31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Zacchaeus, come down quickly,for today I must stay at your house.

Lk 19:1-10

Jesus

Good Shepherd. He has concern for the lost. He seeks them out. That’s why he stopped at where Zacchaeus was and asked to be welcomed into his home. At the end of the gospel, Jesus declared: "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost." Did Jesus come for you? If you do not feel the need to be redeemed, then Jesus did not come for you.

Jesus called Zacchaeus by name. Jesus knew Zacchaeus. If he didn’t know Zacchaeus, he would have said, “Hey you! Come down.” God knows us individually. He keeps us in mind. That is the meaning of the bible quotation, “I have written your name on the palm of my hands.”

Zacchaeus

He was the head tax collector. People hated him for good reason. First, as head tax collector, he had tax collectors under him. They were collecting more than what the Romans demanded. Why? He gave to the Romans what they wanted and the difference was his to keep. Second, he was an agent of the Romans. He was a collaborator of the enemy.

But we can learn many good things from him.

Did Zacchaeus expect Jesus to stop, look up and ask to be invited to his house? Probably not. But he welcomed Jesus all the same and gladly! The call of Jesus to conversion may come to us when we least expect. How ready are we to respond with “yes” to that call?

He wanted to see Jesus. But he was short and the crowds prevented him from coming near Jesus nor even catching a glimpse of Jesus. What did he do? He climbed a tree. Zacchaeus was resourceful. Life will not always be easy. We need to be resourceful (maparaan). We also need to develop a winner’s attitude. That is, we look at difficulties not as doors that are locked and can not be opened but as hills that can be climbed. This is called a “can do” attitude. This is called a winner’s attitude.

Zacchaeus might be short in physical stature. But he certainly was of high social stature in Jericho. To climb a tree is unbecoming of his social stature. What will people say? He didn’t care. Sometimes we fail to do what he should do because of what people will say. Sometimes also we do what we should not do because of what people will say. This is called human respect. And for young people, this is called peer pressure. Like Zacchaeus, we need to develop that ability of not being pressured by what people will say. How? When we are able to develop a strong sense of self-esteem, it will be much easier to resist human respect and peer pressure.

Zaccheus promised to give half his wealth to the poor and if he had cheated anyone he would pay back that person four times. This is called restitution. It is not enough to be sorry for our sins. We need to make restitution. We have to return what we have stolen. We need to set the record straight if we have ruined the reputation of someone. If you have hurt somebody’s feelings, why don’t you do something to make that person happy?

We love happy endings. Do you remember the ending of Lord of the Rings? Do you remember how fairy tales ended? “And they lived happily ever after.” The story of Zacchaeus had also a happy ending. He not only had Jesus in his home. He also had a conversion. How will our life end? Will it also have a happy ending?

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The Salesians of Don Bosco is a religious congregation of priests and brothers dedicated to the welfare of the young. If you feel called by God to give your life for the good of the young, you may want help in discovering if this is really God's will for you. Please get in touch with the Vocation Director (Don Bosco North Province, Philippines) - 0917-7930112 - finvoc@yahoo.com - Bro. MON CALLO SDB.