Daily Word dailyword23.blogspot.in/ Sunday Word sundayword23.blogspot.in/ That Uninvited Guest Wis 11:22-12:2; 2 Thes 1:11-2:2; Lk 19:1-10 First Reading: It expresses the loving kindness and unlimited compassion of God beautifully: “Yes, you are merciful to all and overlook men’s sins so that they can repent, … you love all that exists … you spare all things because all things are yours, Lord, lover of all.” Here, God’s love is manifested in creation, in preservation and in forgiveness of sins. Second Reading: It talks about praying for others with a generous heart, “We constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Gospel Reading: Jesus coolly enters people’s homes, invited, or otherwise. When invited, he enjoys meals cooked by Peter’s mother-in-law and Martha of Bethany. However, when Jesus invites himself over, things change drastically. This happens when Jesus tells Zacchaeus: “Come down! Hurry, because I must stay at your house today!” Jericho was a big city and there was a lot of money floating around. Opion about Zacchaeus: Zacchaeus being Jericho’s “senior tax collector and a wealthy man” was all the more hated because that money was not his. Everyone knew that tax collectors sucked taxes in excess of what the Roman authorities demanded. And all excess money was pocketed as profit. In sum, Zacchaeus was a cheat and a robber who no sane Jew would befriend. Zacchaeus was short in stature. Was he cut down to size by what people thought of him? In any case, he certainly didn’t fit in with that crowd. They would have gladly pushed him out for he belonged to the margin inhabited by the pagans, the defiled and sinful tax collectors. What made Zacchaeus seek Jesus? Was he simply curious or did he expect something miraculous to happen? Zacchaeus’ Conversion: Interestingly, while all pious people look down at Zacchaeus, Jesus looks up to him. Moreover, rather than he seeking Jesus, Jesus seeks him. “Come down” cries Jesus and invites himself to stay at Zacchaeus’ house. Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus joyfully and we can be sure that Jesus was even more joyful at the conversion of Zacchaeus since he had said, “There will be great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents!” (Lk 15:7). By entering Zacchaeus’ house, Jesus dramatizes the coming of divine salvation: “Today, salvation has come to this house!” The ‘house’ refers not only to Zacchaeus but also to his whole family since in the Jewish understanding of that time, the conversion of the head of a family implied the conversion of all its members too. What is remarkable is that the measure of restoration far exceeds that which is stipulated by Law (Lev 6:1-7) and this shows how deeply repentant Zacchaeus is and how radical his conversion is. Our Choice: Jesus says: “Listen, I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me” (Rev 3:20). Jesus comes in many ways: (a) as word in the Bible, (b) as bread in the Eucharist, (c) as neighbor in the ‘least’ of society. He comes when we invite him, but generally uninvited. However, he focuses himself upon no one. One can either open the door joyfully or show him the door angrily. The choice is ours. Zacchaeus gained a few inches in stature and lost a load of guilt when he opened his door. Will you?
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 06:03:30 +0000
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