even if we fail out of human frailty. “What the caterpillar calls the end of the road, God calls a butterfly.”
James Valladares in ‘Your words, O Lord, Are Spirit, and They Are Life’
The Gospel today shows us clearly the attitude of God towards sinners illustrated in how Jesus treats Zacchaeus the tax collector. Although his profession would have made him very rich, Zacchaeus led a lonely and isolated life in spite of his wealth. He had heard of Jesus and his reputation in dealing with prostitutes and sinners. Zacchaeus hoped and wanted to see Jesus. He hears that Jesus is passing that way but he is lost in the crowds and is too short to see Jesus. But he grabs the opportunity of seeing him by climbing a sycamore tree to get a glimpse of Jesus. Perhaps, the crowds are amused by this short man, a respectable tax collector, who is perched on the tree. But Jesus does not pass by without noticing his effort. He stops, looks up and calls Zacchaeus by name. “Zacchaeus, come down! Hurry, because I must stay at your home today!” Zacchaeus, cannot believe his ears, Jesus is coming to his home and wants to stay with him! The impossible has become possible! The crowds are enraged because Jesus has invited himself to the house of a sinner, a tax collector, a traitor and friend of the Romans. Jesus is not bothered by the reaction of the crowd. He does not see the sins but he sees the sinner and reaches out. Jesus’ attitude touches Zacchaeus and the man who had been collecting riches all his life now is ready to give it all to others, He no longer needs his riches, he has found Jesus. It is worthwhile noting that Jesus does not demand repentance before entering into Zacchaeus’ home. Jesus overlooks the wrong doing in the hope that he will repent. He gave Zacchaeus the opportunity to change in the atmosphere of unconditional acceptance. We change not because God forces us to change but only when we experience His unconditional acceptance even in our sins.
God comes to us in spite of ourselves!
A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to pick up some medication for her daughter. On returning to her car she found that she had locked her keys in the car. She was in a hurry to get home to her sick daughter. She found a coat hanger there. Then she looked at the hanger and said, “I don’t know how to use this.” So she bowed her head and asked the Lord to send some help. A man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. “Please can you use this hanger to unlock my car?” she said. He said, “Sure.” He walked over to the car and in less than one minute, the car was opened. She hugged the man and through tears, she said, “Thank you so much! You are a very nice man.” The man replied, “Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour.” The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried aloud, “Oh, Thank you God! You even sent me a professional!” –While we are all sinners, the Lord sees the good within us and keeps coming, knocking at the door of our hearts, encouraging us to come closer to him.
Tomi Thomas in ‘Spice up your homilies’
Advantage Disadvantage
Several years ago there was a basketball player by the name of Nate Archibald. When Nate finished college, most of the professional teams ignored him because they thought he was too short. In fact his nickname was ‘Tiny’. The Cincinnati Royals decided to take a chance on Nate and signed him to play on their team. Well, Nate made it big in the NBA because he was lightning fast, had good hands, and was a great shooter. He played in the NBA for fourteen seasons and became known as the player who proved that a ‘little man’ could play in the NBA. Just look at some of the honours he won: He was named to the All-NBA team five times. He was named to the NBA All-Star team six times. He was elected to the NBA Hall of Fame. Not too bad for a man most people thought was too short to play in the NBA. –The Bible tells us about another short man who became great, even though he was not very tall. His name was Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was not only short; he was hated by almost everyone because he was a tax collector. As a tax collector he often cheated people and collected more taxes than they owed. When he heard that Jesus was passing by he made an attempt to climb a tree to see Jesus. Jesus saw him and called him by name and went to his house and Zacchaeus was changed forever. When Jesus enters our lives our shortcomings, our handicaps do not matter at all.
John Pichappilly in ‘The Table of the Word’
Cared for the least of his people
There were some eyebrows raised when John XXIII was elected pope. He was in his seventies and there was no great hope that he was going to shake the Church. One of the first things he did, however, made people sit up and notice. He went in person to visit prisoners in one of Rome’s prisons. He met them as equals and chatted informally with each. He even disclosed that he himself had a relative in jail! The work and short pontificate of this man was going to open many doors, and set many prisoners free. ? Jack McArdle in ‘And that’s the Gospel Truth’
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1. From Connections:
Salvation comes to this house . . .
Teenage Daughter had been in a foul mood for what seemed like an eternity. When her wise and patient mother had had enough of the sulking and rudeness, she sent the rest of the family off to the movies. Loading up with her daughter’s favorite ice cream, Mom called her into the kitchen and asked her to have a seat. Mom scooped two big bowls. Nothing was said for a long time. But by the second scoops, the teenager began to open up. Mother and daughter talked the afternoon away. Because of a mother’s patience, love, and a couple of pints of Ben & Jerry’s . . . salvation comes to this house.
It was a hard sell, but everyone (to Mom and Dad’s surprise) bought into the idea. When their kids were older, they began a new family tradition. On a child’s birthday, he or she would choose a charity, and the family would use the money that would have been used for gifts to make a donation in the child’s name to that organization. The honoree would keep the decision secret until the birthday dinner; then, before the guest of honor blew out the candles on the cake, he or she would announce what charity would receive the gift and why. The tradition required some homework on the part of the birthday boy or girl (or parent), but everyone looked forward to being able to support a cause important to them. Parents instilling in their children a sense of gratitude and a spirit of generosity . . . and salvation comes to this house.
Every family has experienced some kind of short-term disaster: an unexpected illness, a sudden job loss, an unplanned-for budget-crippling expense. So when it happened to this family, Mom and Dad gathered everyone together, explained what had happened and why, and what every one — from the oldest to the youngest — could do to help get the family through the situation. And got through it they did — and along the way they became a closer, more understanding and loving family. With selfless love and patient understanding, a family can make it through hard times together . . . and salvation comes to this house.
In our own humble efforts at kindness and understanding and our seemingly inconsequential acts of generosity and forgiveness we can bring to our own homes the salvation that Jesus brings to the house of the faithful Zacchaeus in today’s Gospel. May we always extend the invitation to Jesus to come as the unseen guest into our homes and communities, helping us make the four walls of our own homes places of peace and safety, harbors of forgiveness and joy for one another, houses where God’s salvation has come.
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2. From Sermons Illustrated
We owe Luke a great debt. For in his Gospel alone is told a dramatic story that encapsulates for us what the mission of Jesus was all about, and in turn what the mission of the church is all about. The event happened while Jesus was passing through Jericho, the city of palms. Writes Luke: "And there was a man named Zacchaeus he was a chief tax collector, and he was rich." In one sentence we are told the story of a human life.
Here's the background. Nothing in first century Judea was quite so hated and despised as was the Roman tax. It not only reminded the Jews that they were a subjugated people, it also represented a theological affront. To the Jew there was only one King, and that was God, not Caesar. Paying tribute to an earthly non-Jewish monarch was something that the Hebrews had opposed throughout their long history.
Here's the background. Nothing in first century Judea was quite so hated and despised as was the Roman tax. It not only reminded the Jews that they were a subjugated people, it also represented a theological affront. To the Jew there was only one King, and that was God, not Caesar. Paying tribute to an earthly non-Jewish monarch was something that the Hebrews had opposed throughout their long history.
But there was more. The dirty work of collecting the tax was done not by the Romans, but by collaborating Jews. To make matters worse, some of the money that they collected off the backs of their fellow countrymen stuck to their own fingers. We are told that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. That is the only time in the New Testament that that term is used. It meant that he was over an entire district. Zacchaeus may have been short in stature, but he had wealth and wealth means power, so, in a manner of speaking, people looked up to him. Zacchaeus was the little man with the big reputation. He was not just well to do. According to Luke, he was rich.
Of course, one might take issue with Luke in that descriptive term rich. For in many ways Zacchaeus was as poor as any man in Jericho...
The classic children's book, The Phantom Tollbooth (1961), tells the story of a young boy named Milo. One dull, rainy afternoon Milo receives the anonymous gift of a cardboard fold-and-cut tollbooth. Bored Milo builds the tollbooth and "drives through" it with his toy car.
Immediately Milo disappears from his room and finds himself traveling along a strange road in a new land. But despite this miraculous relocation, as the road continues on and on, and the countryside rolls by and by, Milo begins to grow bored again. He spaces out and begins to be completely oblivious to his surroundings. He doesn't even notice as his car begins to go slower and slower and then finally coasts to a complete stop. Rousing lightly from his stupor, Milo finally notices there are strange little creatures draped over the hood of his car, snoozing on his head and shoulders, snoring on his dashboard. When the boy demands to know what is going on the sleepy creatures inform him that they are "Lethargians" and tell Milo that he and his vehicle are now firmly stuck in a place known as "The Doldrums."
Of course literally the "doldrums" is actually an old nautical reference to a "dead zone" - a place where there is no wind to fill up the sails, no strong currents to guide a vessel along. Getting out of the "doldrums" takes a purposeful expenditure of energy, a muscle-powered desire to move forward.
Unfortunately it isn't just sailing ships or bored little boys on rainy afternoons who can find themselves stranded in the "doldrums." Whole movements can find themselves stranded in the Doldrums. Whole countries, cultures, and churches can find themselves so mired in spiritless monotony, in the security of sameness and statis, that they fail to notice they are going nowhere and are accomplishing nothing...
_____________________________________We Don't Play the Full Scale
One of the most famous composers had a rebellious son who used to come in late at night after his mother and father had gone to bed. And before going to his own room, this rebellious son would go to his father's piano and slowly, spitefully... and loudly would play a simple scale, all but the final note. He would play, "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti..." and then he wouldn't strike that final "Do." Then leaving the scale unfinished, he would retire to his room.
Meanwhile, his father (great musician that he was) hearing the scale minus the final note,... would twist and turn and writhe on his bed, his mind unable to relax because the scale was not finished.
Finally, not able to stand it any longer, the father would crawl out of bed, stumble down the stairs and strike that final note of the scale. Only then could he relax and be at peace.
Now, that's an interesting parable because it reminds me of the way we so often treat God. We play around with some of the notes of faith, but we don't play the full scale...
- We forgive, but not completely.
- We love, but not completely.
- We serve, but not completely.
- We accept Christ, but not completely.
- We live the Christian life-style but not completely.
- We commit our lives to God, but not completely.
But then, even when we treat God shabbily, in his infinite patience and amazing grace, he continues to reach out to us and he continues to love us.
James W. Moore, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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Didn't You Hear the Bells?
One time a blind man was invited to attend the wedding of a friend. The couple had chosen to be married in a village church that was known for its picturesque qualities. As the couple left the chapel, the mother of the groom said to the blind man, "What a pity that you couldn't see the chapel. It really is so lovely. And such a pretty garden." She later repeated this to some mutual friends at the reception.
The blind man just shrugged his shoulders each time and changed the subject. He thought to himself, "didn't she hear the bells?" For him, the bells that had rung before and after the ceremony had been magnificent. He was astonished at their tones and the patterns that they made. For him they had created an atmosphere of joy and sacredness. The blind man finally concluded that the mother of the groom may have seen the lovely chapel but she missed the sound of the bells. With all her senses she had only experienced part of the beauty.
Zacchaeus was blinded by his selfishness, but that did not keep Jesus from seeing him as a whole person. Jesus wanted to stay with Zacchaeus. To miss this part of the story is to remain in the dark. Jesus had to go to his house because this represented what Jesus was all about; giving grace toward those who are lost. In the gospel of Luke, Zacchaeus became the symbolic recipient of the grace of God toward lost humanity. There is no limit to God's grace. There is even hope for the greedy and powerful. By staying with Zacchaeus, Jesus demonstrated that the grace of God extends to everyone, especially the lost.
Zacchaeus was blinded by his selfishness, but that did not keep Jesus from seeing him as a whole person. Jesus wanted to stay with Zacchaeus. To miss this part of the story is to remain in the dark. Jesus had to go to his house because this represented what Jesus was all about; giving grace toward those who are lost. In the gospel of Luke, Zacchaeus became the symbolic recipient of the grace of God toward lost humanity. There is no limit to God's grace. There is even hope for the greedy and powerful. By staying with Zacchaeus, Jesus demonstrated that the grace of God extends to everyone, especially the lost.
Keith Wagner, Little Guy, Big Gift
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The Only Thing That Can Be Changed
The Only Thing That Can Be Changed
A famous preacher once said, "When people tell me that human nature cannot be changed, I am moved to reply that in light of my experience, human nature may well be the only thing that CAN BE CHANGED!" We cannot change the course of the moon or the sun. We cannot change the laws of the physical world. We cannot change the movement and flow of the ocean. We cannot change the stars in the skies and the course they move in. However, the Bible pulsates with pages of testimonies of the lives, purposes, events, and habits which have been changed and can be changed.
Eric S. Ritz, Why Change Is Possible
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Putting the Pieces in Order
Author Charlie Shedd gives us a wonderful example of this truth from his own family life. Charlie's daughter had a science project to do for school, but neither Charlie or his wife were much help with the technical aspects. The saving grace was their next door neighbor, John, who helped the daughter with each part of her project. Finally came the night when the daughter had to put the whole project together. She was in tears about what to do first until she called John. John said simply, "Why don't you bring the whole thing over to my house, and I'll give the pieces in the right order, so you can finish your project." That is what happened when Zacchaeus let Jesus take control of the pieces of his life, and put everything in its proper order. When we let Jesus Christ take control in our lives, we can truly say with Zacchaeus, "Today salvation has come to this house."
Robert A. Beringer, Turning Points, CSS Publishing Company
____________________________________Robert A. Beringer, Turning Points, CSS Publishing Company
Totally Immobilized
Mrs. Billie Cannon, a Knoxville, Tennessee homemaker, was preparing to paint her back porch. In order to protect the floor, she very carefully placed around the edges a strip of Scotch tape-the kind with adhesive on both sides. It was her plan to place a drop cloth over the floor and secure it with the tape. Having succeeded in placing the tape around the entire surface, she went back inside the house to get a drop cloth. Returning to the porch sometime later, she found that all of her carefully placed tape was gone. She was completely mystified. Where could it be? Who would possibly have taken the time to pull up that tape and why? As she was surveying the situation and mulling over her puzzling predicament, she noticed something moving in her back yard. Looking closer she discovered that it was a snake. It was a rather large creature of its species, but it was no threat to her. It was hopelessly immobilized by being totally enmeshed in a large ball of Scotch tape.
Evidently while Mrs. Cannon was in the house the snake had crawled up on the back porch and had eased itself onto that tape with the adhesive on both sides. Sensing that the tape was sticking to its skin, the snake obviously put up a terrible struggle. In doing so it pulled every bit of tape from the floor. The harder it fought, however, the more hopelessly it became entangled in its cellophane prison until now it was totally captive.
That poor snake reminds me of many people I have known. Somewhere along the way they have made a serious mistake. Then, rather than calmly analyzing their situation and correcting their course, they have reacted impulsively. Soon their lives are like that snake's. The more they struggle, the more entangled they have become until eventually they are totally immobilized psychologically, emotionally and spiritually.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
That poor snake reminds me of many people I have known. Somewhere along the way they have made a serious mistake. Then, rather than calmly analyzing their situation and correcting their course, they have reacted impulsively. Soon their lives are like that snake's. The more they struggle, the more entangled they have become until eventually they are totally immobilized psychologically, emotionally and spiritually.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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Didn't Know He Was Lost
There are many who are bored, burned out, lonely and empty. Many people have tried to substitute the accumulation of things for good relationships, but no matter how much they get, something is still missing in life. Their pipe does not go down deep enough to draw living water, and they feel lost. There was a little boy who got separated from his parents in a large shopping center. The Security Department quickly located the child, and took him to an office while the frantic parents were paged over the public address. One of the security guards got a large ice cream cone for the boy, so when his parents arrived at the office, there was their little son happily eating his ice cream. Suddenly, as his parents embraced him, the child burst into tears. One of the security guards said, "Gosh, I guess he didn't know he was lost until he was found!"
Jesus once met a man named Zacchaeus who was like that. Zacchaeus was a Jew but he worked for the Romans as a tax collector, and he was about as popular as folks today who work for the IRS! In those days tax collectors gathered their funds with a little help from the Roman Army, and when Rome's needs were met, they could collect as much as their ingenuity permitted. Zacchaeus may have been small of stature, but he was a "big man" among the tax collectors. In fact, he was a "chief tax collector." He had a big home in Jericho, a very comfortable life, and although he had more enemies than friends, Zacchaeus outwardly appeared very successful.
Robert A. Beringer, Turning Points, CSS Publishing Company
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Are You Going to Fish?
There's an old story about a fisherman who was very successful. Every morning he went out on the lake in a small boat and when he returned a couple of hours later, his boat was loaded down with fish. He never failed. People wondered how he did it, even when others were not catching anything at all. He always came in with his boat just overflowing with fish.
One morning a stranger showed up with his fishing tackle and said, "Mind if I go fishing with you this morning?" "No," said the fisherman. "Just hop in and we'll go over to a little cove where I always have good luck."
The man hopped in the boat and off they headed across the lake until they came to a small cove. The old fisherman stopped the boat and cut off the motor. He reached over in his tackle box and took out a red stick of dynamite. He lit the fuse and held it for a moment as the fuse burned down. Then at the last moment he tossed it in the water and there was a tremendous explosion. Fish were everywhere on the water. He picked up his net and began scooping up the fish.
After watching this for a moment the stranger reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Opening it up, he showed a badge and said, "I'm a game warden and you are under arrest." The old fisherman simply reached over into his box and pulled out another stick of dynamite. He lit it and held it as the fuse burned down. Then, he tossed it to the game warden and said, "Now, are you going to just sit there or are you going to fish?"
There comes a time when we all have to decide - who we're going to be and what we're going to do! That was true for the game warden and that was true for Zacchaeus in our text for today. He had a crucial decision to make - and it would change his life forever.
Bob Younts, First United Methodist Church of Moore
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God the Diver C.S. Lewis has this really helpful illustration. He says that in the incarnation, Jesus was like a diver. He is God in heaven looking down into this dark, slimy, murky water. That's our sinful, polluted world. God dives in, He gets himself wet. And then God came up again, dripping, but holding the precious thing he went down to recover. That precious thing was Zacchaeus, and you and me. All those sinners who have trusted in Christ. That's how we get out of the slime of tax collecting, or cheating, or lusting, or hating, or whatever other self-destructive sin we are buried in. God in Christ descended down into the slime and rescued us. Resolutions and vows to be better won't help by themselves. We don't have the power to keep them. We are stuck on the sea bottom. We have no power of our own to get up or out. All we can do is cry out for God's grace to lift us up, to rescue us.
Raymond Cannata, A Surprising Resolution
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How Jesus Saw
How Jesus Saw
Many of you have seen the delightful Broadway musical and motion picture, "My Fair Lady." It is based on George Bernard Shaw's wonderful play, "Pygmalion." It is about a brilliant professor, Henry Higgins, who transforms a humble flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, into an elegant English lady. In the midst of her brilliant transformation, Eliza falls in love with Henry Higgins, but he treats her only with disdain. Towards the end of the play, she expresses her complaint to their mutual friend, Colonel Pickering: "You see," she says, "Really and truly apart from the things anyone can pick up (the dressing and the proper way of speaking, and so on), the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not in how she behaves, but how she is treated. I shall always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me as a flower girl, and always will; but I know I can be a lady to you, because you always treat me as a lady, and always will."
It is both interesting and encouraging to notice how Jesus treated people whether it be the woman of the streets or the tax collector in the tree. He saw something no one else could see. That is the first thing we need to see.
*********
From Fr. Tony Kadavil's Collection:
1: Life is Worth Living. In the
early 1950s, a TV program captured the attention of millions throughout the
word, particularly the English-speaking segment. It was Ven. Bishop Fulton
Sheen’s program: Life is Worth Living. The opening, dramatic
lines spoken by the Bishop as he introduced the program were, “Is life worth
living, or is it dull and monotonous? Life is monotonous if it is meaningless;
it is not monotonous if it has purpose.” Today’s readings tell us that life is
worth living, if we are ready to experience the mercy of a forgiving God who
accepts us as we are. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
#2: A man who decided to change himself: William
L. Stidger in his book, There Are Sermons in Stories, once told
about the owner of a small drugstore. For some reason, this druggist hated his
work, so he spent his mornings looking for something better and his afternoons at
the ballpark. He soon decided it was foolish to leave a business about which he
knew something for one about which he knew nothing. So, he decided to make the
best of what he had. He would build up his business by giving the best service
possible. When a customer who lived near would call in an order on the
telephone, he would repeat each item being ordered and his assistant would fill
the order. With the order filled, the owner would keep the customer on the line
while the delivery boy dashed out the front door. When the delivery boy reached
the house of the customer, who was still on the line with the drugstore owner,
she would excuse herself for a minute to answer the door. Coming back to the
phone she would express great surprise at the quickness with which the order
was delivered. News got around about the drugstore that filled orders so
promptly, and soon Charles R. Walgreen, founder of the great Walgreen drugstore
empire, had more business than he could handle. Walgreen said his work was
easy, like a game, and he soon found great joy in what he had once despised.
[Rev. J.B. Fowler, Jr., Illustrated Sermons for Special Occasions,
(Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1988).] Walgreen decided that, since he
could not change his situation, he would change himself. That is what Zacchaeus
did in today’s Gospel story.(Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
# 3: “I’m so not the Material Girl now.” In an
interview with Oprah Winfrey, the singer and actress who calls herself Madonna
explains how her life has changed since she first came to fame in the early
80s. Referring to one of her more famous songs, “Material Girl,” Madonna
claims, “I’m so not the Material Girl now. There were many years when I thought
fame, fortune, and public approval would bring me happiness. But one day you
wake up and realize they don’t. [“Oprah Talks to Madonna,” O Magazine (January
2004), p. 122).] Motherhood is what ultimately inspired the singer to seek out
the more meaningful things in life. “The big turning point was when I was about
to become a parent. I wanted to understand what I would teach my daughter, and
I didn’t know where I stood on things. I wanted to know the meaning of true
lasting happiness and how I could go about finding it,” revealed Madonna.
Today’s Gospel describes how Zacchaeus came to that conclusion the day Jesus
entered his life. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
4) A pastor was asked by one of the
presidential candidates,
“Name something my government can do to help your church if I am elected president.” The pastor replied, “Quit making one-dollar bills.”
“Name something my government can do to help your church if I am elected president.” The pastor replied, “Quit making one-dollar bills.”
5) Dear Lord, so far today I’ve done all right.
I haven’t gossiped, haven’t lost my temper, and haven’t been greedy, grumpy,
nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I’m very thankful for that. But
in a few minutes, Lord, I’m going to get out of bed, and from then on, I’m
probably going to need a lot more help. Amen
22- Additional anecdotes:
1) Blank spots on the tape. Time-lapse
photography compresses a series of events into one picture. Such a photo
appeared in an issue of National Geographic. Taken from a Rocky Mountain peak
during a heavy thunderstorm, the picture captured the brilliant lightning
display that had taken place throughout the storm’s duration. The time-lapse
technique wove a fascinating, spaghetti-like web out of the individual bolts.
In such a way, our sin presents itself before the eyes of God. Where we see
only isolated or individual acts, God sees the overall web of our sinning. What
may seem insignificant to us, something that passes with hardly any notice
taken, creates a much more dramatic display from God’s panoramic viewpoint.
Imagine when you die that Jesus comes to meet you and shows you the “time–lapse
video” of your entire life. You will be surprised to see a number of blank
spots on the tape along with all the good things you did. You ask why there are
such blank spots and Jesus tells you these were the times when you sinned and
asked for God’s mercy. When God forgives, He completely blanks out our sins and
does not remember them. That’s what happens in today’s Gospel story. (Fr. Tony)
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2) “My world crashed about me.” J. C.
Penney was a man of advanced years before he committed his life fully to Jesus
Christ. He had been a good man, honest, but primarily interested in
becoming a success and making money. “When I worked for six dollars a
week at Joslin’s Dry Goods Store back in Denver,” he confessed as he looked
back on his life, “it was my ambition, in the sense of wealth in money, to be
worth one hundred thousand dollars. When I reached that goal, I felt a
certain temporary satisfaction, but it soon wore off and my sights were set on
becoming worth a million dollars.” Mr. and Mrs. Penney worked hard to
expand their business, but one day Mrs. Penney caught pneumonia, which claimed
her life. It was then that J. C. Penney realized that having money was a
poor substitute for the real purpose of life. “When she died,” he said,
“my world crashed about me. To build a business, to make a success in the
eyes of men, to accumulate money–what was the purpose of life? What had
money meant for my wife? I felt mocked by life, even by God Himself.”
After several more fiery trials, J. C. Penney was financially ruined and,
naturally, in deep distress. That is when God was able to deal with his
self-righteous nature and his love for money. After a spiritual conversion,
he testified to God’s workings in his life. “I had to pass through fiery
ordeals before reaching glimmerings of conviction that it is not enough for men
to be upright and moral. When I was brought to humility and the knowledge
of dependence on God, sincerely and earnestly seeking God’s aid, it was
forthcoming, and a light illumined my being. I cannot otherwise describe
it than to say that it changed me as a man.” Grace led him to a moment of
conversion as it did Zacchaeus. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
3) “I work for the IRS”: There is a story about
a local fitness center that was offering $1,000 to anyone who could demonstrate
that they were stronger than the owner of the place. Here is how it worked.
This muscle man would squeeze a lemon until all the juice ran into a glass, and
then hand the lemon to the next challenger. Anyone who could squeeze just one
more drop of juice out, would win the money. Many people tried over time –
other weightlifters, construction workers, even professional wrestlers, but
nobody could do it. One day, a short and skinny guy came in and signed up for
the contest. After the laughter died down, the owner grabbed a lemon and
squeezed away. Then he handed the wrinkled remains to the little man. The
crowd’s laughter turned to silence as the man clenched his fist around the
lemon and six drops fell into the glass. As the crowd cheered, the manager paid
out the winning prize and asked the short guy what he did for a living. “Are
you a lumberjack, a weightlifter, or what?” The man replied, “I work for the
IRS.” Today’s Gospel describes the conversion of a Jew who worked for the
first-century Roman IRS. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
4) The transforming touch of the master’s hand: Snow
Man was a gray white horse that Harry De Leyer picked up cheaply at a horse
auction. Harry trained Snow Man, and the horse served well at the girls’ school
where Harry was the riding master. However, when the school closed for the
summer, a neighbor made a generous offer for Snow Man, and Harry could not
afford to refuse it. So, Snow Man had a new home. Snow Man, however, liked his
old home and his old master. Time and time again he jumped the neighbor’s high fences
and returned to Harry. Finally, Harry bought his horse back. In that series of
events, though, was a clue to Snow Man’s real greatness. Snow Man was a natural
jumper, and the horse that once jumped fences to return to his loving previous
master later jumped at Madison Square Garden for two national titles! [Paul
Aurandt, ed., Paul Harvey’s the Rest of the Story, ed. (New
York: Bantam Books, 1977), pp. 68).] All Snow Man needed was the love and
attention of his master. That is what Zacchaeus needed as well. Zacchaeus knew
that there was something more in life, and he was determined to experience it.
He was willing to make whatever change was necessary in life to see his dream
come true. After he had felt the touch of the Master’s hand, he was willing to
live up to his new commitment by no longer being dishonest in his work, by
making restitution for the wrongs he had done in the past, and by sharing what
he had with the needy. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
5) Laurin Chapin encountered Jesus as Zacchaeus did: One
of the most popular weekly programs in the early days of television was Father
Knows Best. One of the stars of that show was little Laurin Chapin who
played 11-year-old Kathy Anderson. Those familiar with this wholesome family
program remember little Kathy in all of her innocence and charm. Unfortunately,
Laurin Chapin’s real life was nothing like Kathy Anderson’s. We are told that
Laurin’s mother drank very heavily. When the Father Knows Best
series ended, Laurin couldn’t get another job in television. Alienated from her
mother and from the world of make-believe that had given substance to her life,
she began running wild. She turned to drugs, casual lovers and fast company.
The next several years of her life were filled with eight miscarriages,
welfare, a mental hospital and a host of times in and out of jails. At 38 years
of age, Laurin Chapin encountered Jesus as Zacchaeus did in today’s Gospel.
“All my life I’ve wanted to be loved,” she said. “God’s love is the most
complete love, and I think that’s what I was looking for.” (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
6) Hunger for somebodiness: A few years ago,
Vance Packard wrote a book he called The Staus Seekers. From him
and others like him, we learn that having an office with a window and a carpet
might be more important than getting a raise. So what encouragement is there
for those who make sandwiches for a cafeteria? Or who fill mail orders at Wards?
Or who make boxes at Hoerner Waldorf? Or who are retired – whose job history is
in the past? Martin Luther King Jr. coined a word that says what we all hunger
for: somebodiness. It seems to me that’s one way to describe what was driving
Zacchaeus, his urge to be somebody. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
7) “Hands off, Zacchaeus.” The Eighth
Commandment is God’s way of screaming “Hands off!” There are hundreds of ways
to steal. Just consider all the words we have for it: gyp, lift, loot, nab,
pinch, pluck, pilfer, snatch, swindle, embezzle, defraud, and plagiarize.
Stealing can be as direct as a woman putting on three slips in a fitting room,
putting her dress on over them, and walking out. Or, stealing can be as
complicated as borrowing money on non-existent ammonia tanks or setting up
bogus corporate accounts in which to deposit illegal fees. Consider these
modern means of theft: junk bonds, computer hacking, stock manipulation and
influence-peddling. Or a cotton broker could sell cotton to himself while
collecting under the agricultural subsidy program. Larceny is in our blood.
Look back across our history. We stole land from the Native Americans by
trading beads, baubles, and alcohol. We built the entire economy of the South
on the legal theft of liberty and labor from African American slaves. We have a
long and infamous history of theft. There is a socio-economic injustice related
to stealing. Poor people, with no money to hire skilled attorneys, waste away
in prisons for stealing a car or TV, while officers of huge corporations
manipulate the stock market, embezzle, and bill our government for defense
contract overruns. Few of them are ever even accused of wrong-doing. Ours is a
society “on the take,” and stealing is one of our most blatant sins. Today’s
Gospel challenges the stealers to follow the example of conversion shown by
Zacchaeus. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
8) “You see, he’s Paul Adams now.” The novelist,
A. J. Cronin, tells a story from his own experience as a doctor that catches
the wonder of this gift of grace. The Adams family at the close of the Second
World War decided to open their home to a little refugee boy with the
outlandish name of Paul Piotrostanalzi. The Adams had two daughters and a son
named Sammy. Sammy and Paul became inseparable friends, but little Paul was a
difficult child, and often disobeyed Mr. and Mrs. Adams. One day, little Paul
went swimming in some contaminated water. He became very ill with a high fever,
and the doctor suggested he sleep in an attic bedroom. But little Sammy missed
his friend Paul so much that one night he crept up the attic stairs and into
bed with Paul. Paul’s hot breath fell on Sammy’s neck all night. In the
morning, Sammy, never a strong child, became deathly ill. Paul recovered his
health, but Sammy died within three days. It was a terrible tragedy for the
Adams family. A year later Dr. Cronin decided to pay a call on the Adams
family. But as he pulled into their driveway, he was amazed and then angry as
he saw Paul, the refugee boy, working in the garden with Mr. Adams. He got out
of his car and angrily approached Mr. Adams. “What’s this Paul Pio…….. whatever
his name is, doing here after what he did to your family?” Mr. Adams looked at
the doctor and then said quietly, “Dr. Cronin, you won’t have any more trouble
with Paul’s name. You see, he’s Paul Adams now. We’ve adopted him.”1 That is a
wonderful story of costly grace, and that is exactly the wonderful gift that
Jesus once gave to a heart-hungry tax collector named Zacchaeus. [A. J.
Cronin, Adventures in Two Worlds (The Ryerson Press, 1952).]
(Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
9) “Am I a worthless sinner?” Things to remember
next time you feel like a worthless sinner whom God can’t use: Noah was a
drunk, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a day-dreamer, Jacob was a liar, Leah was
ugly, Joseph was abused, Moses had a stuttering problem, Gideon was a coward,
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer, Rahab was a prostitute, Jeremiah and
Timothy were too young, David had an affair and was a murderer, Elijah was
deeply depressed, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God, Naomi lost both
her husband and her two sons to death and her daughter-in-law Ruth was a
foreigner, not a Jew. Job went bankrupt, John the Baptist ate locusts, Peter
denied Christ, the apostles fell asleep while praying, Martha worried about
everything, Mary was esxtravagant, the Samaritan woman was divorced more than
once, Zacchaeus was too small, Paul was a fanatic, Timothy had an ulcer…and
Lazarus was dead! We have no more excuses now. God can use us to our full
potential. Besides, we aren’t the message; we are just the messenger.(Fr.
Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
10) “Your teacher sent me to help you with nouns and
adverbs.” Several years ago, a schoolteacher assigned to visit
children in a large city hospital received a routine call requesting that she
visit a particular child. She took the boy’s name and room number and was told
by the teacher on the other end of the line, “We’re studying nouns and adverbs
in his class now. I’d be grateful if you could help him with his homework, so
he doesn’t fall behind the others.” It wasn’t until the visiting teacher got
outside the boy’s room that she realized it was located in the hospital’s burn
unit. No one had prepared her to find a young boy horribly burned and in great
pain. She felt that she couldn’t just turn and walk out, so she awkwardly
stammered, “I’m the hospital teacher, and your teacher sent me to help you with
nouns and adverbs.” The next morning a nurse on the burn unit asked her, “What
did you do to that boy?” Before she could finish a profusion of apologies, the
nurse interrupted her: “You don’t understand. We’ve been very worried about
him, but ever since you were here yesterday, his whole attitude has changed.
He’s fighting back, responding to treatment . . . It’s as though he’s decided
to live.” The boy later explained that he had completely given up hope until he
saw that teacher. It all changed when he came to a simple realization. With
joyful tears he expressed it this way: “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on
nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?” [Parables, Etc. (Dallas:
Word Publishing, 1991).] To know that someone believes in us makes all the
difference in the world. The conviction that Jesus believed him caused the
instant conversion of Zacchaeus. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
11) “I can be a lady to you.” Many of you have
seen the delightful Broadway musical and motion picture, My Fair Lady.
It is based on George Bernard Shaw’s wonderful play, Pygmalion. It
is about a brilliant professor, Henry Higgins, who transforms a humble flower
girl, Eliza Doolittle, into an elegant English lady. In the midst of her
brilliant transformation, Eliza falls in love with Henry Higgins, but he treats
her only with disdain. Towards the end of the play, she expresses her complaint
to their mutual friend, Colonel Pickering: “You see,” she says, “Really and
truly, apart from the things anyone can pick up (the dressing and the proper
way of speaking, and so on), the difference between a lady and a flower girl is
not in how she behaves, but how she is treated. I shall always be a flower girl
to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me as a flower girl, and always
will; but I know I can be a lady to you, because you always treat me as a lady,
and always will.” It is both interesting and encouraging to notice how Jesus
treated people, whether it be the woman of the streets or the tax collector in
the tree. He saw something no one else could see. That is the first thing we
need to see. Jesus was even more eager to see Zacchaeus than Zacchaeus was to
see him. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
12) Pig traveling in the first class from Philadelphia to
Seattle: Speaker Les Parrot tells about a pig that flew aboard a US
Airways jet from Philadelphia into Les’ home city of Seattle. Two passengers
convinced an airline representative that the pig needed to fly with them as a
“therapeutic companion pet”–like a seeing-eye dog–so the representative decided
to permit the pig to sit with them in the first-class cabin of the plane. It
was a decision he would soon regret. Passengers described the 300-pound pig as
“enormous, brown, angry, and honking.” He was seated in three seats near the
front of the plane, but the attendants reportedly had difficulty strapping him
in. “He became restless after takeoff and sauntered through the cabin,” one
passenger said. “He kept rubbing his nose on people’s legs trying to get them
to give him food and stroke him.”
Upon landing, things only got worse. The pig panicked, running up and down through economy class and squealing. Many passengers, also screaming, stood on their seats. It took four attendants to escort the beast off the plane. And when they reached the terminal, the pig escaped, only to be recaptured in another part of the airport. When asked to comment on the story, a US Airways spokesman named David said, “We can confirm that the pig traveled, and we can confirm that it will never happen again.” [Shoulda Coulda Woulda: Live in the Present and Find Your Future (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003).] That’s repentance. It happened. It was a mistake. It will never happen again. Zacchaeus said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house . . .” Zacchaeus was a changed man. He wasn’t simply a better man — he was a man who had moved from darkness to light. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Upon landing, things only got worse. The pig panicked, running up and down through economy class and squealing. Many passengers, also screaming, stood on their seats. It took four attendants to escort the beast off the plane. And when they reached the terminal, the pig escaped, only to be recaptured in another part of the airport. When asked to comment on the story, a US Airways spokesman named David said, “We can confirm that the pig traveled, and we can confirm that it will never happen again.” [Shoulda Coulda Woulda: Live in the Present and Find Your Future (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003).] That’s repentance. It happened. It was a mistake. It will never happen again. Zacchaeus said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house . . .” Zacchaeus was a changed man. He wasn’t simply a better man — he was a man who had moved from darkness to light. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
13) George Wilson must be hanged: Back in 1830, George Wilson was convicted of robbing the U.S. Mail and was sentenced to be
hanged. President Andrew Jackson issued a pardon for Wilson, but he refused to
accept it. The matter went to Chief Justice Marshall, who concluded that Wilson
would have to be executed. “A pardon is a slip of paper,” wrote Marshall, “the
value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If
it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.” For some, the
pardon comes too late. For others, the pardon is not accepted. (Prokope,
V. 11, #5). Today’s Gospel describes how the tax collector wholeheartedly
accepted the pardon offered by Jesus. (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
14) “The life of Christianity consists of possessive
pronouns” “The life of Christianity consists of possessive pronouns.” It is
one thing to say, “Christ is a Savior”; it is quite another thing to say, “He
is my Savior and my Lord.” The devil can say the first; the true Christian
alone can say the second. (A quote attributed to Martin Luther, but not found
in any of his woks). Today’s Gospel tells us how Zacchaeus wholeheartedly
accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. (Bible.org: Resource, July/August 1990).
(Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
15) The “Tiny” star of Cincinnati Royals: Several
years ago, there was a basketball player by the name of Nate Archibald. When
Nate finished college, most of the professional teams ignored him because they
thought he was too short. In fact, his nickname was ‘Tiny.” The Cincinnati
Royals decided to take a chance on Nate and signed him to play on their team.
Well, Nate made it big in the NBA because he was lightning fast, had good
hands, and was a great shooter. He played in the NBA for fourteen seasons and
became known as the player who proved that a “little man” could play in the
NBA. Just look at some of the honors he won: He was named to the All-NBA team
five times. He was named to the NBA All-Star team six times. He was elected to
the NBA Hall of Fame. Not too bad for a man most people thought was too short
to play in the NBA. –The Bible tells us about another short man who became
great, even though he was not very tall. His name was Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was
not only short, he was hated by almost everyone because he was a tax collector.
As a tax collector, he often cheated people and collected more taxes than they
owed. When he heard that Jesus was passing by, he climbed a tree to see Jesus.
Jesus saw him, called him by name, invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house — and Zacchaeus
was changed forever. When Jesus enters our lives, our shortcomings, our
handicaps do not matter at all.
(John Pichappilly in The Table of the Word; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
(John Pichappilly in The Table of the Word; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
16) Forgiven people: In the movie The
Mission, one of the leading characters is converted from being a slave-trader
of the Brazilian Indians to being a Jesuit priest. But he insists on doing
penance, dragging a heavy bundle through the jungle back to the Indians he used
to enslave. Once back, in a dramatic, cliff-side scene, where the bundle
threatened to make him fall, the Indians cut away the bundle. The people he had
formerly enslaved forgave him and set him free. –We have the power to do the
same for each other. As Martin Luther pointed out centuries ago, we are a
priesthood of believers who are to be priests for one another, forgiving one
another as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us. We have the power to forgive
as God’s sons and daughters. (John R. in Hear His Voice; quoted by Fr.
Botelho). (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
17) Courage to change decisions: Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq
who succeeded Ghazi was one of the most interesting, and colorful Rulers of
India. He ruled Delhi from 1325 to 1351. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq shifted his
capital from Delhi to Daulatabad, located in the Deccan region of India. He did
this to administer the provinces located in the south. Since things did not
work out as he had planned, the capital was shifted back to Delhi after two
years. Though Tughlaq was the unchallengeable monarch of his empire, when he
realized the mistake in his decision, he had the good sense and courage to
change it. In today’s Gospel we meet a powerful and wealthy man who declares
his willingness and courage to change his ways and amend his life. (Fr. Bobby
Jose). (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
18) The Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost. Evelyn
Waugh captures this dynamic in his novel Brideshead Revisited. Lord
Marchmain is an elderly British aristocrat who returns to England to die. He’s
a fallen-away Catholic. His daughter Julia, also a former Catholic, decides to
invite a priest to visit her father. However, Lord Marchmain refuses to speak
with him. Several days later, with death looming over Lord Marchmain, Julia
again summons the priest. The narrator describes what happens next. Lord
Marchmain is too weak to talk. The priest approaches to give him the anointing
of the sick, and when he anoints his forehead, Lord Marchmain slowly lifts his
hand to his forehead. For one sickening moment it seems that he’s going to
brush away the oil, but instead he slowly makes the Sign of the Cross and dies
shortly afterwards. The Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost. (E-
Priest). (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
19) Saint Ignatius Loyola gets Radical: When St
Ignatius Loyola studied in Paris in the 1530’s, a priest he knew wasn’t exactly
a paragon of virtue. He had broken his vows and was living with a woman. He
was giving a terrible example to others. St Ignatius wasn’t content to ignore
this man’s moral misery. He prayed for him. He sacrificed for him. And he did
something else. He went to his house one night, knelt next to his bed, and
asked him to hear his confession. When the priest witnessed Ignatius’s faith,
something changed. He returned to the priesthood and began to dedicate himself
to serving God’s people. Through Ignatius Loyola, Christ came to seek and save what was lost. (E- Priest). (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
20) Welcome aboard. Please keep writing in: A
few years ago, an American priest who lives and works in Rome started doing
regular television commentary for Fox News. People seemed to like hearing his
point of view, so Fox eventually asked him to start a blog on their Web site.
The priest in question, Fr. Jonathan Morris, agreed to do the blog, but he knew
that it would give disgruntled people a chance to vent their anger at him. So,
he made a promise to Christ that he would never respond to an angry email with
anger. He would only respond with kindness. Since then, the angry emails have
flooded in. It hasn’t been easy to absorb so many email punches without
punching back, but with the help of God’s grace, he has kept his promise. And
because of it, angry e-mailers have often been completely taken off guard, and
he has even seen people completely change their negative view of the Catholic
Church, just because they were treated with Christian mercy, with kindness and
respect, the way Jesus treated Zacchaeus. Here is a real example of the kind of
exchange he deals with daily: EMAIL FROM NANCY: God bless Jack Kevorkian, he is
an enlightened bright light in this world of suffering. You, on the other hand,
are [the devil] incarnate with your dreary rotting dogma. But more power to you
‘Father’ (ha) FR JONATHAN’S RESPONSE: Nancy, I think a lot of people on this
blog were concerned about rigid and nonsensical dogma when they first started
reading. Welcome aboard. Please keep writing in and explaining the reasons
behind your disagreement. It will add a lot to our discussion.” That’s the
response of a Christian who is living out his mission “to seek and to save.”
(E- Priest). (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
21) There were some eyebrows raised when John XXIII was
elected pope. He was in his seventies and there was no great hope that
he was going to shake the Church. One of the first things he did, however, made
people sit up and notice. He went in person to visit prisoners in one of Rome’s
prisons. He met them as equals and chatted informally with each. He even
disclosed that he himself had a relative in jail! The work and short
pontificate of this man was going to open many doors and set many prisoners
free. (Jack McArdle in And That’s the Gospel Truth; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
(Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
22) Money can buy a beautiful grave but not eternal life:
There is a poem which talks about money written by Karl-Heinz Doll. I think
this is application to Zacchaeus, — and to us especially. The poem runs this
way:
“Money can buy bed but not sleep
Money can buy food but not appetite
Money can buy a house but not a home
Money can buy medicine but not health
Money can buy pleasure but not joy
Money can buy books but not wisdom
Money can buy style but not beauty
Money can buy contracts but not trustworthiness
Money can buy weapons but not peace
Money can buy bodyguards but not peace of heart
Money can buy a beautiful grave but not eternal life.”
Another author said: “Money is an article which may be used
as universal passport to everywhere, except Heaven and as a universal provider
of everything except happiness.” Just like some of us, Zacchaeus was thinking
that to have more money would give him security and even happiness. Yes, we can
love the money, but the money cannot love us in return. Money has no feeling.
It has a callous nature. When Jesus touches Zacchaeus, the tax-collector makes
a choice that he has to change his way of life. (Fr. Benitez). (Fr. Tony) (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/19
