Sunday Scripture Readings: Studies and Meditations, October 31

[Fidelis]

This Gospel Reading is cited in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in several sections:

549 By freeing some individuals from the earthly evils of hunger, injustice, illness and death,274 Jesus performed messianic signs. Nevertheless he did not come to abolish all evils here below,275 but to free men from the gravest slavery, sin, which thwarts them in their vocation as God’s sons and causes all forms of human bondage.276

** 274.** Cf. Jn 6:5-15; Lk 19:8; Mt 11:5.

275. Cf. Lk 12:13-14; Jn 18:36.

276. Cf. Jn 8:34-36.

B]Reconciliation with the Church

1443 During his public life Jesus not only forgave sins, but also made plain the effect of this forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of the People of God from which sin had alienated or even excluded them. A remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus receives sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an astonishing way both God’s forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the People of God.44

**44. Cf. Lk** 15; **19:9**.

**2412 **In virtue of commutative justice, reparation for injustice committed requires the restitution of stolen goods to their owner:

Jesus blesses Zacchaeus for his pledge: "If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold."**193 **Those who, directly or indirectly, have taken possession of the goods of another, are obliged to make restitution of them, or to return the equivalent in kind or in money, if the goods have disappeared, as well as the profit or advantages their owner would have legitimately obtained from them. Likewise, all who in some manner have taken part in a theft or who have knowingly benefited from it - for example, those who ordered it, assisted in it, or received the stolen goods - are obliged to make restitution in proportion to their responsibility and to their share of what was stolen.

**193. Lk 19:8**.

2712 Contemplative prayer is the prayer of the child of God, of the forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome the love by which he is loved and who wants to respond to it by loving even more**.8** But he knows that the love he is returning is poured out by the Spirit in his heart, for everything is grace from God. Contemplative prayer is the poor and humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his beloved Son.

8**. Cf. Lk** 7:36-50; **19:1-10**.

 

[Fidelis]

Some questions for personal reflection:

* Where else in the Scriptures do you see the town of Jericho mentioned (Joshua 2:1-7, 6; Mark 10:46; Luke 10:30)? What do you imagine this town to have been like?

* How does Zacchaeus compare with the rich official (Luke 18:18-30) in his approach and response to Jesus? How did Zacchaeus show himself to be a true son of Abraham (Luke 3:12-13; Romans 4:12)?

* Why does Jesus dine with Zacchaeus? Why does this bother others? Do you think Jesus’ words (verses 9-10) stopped the crowds’ muttering?

* Where did Jesus first find you? (Up a tree? Out on a limb?) How did he get you to join him?

* What was Zacchaeus’ attitude toward his own dignity in his desire to see Jesus? How willing are you to make a fool of yourself so that salvation may come to your house? What wrongs do you need to make right?

 

[AnotherVoice]

Thank you for all of your posts and effort.

AV

 

[Fidelis]

Thank you for all of your posts and effort.

AV

You’re very welcome AV. I hope you and everyone else are finding them helpful. To God be the glory.

 

[Fidelis]

Here is a personal reflection for application from Catholic Matters:

APPLICATION: Zacchaeus’s interest in seeing what Jesus was like was caused by something more than idle curiosity. Unknown to him, the grace of God was working within him. He thought that he just wanted to see what Jesus was like. Jesus knew already what Zacchaeus was like and intended to see him and save him from his downward rush after earthly wealth. He would offer him eternal riches. This is exactly what happened. Jesus entered the home and heart of Zacchaeus that day, and not only the home and heart of Zachaeus, but of his whole household. From that day Jesus had devoted followers in Jericho, and Christianity had a strong foothold in that ancient city.

There were many other sinners in Jericho that day. In fact, it is most likely that the vast majority of the adult population were guilty of violating one or other of God’s commandments. Why then did Zacchaeus get this great privilege and not the others? God alone knows the answer to this question. We can assume that the mercy of God and the grace of conversion was available to all of them. However, unlike Zacchaeus, many of them refused to accept God’s offer. Christ told them all that he “had come to search out and save what was lost.” Many of them, unfortunately, did not realize that they were lost and so did not interpret his words as applying to themselves. Certainly, those who murmured, because he was entering the house of a sinner, must have felt that their own house was a haven of sanctity. But was it? Even if they had no other sins, this lack of charity, of interest, in their fellow-citizen’s salvation was a violation of one of the basic commandments.

Not to admit that we are sinners is a fundamental impediment to the working of the mercy and grace of God in our hearts. The second and more common impediment is to refuse to listen to the calls to repentance, which God so frequently sends out to us. God wants all mankind, the whole human race, to enjoy the eternal happiness of heaven. His divine Son became man so that men could share this eternal happiness with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit forever. The door of heaven is open. The road is clearly mapped out. All the necessary means for the journey are at our disposal. The only ones who can fail are those who wander deliberately off the road and refuse to return to it when called.

Those who fail cannot blame God. It was his love for us and his desire that we should be eternally happy with him, that led him to the humiliation of lowering his divine Son to the level of a mere creature in his human nature. He endured the tortures of crucifixion, in order to raise us up to the level of divine sonship. Such love is so infinitely far beyond our limited intelligence that it is almost incredible. When God did this for us, we were his enemies and positive offenders against his law. Some of us, aided by God’s grace, can forgive a fellowman who has offended us. Which of us could willingly die for that neighbor while he was still offending us? This is what God the Son did for us.

We cannot have the slightest doubt that he wants us all in heaven. Neither can we doubt that he is sending out calls to us when we wander foolishly off the right road. Unfortunately for ourselves, we can refuse to listen to these calls. We can turn a deaf ear to God’s offer of mercy and grace. If we do, one of our greatest sources of sorrow and regret in our future life, will be that, while we still had a chance to repent, our stupid stubbornness made us refuse to listen to our loving Father’s calls to repentance.

Zacchaeus was not so stubborn or so foolish. The story of his conversion is put before us today, not as a matter of historical interest, but as a matter of vital spiritual interest. We are all sinners to a greater or lesser degree. Jesus is approaching each one of us today by means of this very lesson which we have read. Let each one of us try to see what Jesus is like. He is a loving brother who died that we might live, a fellowman who suffered tortures that we might have eternal joy. He was also the Son of God, the God of infinite love. At the same time, let Jesus see us as we really are. Let us expose and confess to him all our earthly weaknesses and injustices against God and neighbor. He will find a remedy for us. He will put us back once more on the straight road to heaven. Today, salvation will come to us and to our house. We will become again true sons of Abraham, true heirs to heaven.

 

[Fidelis]

From Daily Scripture Readings & Meditations:

"Zacchaeus made haste and received Jesus joyfully"
**
Meditation: ** What would you do if Jesus knocked on your door and said, “I must stay at your house today”? Would you be excited or embarrassed? Jesus often “dropped-in” at unexpected times and he often visited the “uninvited” — the poor, the lame, and even public sinners like Zacchaeus, the tax collector! Tax collectors were despised and treated as outcasts, no doubt because they over-charged people and accumulated great wealth at the expense of others. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and was much hated by all the people. Why would Jesus single him out for the honor of staying at his home? Zacchaeus needed God’s merciful love and in his encounter with Jesus he found more than he imagined possible. He shows the depth of his repentance by deciding to give half of his goods to the poor and to use the other half for making restitution for fraud. Zacchaeus’ testimony included more than words. His change of heart resulted in a change of life, a change that the whole community could experience as genuine. The Lord is always ready to make his home with us. Do you make room for him in your heart, your home, and in every area of your life?

*“Lord, come and stay with me. Fill my home with your presence and fill my heart with your praise. Help me to show kindness and mercy to all, even to those who cause me harm.” *

 

[Fidelis]

Reflections on the Sunday Readings, from Dr. Scott Hahn:

Lover of Souls

Our Lord is a lover of souls, the Liturgy shows us today. As we sing in today’s Psalm, He is slow to anger and compassionate towards all that He has made.

In His mercy, our First Reading tells us, He overlooks our sins and ignorance, giving us space that we might repent and not perish in our sinfulness (see Wisdom 12:10; 2 Peter 3:9).

In Jesus, He has become the Savior of His children, coming himself to save the lost (see Isaiah 63:8-9; Ezekiel 34:16).

In the figure of Zacchaeus in today’s Gospel, we have a portrait of a lost soul. He is a tax collector, by profession a “sinner” excluded from Israel’s religious life. Not only that, he is a “chief tax collector.” Worse still, he is a rich man who has apparently gained his living by fraud.

But Zacchaeus’ faith brings salvation to his house. He expresses his faith in his fervent desire to “see” Jesus, even humbling himself to climb a tree just to watch Him pass by. While those of loftier religious stature react to Jesus with grumbling, Zacchaeus receives Him with joy.

Zacchaeus is not like the other rich men Jesus meets or tells stories about (see Luke 12:16-21; 16:19-31; 18:18-25). He repents, vowing to pay restitution to those he has cheated and to give half of his money to the poor.

By his humility he is exalted, made worthy to welcome the Lord into his house. By his faith, he is justified, made a descendant of Abraham (see Romans 4:16-17).

As He did last week, Jesus is again using a tax collector to show us the faith and humility we need to obtain salvation.

We are also called to seek Jesus daily with repentant hearts. And we should make our own Paul’s prayer in today’s Epistle: that God might make us worthy of His calling, that by our lives we might give glory to the name of Jesus.

 

[kelvinf]

Thank you Fidelis! :thankyou:

 

[Fidelis]

Thank you Fidelis! :thankyou:

You are welcome, kelvinf. :tiphat:

 

[Fidelis]

Meditation on today’s Gospel Reading and questions on all the readings from “The Word Among Us” magazine:

“Zacchaeus, come down quickly.” (Luke 19:5)

Most of the Jews in Jericho probably thought of Zacchaeus as a lost cause. Once a faithful son of Abraham, he had become a senior tax collector, making money through corruption and extortion. Was there any hope for his redemption?

Absolutely! At one invitation from Jesus, he gave up half his wealth and promised to pay back fourfold anyone he had cheated. What caused such a turnaround? Isn’t it possible that despite his reputation, there were still some people in Jericho who were praying for him? Isn’t it possible that there were some who looked upon him with compassion and mercy, not judgment and recrimination? And their prayers, ascending to heaven on his behalf, helped soften Zacchaeus’ heart so that he could turn away from his sins and try to make restitution.

Have you ever felt a sudden need to pray for someone? Or has someone’s situation moved you to pray for him or her on a regular basis? Most likely, that’s not your own idea but the Holy Spirit prompting you. We may think it’s an impossible case, but something still stirs us to pray. And when there is prayer, there is power. God can break through even the hardest heart—maybe not in the way we expect or in our time, but he will act.

Remember St. Augustine. His mother prayed for him for years before he had a genuine conversion. How do you think Augustine would have turned out if she had given up? It’s possible that he would have come to the Lord on his own, but probably much later and in very different circumstances.

Prayer is powerful, and persistent prayer is unbeatable. May we never lose sight of this special privilege we have all been given: the privilege of working with God as he changes people’s lives!

“Jesus, help me to hear your Spirit’s voice when he moves me to pray for someone. May I never give up hope! Who knows? Maybe the next St. Augustine could be touched because of my intercession!”

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

1. In the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, we learn of God’s love for all things, his mercy for all people, and his forgiveness for repentant sinners. The author goes on to say that the Lord loathes nothing that he has made: “for what you hated, you would not have fashioned” (Wisdom 11:24). What is your attitude towards people who are different from yourself? How could it be more Christlike?

1. The responsorial psalm speaks of God’s graciousness, mercy, kindness, and compassion. How important is it for our compassion to reach beyond our small circle of family or friends? What more can you do?

1. St. Paul, in the second reading, warns the early Christians to be on their guard against false “prophets” of doom. In what way is your view of the state of the world shaped by alarmists and doomsayers? How would a deeper understanding of the nature and character of God, and faith in his power to transform even the hardest of hearts, help your view to be more hopeful and Christ-centered?

1. In the Gospel, we again see Jesus reaching out to an individual who was hated and disrespected by his contemporaries. Notice that Zacchaeus “received him with joy” and the crowd “began to grumble.” Why did this happen? In what ways can you work “against the grain” to care for others, especially those who are looked down on?

1. Jesus said he came “to seek and save what was lost.” Notice that Jesus did not wait around but actively sought those in need. He also told Zacchaeus that, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9). In what ways can your outreach to others be a source of “salvation” to them? How can you be less passive and more active in sharing the Good News with others?

1. The meditation ends with these words: “Prayer is powerful, and persistent prayer is unbeatable. May we never lose sight of this special privilege we have all been given: the privilege of working with God as he changes people’s lives!” Who are the people in your life including family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers who are in need of prayer? Take some time to “hear the Holy Spirit’s voice” as he moves you to pray for these people with an expectant faith, knowing that God loves them and desires to touch their lives.

 

[Fidelis]

To Make a Long Story Short – A Meditation on the Gospel for the 31st Sunday of the Year
By: Msgr. Charles Pope

The Gospel today is of the familiar and endearing story of Zacchaeus, a man too short to see Jesus, who climbs a tree, encounters Jesus, and is changed. The danger with familiar stories is that they are familiar and we can miss remarkable qualities. Perhaps it is well that we look afresh and search for the symbolic in the ordinary details.
**

1. Shortsighted Sinner - **Zacchaeus was physically short, and so, could not see the Lord. But let me ask you, do you think that Luke has told us this merely to indicate his physical stature? Well, I’m a preacher and I’m counting on the fact that there is more at work here than a physical description. I suspect it is also a moral description. Zacchaeus cannot see the Lord because of the blindness sin brings. It is his moral stature that is the real cause of his inability to see the Lord. Consider some of the following texts from scripture that link sin to a kind of blindness:

* *My iniquities have overtaken me, till I cannot see. *(Ps 40:12)
** I will bring distress on the people  and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD* (Zeph 1:17)
* *They know not, nor do they discern; for God has shut their eyes; so that they cannot see, and their minds so that they cannot understand *(Is 44:18)
* *Because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous, now they grope through the streets like men who are blind *(Lam 4:13)
* *Unless one is born again by water and the Spirit, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.* (John 3:5)
* *Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.* (Matt 5:8)

So sin brings blindness, an inability to see the Lord. Now Zacchaeus has fallen short through sin and hence he cannot see Jesus. “How has he sinned?” You might say. Well, he is the chief tax collector of Jericho. Tax collectors were wicked men, I tell you no lie. The Romans recruited the mobsters of that day to collect taxes. These were bad guys. They ruffed people up and extorted money from them. The Romans permitted them to charge beyond the tax as their “cut” of the deal. They were corrupt, they exploited the poor and schmoozed the powerful. These were men who were both feared and hated, and for good reason. They were, to a man, wicked and unjust. Zacchaeus was not just any Tax Collector, he was Chief Tax collector. He was a mafia boss, a Don, a “Godfather.” Got the picture? Zacchaeus isn’t just physically short. He’s the lowest of the low, he doesn’t measure up morally, he comes up short in terms of justice, he’s a financial giant, but a moral midget. Zacchaeus is a shrimp, well short of a full moral deck. That he cannot see the Lord is not just a physical problem, it is a moral one.

Continued on next post…

 

[Fidelis]

Now I am not picking on Zacchaeus. For the truth be told we are all Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus is us. You say, “Wait a minute, I’m not that bad.” Maybe not but you’re not that good either. In fact we’re a lot closer to being like Zacchaeus that to being like Jesus. The fact that we are not yet ready to look on the face of the Lord is demonstrable by the fact that we’re still here. We’re not ready and not righteous enough to look upon the unveiled face of God. How will Zacchaeus ever hope to see the Lord? How will we? Let’s read on.

**2. Saving Sycamore- Zacchaeus climbs a tree to see Jesus. So must we. And the only tree that can really help us to see the Lord is the tree of the Cross. Zacchaeus has to cling to the wood of that old sycamore to climb it, and we too must cling to the wood of the old rugged cross. Only by the wood of cross and power of Jesus’ blood can we ever hope to climb high enough to see the Lord. There is an old Latin chant that says, Dulce lignum, dulce clavos, dulce pondus sustinet (sweet the wood, sweet the nails, sweet the weight (that is) sustained). So Zacchaeus foreshadows for us the righteous that comes from the cross by climbing a tree and being able to get a glimpse of Jesus.
**
3. Sanctifying Savior- Jesus stops by that tree, for we always meet Jesus at the cross. And there at that tree, that cross, he invites Zacchaeus into a saving and transformative relationship. It is not a surprise that Jesus invites himself for what amounts to dinner at Zacchaeus’ house. Though dinner is not mentioned here, it was just a basic aspect of Jewish hospitality. But remember, it is Jesus who ultimately serves the meal. Consider these texts:

* *Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.* (Rev 3:20)
* *And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom* (Luke 22:29).
** As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.  But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. *(Luke 24:28-30)

Yes, Zacchaeus has now begun to see the Lord, and the Lord invites him into a Holy Communion, a relationship and a liturgy that will begin to transform him. And Zacchaeus is us. We too have begun to see the Lord through the power of the Cross to cast out our blindness and the Lord draws us to sacred Communion with him. The liturgy and Holy Communion are essential for this, as the Lord invites himself to our house, that is to say, our soul and our parishes.

**4. Started Surrender – **Zacchaeus is experiencing the start of a transformative relationship. But this is just the start. Note that Zacchaeus promises to return four-fold the money he has extorted and also to give half his money to the poor. Now there’s an old song that says, “I surrender all….” but Zacchaeus isn’t quite there yet, and, probably most of us aren’t either. Eventually Zacchaeus will surrender all, and so will we. But in time. For now he needs to stay near the cross to see and continue to allow Jesus to have communion with him. One day all will be surrendered.

So here is the start for Zacchaeus and us. The best is yet to come. You might say, that the Gospel ends here to make a long story short

 

[zarthan]

Douay Rheims translation with the 1869 Haydock commentary:

St.Augustine expresses the order of events before the coming of the Lord very much in the manner others do today.

 

[Fidelis]

St.Augustine expresses the order of events before the coming of the Lord very much in the manner others do today.

Ver. 2. St. Augustine, writing to Hesychium, declareth that no one from the Scripture can be assured of the day, year, or age[century] when the second coming shall be. (ep. lxxx.) Let us attend to what St. Augustine declares he had learnt from the first Church authorities. “At the last judgment, or about that time, will arrive Elias, the Thesbite, the conversion of the Jews, the persecution of antichrist, the coming of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the separation of the good from the bad, the conflagration of the world, and the renovation of the same: that these things will arrive, we are to believe, but in what manner and in what order experience will teach better than reason. It is my opinion that they will come in the order I have related them.” (De Civ. Dei. lib. xx. cap. ultra) That the man of sin will be born of the Jewish tribe of Dan, that he will cruelly persecute the faithful for three years and a half, that he will put to death Henoch[Enoch] and Elias, and that great, very great, will be the apostacy, is the general belief. Oh! God, preserve us with thy grace, and do not permit us to lose sight of the dreadful danger that threatens even the elect.

Except for the parts highlighted in green (on which there is no de fide teaching but merely personal interpretation), Augustine’s statement reflects the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

**The glorious advent of Christ, the hope of Israel
**
673 Since the Ascension Christ’s coming in glory has been imminent,566 even though "it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority."567. This eschatological coming could be accomplished at any moment, even if both it and the final trial that will precede it are “delayed”.568

674 The glorious Messiah’s coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by “all Israel”, for “a hardening has come upon part of Israel” in their “unbelief” toward Jesus.569 St. Peter says to the Jews of Jerusalem after Pentecost: "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old."570 St. Paul echoes him: "For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?"571 The “full inclusion” of the Jews in the Messiah’s salvation, in the wake of “the full number of the Gentiles”,572 will enable the People of God to achieve “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”, in which “God may be all in all”.573

The Church’s ultimate trial
**
675** Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers.574 The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth575 will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.576

676 The Antichrist’s deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism,577 especially the “intrinsically perverse” political form of a secular messianism.578
**
677** The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection.579 The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven.580 God’s triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.581

566 Cf. Rev 22:20.
567 Acts 1:7; Cf. Mk 13:32.
568 Cf. Mt 24:44; 1 Thess 5:2; 2 Thess 2:3-12.
569 Rom 11:20-26; cf. Mt 23:39.
570 Acts 3:19-21.
571 Rom 11:15.
572 Rom 11:12, 25; cf. Lk 21:24.
573 Eph 4:13; 1 Cor 15:28.
574 Cf. Lk 18:8; Mt 24:12.
575 Cf. Lk 21:12; Jn 15:19-20.
576 Cf. 2 Thess 2:4-12; 1 Thess 5:2-3; 2 Jn 7; 1 Jn 2:18,22.
577 Cf. DS 3839.
578 Pius XI, Divini Redemptoris, condemning the “false mysticism” of this “counterfeit of the redemption of the lowly”; cf. GS 20-21.
579 Cf. Rev 19:1-9.
580 Cf Rev 13:8; 20:7-10; 21:2-4.
581 Cf. Rev 20:12 2 Pet 3:12-13.

 

[Fidelis]

I Need to Stay at Your House
Biblical Reflection for 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

Today’s Gospel story remains forever engraved in my memory. I still remember a song from my early grade school years that began with, “There was a man from Jericho named Zacchaeus.” Years later, I would visit Jericho on many occasions during my graduate studies in the Holy Land – to get away from Jerusalem on some damp, cold wintry day in order to enjoy Jericho’s mild climate, or to savor the dates, mangos, lemons and other fruits for which the city’s outdoor markets are famous. Jericho is rightly called the City of Palms in the Old Testament. It is truly an oasis in the desert!

The locals still point out to us foreigners the exact location of Rahab’s house. She was the infamous prostitute of the Old Testament who made it into Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. Her “house” had become an accounting office on one of my last visits to Jericho.

The locals also take delight in pointing out the ruins of the walls that Joshua brought down in one of the Old Testament’s mighty battles that may have never taken place! *** **Best of all are the 39 or so sycamore trees that Zacchaeus climbed in order to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was passing by, and the house of the town’s chief tax collector-turned-saint!

Small stature

Today’s Gospel is one of Jesus’ beloved meals scenes in the New Testament. Luke’s portrait of Zacchaeus is vivid and irresistibly charming! The story of Jericho’s famous tax collector (Luke 19:1-10) is unique to Luke’s gospel. We are told that he was the chief tax collector and very wealthy at that. While a rich man, Zacchaeus provides a contrast to the rich man of Luke 18:18-23 who cannot detach himself from his material possessions to become a follower of Jesus. Zacchaeus, according to Luke, exemplifies the proper attitude toward wealth: He promises to give half of his possessions to the poor, and consequently is the recipient of salvation.

The evangelist’s graphic description is enhanced in also calling him a “little man.” His is a kind of smallness that is far more devastating and corroding than being short. His smallness emerges from his terrible self-image resulting from others’ attitudes toward him. Are we not most vulnerable at these moments in our lives?

Though a member of a group that was widely despised, Zacchaeus appears in today’s story as a fundamentally honest and humble man who seeks the truth and is open to finding it where he can, even if it means climbing a sycamore tree in a crowd, just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. He represents that figure who turns up again and again in the scriptures – the outsider, the person who for one reason or another looks in from the edge, but must always stay there. It is on the edge that we meet him, shut out by others, desperately anxious to be part of the proceedings, all the while failing.
**
The parade at our front door**

Why would Zacchaeus be so intent on catching a glimpse of Jesus? Perhaps because Jesus is all that he is not! Jesus is admired, sought out, and above all accepted by a large following. If we are terribly honest with ourselves, we would admit that at some point in our own loneliness or alienation, in our real or imagined non-acceptance or un-love, we long to identify with someone else’s seeming acceptance.

Do we not often strain our necks, like Zacchaeus in his tree, imprisoned in our loneliness, envy, jealousy, self-pity, laziness? And then suddenly, the unexpected happens. The parade stops at our front door, and we get an invitation with astonishing words: “I’m really glad to see that you are here,” or “Let’s go out for a coffee, you’ve had a hard day,” or “Come and join us, it’s not good to be alone,” or “When are you going to invite me over? I’d really like to have supper with you.” And the list goes on and on. An invitation leads to the most intimate favor of hospitality.

Continued on next post…

(***** The writer is relying on disputed scholarship here. There is compelling scholarship to indicate that Jericho was indeed destroyed around the period when Israel entered the promised land under Joshua)

 

[Fidelis]

Houseguest

“Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5). “Zacchaeus”: Jesus called by name a man despised by all. “Today”: Yes, this very moment was the moment of his salvation. “I must stay”: Why “I must”? Because the Father, rich in mercy, wants Jesus “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

Zacchaeus’ repentance is attested by his determination to amend his former ways, and shows himself to be a true descendant of Abraham, the true heir to the promises of God in the Old Testament. Underlying Luke’s depiction of Zacchaeus as a descendant of Abraham, the father of the Jews, is his recognition of the central place occupied by Israel in the plan of salvation.

When the favor is asked of Zacchaeus, and all those like him who are accustomed to being shunned and rejected, Zacchaeus and his types are dizzy with excitement. The walls of Jericho truly come tumbling down! Perhaps for the first time, Zacchaeus is accepted without reservation or condition. And that is cause for great rejoicing, not shame. In true Lukan fashion, there is a celebration! Once again, those murmuring are shocked that Jesus would go to the house – and even more shocked, to the table – of a sinner so famous as Zacchaeus. As Jesus sat at the table among such high-society, he watched Zacchaeus rise up out of the ashes and the tomb of alienation, self-deception, dishonesty, which he himself had constructed.

Salvation arrives

Jesus declares publicly, “Today salvation has come to this house.” It’s almost as if Jesus said to the chief tax collector of Jericho, and through him, to each of us, “Zacchaeus, don’t climb too high in that tree of yours … and hide from me. Don’t waste all your energy concentrating on your guilt as you see it. I need to talk with you and find out where you have boxed yourself in. Together we’ll find a way past all of your excuses and out of the maze. Look, the tree is sprouting. I’ve come to save you!”
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Morals of the story**

Over the years, I have found several morals in this ancient story. One of them tells us that when it comes to the love of God, we must first declare that we are lost and empty, and then begin the process whereby we are found. We must name and own the masks we wear before we can ever begin to remove them and the makeup, and see our true face. We have to experience the death at work in us, our hearts, emotions, intellects, relationships and self esteem, in order to begin the journey up to Jerusalem, the City of the Resurrection. And sometime, we may have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, let down our defenses, jump down from the trees in which we were hiding, give half of our belongings to the poor, and pay back those we have cheated. Who cares what the critics are saying? When salvation has come into our societies, our communities, our homes and our hearts, no one can ever rob us of that precious gift any longer.

**Transformation
**
In his Letter to Priests written for Holy Thursday 2002 (Nos. 5-6), the Servant of God Pope John Paul II wrote these words about today’s delightful Gospel story:

"Everything that happens to him (Zacchaeus) is amazing. If there had not been, at a certain point, the ‘surprise’ of Christ looking up at him, perhaps he would have remained a silent spectator of the Lord moving through the streets of Jericho. Jesus would have passed by, not into, his life. Zacchaeus had no idea that the curiosity which had prompted him to do such an unusual thing was already the fruit of a mercy which had preceded him, attracted him and was about to change him in the depths of his heart. …]

"Luke’s account is remarkable for the tone of the language: Everything is so personal, so tactful, so affectionate! Not only is the text filled with humanity; it suggests insistence, an urgency to which Jesus gives voice as the one offering the definitive revelation of God’s mercy. He says: ‘I must stay at your house,’ or to translate even more literally: ‘I need to stay at your house’ (v 5). Following the mysterious road map which the Father has laid out for him, Jesus runs into Zacchaeus along the way. He pauses near him as if the meeting had been planned from the beginning. Despite all the murmuring of human malice, the home of this sinner is about to become a place of revelation, the scene of a miracle of mercy. True, this will not happen if Zacchaeus does not free his heart from the ligatures of egoism and from his unjust and fraudulent ways. But mercy has already come to him as a gratuitous and overflowing gift. Mercy has preceded him! …]

“This is what happens in the case of Zacchaeus. Aware that he is now being treated as a ‘son,’ he begins to think and act like a son, and this he shows in the way he rediscovers his brothers and sisters. Beneath the loving gaze of Christ, the heart of Zacchaeus warms to love of neighbor. From a feeling of isolation, which had led him to enrich himself without caring about what others had to suffer, he moves to an attitude of sharing. This is expressed in a genuine ‘division’ of his wealth: ‘half of my goods to the poor.’ The injustice done to others by his fraudulent behavior is atoned for by a fourfold restitution: “If I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold” (v 8). And it is only at this point that the love of God achieves its purpose, and salvation is accomplished: ‘Today salvation has come to this house’ (v 9).”

 

[Fidelis]

A synthesis by the Vietnamese Christian Life (Dong Hanh) Community for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Interesting Details

* **Setting:** in 18:18-23, a rich, respected and apparently righteous person went away in sorrow. In contrast, the rich and despised Zacchaeus was joyful.  Jesus saw through them both and restored honor to the latter.
* Toll collectors, like Zacchaeus, bid for the right to collect tolls, paid for this right in full, then hired agents to collect the tolls from the people. Not all collectors were able to make profits.
* The word “Zacchaeus” is related to Hebrew terms meaning clean, pure, and innocent.
* **v. 3** “[Zacchaeus] was trying to see” and v. 10 “The Son of Man came to seek”-- Zacchaeus seeks, but at the same time God seeks and saves him.
* **v. 5** *“I must stay in your house today”-*previously Jesus instructed his disciples to remain at the host’s house (9:4), to give people a chance to accept the kingdom. That event happens “today” (also in v. 9 and many other passages in Luke and Acts), indicating a significant turning point by God.
* **v. 6** *“-joyfully”*the messianic joy is often associated with repentance, as in 15:5.
* **v. 7** *“everyone... began grumbling”*-including the disciples, not just the disagreeable Pharisees.
* **v. 8** *“I am giving... to the poor”*-the present tense indicates a regular action, not just one time. Giving alms in a sign of righteousness in Luke.  He might have been doing this regularly even before meeting Jesus. If so, what Jesus gave was the recognition of his worth, as “a child of Abraham,” and thus his all-important honor.
* **v. 8** “*If I have cheated... fourfold restitution”*-“if” probably implies that he did not cheat intentionally, though he might discover that it happened.  The laws demanded 120% restitution for stolen goods, or 400% only in the most severe cases. Zacchaeus embraced the strictest standard.

One Main Point

Jesus seeks us, sees us, and saves us. In repentance, we give alms and find joy even when the whole world is against us.

Reflections

1. Jesus sees through me. What does he see?
2. Have I ever felt that people judge me unfairly? In such cases, does Jesus bring me joy?
3. Dare I be like Jesus and recognize another person’s goodness even when everyone grumbles against such recognition?

 

[Fidelis]

Catena Aurea Luke 19 (with *Douay-Rheims *translation of the Gospel Reading)

1. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2. And, behold, there was a man named Zaccheus, which was the chief among the Publicans, and he was rich.
3. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
4. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
5. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at your house.
6. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
7. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
8. And Zacchaeus stood, and said to the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
9. And Jesus said to him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
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AMBROSE; **Zacchaeus in the sycamore, the blind man by the way side: upon the one our Lord waits to show mercy, upon the other He confers the great glory of abiding in his house.

The chief among the Publicans is here fitly introduced. For who will hereafter despair of himself, now that he attains to grace who gained his living by fraud. And he too moreover a rich man, that we may know that not all rich men are covetous.
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CYRIL; **But Zacchaeus made no delay in what he did, and so was accounted worthy of the favor of God, which gives sight to the blind, and calls them who are afar off.
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TIT. BOST. **The seed of salvation had begun to spring up in him, for he desired to see Jesus, having never seen Him. For if he had seen Him, he would long since have given up the Publican’s wicked life. No one that sees Jesus can remain any longer in wickedness. But there were two obstacles to his seeing Him. The multitude not so much of men as of his sins prevented him, for he was little of stature.
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AMBROSE; What means the Evangelist by describing his stature, and that of none other? It is perhaps because he was young in wickedness, or as yet weak in the faith. For he was not yet prostrate in sin who could climb up. He had not yet seen Christ.
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TIT. BOST. But he discovered a good device; running before he climbed up into a sycamore, and saw Him whom he had long wished for, i.e. Jesus, passing by. Now Zacchaeus desired no more than to see, but He who is able to do more than v e ask for, granted to Him far above what he expected; as it follows,

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him. He saw the soul of the man striving earnestly to live a holy life, and converts him to godliness.

**AMBROSE; **Uninvited he invites Himself to his house; as it follows, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down, &c. for He knew how richly He would reward his hospitality. And though He had not yet heard the word of invitation, He had already seen the will.
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BEDE; **See here, the camel disencumbered of his hunch passes through the eye of a needle, that is, the rich man and the publican abandoning his love of riches, and loathing his dishonest gains, receives the blessing of his Lord’s company. It follows, And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
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AMBROSE; **Let the rich learn that guilt attaches not to the goods themselves, but to those who know not how to use them. For riches, as they are hindrances to virtue in the unworthy, so are they means of advancing it in the good.

Continued on next post…

 

[Fidelis]

**PSEUDO-CHRYS. **Observe the gracious kindness of the Savior. The innocent associates with the guilty, the fountain of justice with covetousness, which is the source of injustice. Having entered the publican’s house, He suffers no stain from the mists of avarice, but disperses them by the bright beam of His righteousness. But those who deal with biting words and reproaches, try to cast a slur upon the things which were done by Him; for it follows, And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

But He, though accused of being a wine-bibber and a friend of publicans, regarded it not, so long as He could accomplish His end. As a physician sometimes can not save his patients from their diseases without the defilement of blood. kind so it happened here, for the publican was converted, and lived a better life. Zacchaeus stood, and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any man, I restore him fourfold. Behold here is a marvel: without learning he obeys. And as the sun pouring its rays into a house enlightens it not by word, but by work, so the Savior by the rays of righteousness put to flight the darkness of sin; for the light shines in darkness. Now every thing united is strong, but divided, weak, therefore Zacchaeus divides into two parts his substance. But we must be careful to observe, that his wealth was not made up from unjust gains, but from his patrimony, else how could he restore fourfold what he had unjustly extorted. He knew that the law ordered what was wrongly taken away to be restored fourfold, that if the law deterred not, a man’s losses might soften him. Zacchaeus waits not for the judgment of the law, but makes himself his own judge.
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THEOPHYL.** If we examine more closely, we shall see that nothing was left of his own property. For having given half of his goods to the poor, out of the remainder he restored fourfold to those whom he had injured. He not only promised this, but did it. For he says not, "I will give the half, and I will restore fourfold, but, I give, and I restore. To such Christ announces salvation; Jesus said to him, This day is salvation come to this house, signifying that Zacchaeus had attained to salvation, meaning by the house the inhabitant thereof. And it follows, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For He would not have given the name of a son of Abraham to a lifeless building.

BEDE; Zacchaeus is called the son of Abraham, not because he was born of Abraham’s seed, but because he imitates his faith, that as Abraham left his country and his father’s house, so he abandoned all his goods in giving them to the poor. And He well says, “He also,” to declare that not only those who had lived justly, but those who are raised up from a life of injustice, belong to the sons of promise.
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THEOPHYL. He said not that he “was” a son of Abraham, but that he now is. For before when he was the chief among the publicans, and bore no likeness to the righteous Abraham, he was not his son. But because some murmured that he tarried with a man who was a sinner, he adds in order to restrain them, For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
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PSEUDO-CHRYS. Why do you accuse me if I bring sinners to righteousness? So far am I from hating them, that for their sakes I came. For I came to heal, not to judge, therefore am I the constant guest of those that are sick, and I suffer their noisomeness that I may supply remedies. But some one may ask, how does Paul bid us, If we have a brother that is a fornicator or covetous man, with such not even to take food; whereas Christ was the guest of publicans? They were not as yet so far advanced as to be brethren, and besides, St. Paul bids us avoid our brethren only when they persist in evil, but these were converted.

Continued on next post…

 

[Fidelis]

**
BEDE;** Mystically, Zacchaeus, which is by interpretation “justified,” signifies the Gentile believers, who were depressed and brought very low by their worldly occupations, but sanctified by God. And he was desirous to see our Savior entering Jericho, inasmuch as he sought to share in that faith which Christ brought into the world.
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CYRIL; **The crowd is the tumultuous state of an ignorant multitude, which cannot see the lofty top of wisdom. Zacchaeus therefore, while he was in the crowd, saw not Christ, but having advanced beyond the vulgar ignorance, was thought worthy to entertain Him whom he desired to look upon.
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BEDE; Or the crowd that is, the general habit of vice, which rebuked the blind man crying out, lest he should seek the light, also impedes Zacchaeus looking up, that he might not see Jesus; that as by crying out the more the blind man overcame the crowd, so the man weak in the faith by forsaking earthly things, and climbing the tree of the Cross, surmounts the opposing multitude. The sycamore, which is a tree resembling the mulberry in foliage, but exceeding it in height, whence by the Latins it is called “lofty,” is called the “foolish fig-tree,” and so the Cross of our Lord sustains believers, as the fig-tree figs, and is mocked by unbelievers as foolishness. This tree Zacchaeus, who was little in stature, climbed up, that he might be raised together with Christ; for every one who is humble, and conscious of his own weakness, cries out, God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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AMBROSE; He has well added, that our Lord was to pass that way, either where the sycamore-tree was, or where he was who was about to believe, that so He might preserve the mystery, and sow the seeds of grace. For He had so come as that through the Jews He came to the Gentiles. He sees then Zacchaeus above, for already the excellence of his faith shone forth amidst the fruits of good works, and the loftiness of the fruitful tree; but Zacchaeus stands out above the tree, as one who is above the law.

BEDE; The Lord as He journeyed came to the place where Zacchaeus had climbed the sycamore, for having sent His preachers throughout the world in whom He Himself spoke and went, He comes to the Gentile people, who were already raised up on high through faith in His Passion, and whom when He looked up He saw, for He chose them through grace. Now our Lord once abode in the house of the chief of the Pharisees, but when He did works such as none but God could do, they railed at Him Wherefore hating their deeds He departed, saying, Your house shall be left to you desolate; but now He must needs stay at the house of the weak Zacchaeus, that is, by the grace of the new law brightly shining, He must take rest in the hearts of tile lowly nations. But that Zacchaeus is bid to come down from the sycamore tree, and prepare an abode for Christ, this is what the Apostle says, Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. And again elsewhere, For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. It is plain that the Jews always hated the salvation Of the Gentiles; but salvation, which formerly filled the houses of the Jews, has this day shone upon the Gentiles, forasmuch as this people also by believing on God is a son of Abraham.
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THEOPHYL. It is easy to turn this to a moral use. For whoever surpasses many in wickedness is small in spiritual growth, and cannot see Jesus for the crowd. For disturbed by passion and worldly things, he beholds not Jesus walking, that is, working in us, not recognizing His operation. But he climbs up to the top of a sycamore-tree, in that he rises above the sweetness of pleasure, which is signified by a fig, and subduing it, and so becoming more exalted, he sees and is seen by Christ.
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GREG. Or because the sycamore is from its name called the foolish fig, the little Zacchaeus gets up into the sycamore and sees the Lord, for they who humbly choose the foolish things of this world are those who contemplate most closely the wisdom of God. For what is more foolish in this world than not to seek for what is lost, to give our possessions to robbers, to return not injury for injury? However, by this wise foolishness, the wisdom of God is seen, not yet really as it is, but by the light of contemplation.
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THEOPHYL. **The Lord said to him, Make haste and come down, that is, "you have ascended by penitence to a place too high for you, come down by humility, lest your exaltation cause you to sky. I must abide in the house of a humble man. We have two kinds of goods in us, bodily, and spiritual; the just man gives up all his bodily goods to the poor, but he forsakes not his spiritual goods, but if he has extorted any thing from any one, he restores to him fourfold; signifying thereby that if a man by repentance walks in the Opposite path to his former perverseness, he by the manifold practice of virtue heals all his old offenses, and so merits salvation, and is called the son of Abraham, because he went out from his own kindred, that is, from his ancient wickedness.

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