Homilies31st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: GAZING GOD AND SEARCHING FOR HIMLk 19:1-10WHENEVER A POPE visits any country in the world, his presence would always make a difference. The people, Christians and non-Christians alike, would make a glimpse at him while he is being carried by the unique popemobile. For Catholics, the presence of the Pope means a lot. Seeing the revered spiritual leader is a greatly memorable moment. While for the other believers, it is curiosity which drives them to see the Pope. It is the same curiosity that moved Zacchaeus to climb a sycamore tree and saw for himself who Jesus was.
Let us try to go back to the important moments in this gospel passage and reflect on them.
First, the gospel says that, on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus intended to pass by a town called Jericho. For the people in this town, the passing by of the popular Jesus was very important. They would consider it a blessing. Zacchaeus took that chance to have a gaze at Jesus. However, he had a big problem. The gospel says that “he could not see (Jesus) because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.” But he was smart. “He ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.”
“God passes by!” Speaking of God passing by in our life, we have a lot of experiences like that. What are these moments? To name a few, there is Christmas, Lent, Easter, birthdays, etc. God passes us by during these significant moments. But the question is: have we taken them seriously as opportunities of seeing and meeting God? Or we have simply missed those opportunities. Like Zacchaeus, we must climb a sycamore tree. Climbing a tree needs an effort and sacrifice. In the same way, meeting God during those significant moments need effort and sacrifice. We sacrifice our own needs so that we can accommodate him in our life.
Secondly, Jesus instructed Zacchaeus to “come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” We have seen here that the intention to simply make a glimpse at Jesus became an encounter which leads to intimacy and conversion. In this encounter, Jesus instructed Zacchaeus to hurriedly come down, which Zacchaeus did. If we put this in the context of conversion, Zacchaeus has responded very well.
Zacchaeus was a known cheat, a hated tax collector in the community. He was a known public sinner. But he had that inner longing to change. This longing for conversion in a way has coincided with the instruction of Jesus. As if Jesus was telling him, “Change yourself now; I want to stay in your heart and your life.” For years, God must have no place in the heart of Zacchaeus. He must have not prepared a place in his heart for God to rest. Now, there appears to be a sense of urgency. Christ could not wait for another day. The conversion should happen in the here and now. In our life, if there are things we want to change, they do not happen that quickly because we have the tendency to delay or postpone them. But that is not an expectation of God for us. Speaking of conversion, we should also experience the “hurrying down of Zacchaeus” which is that quick. Conversion should happen not tomorrow, but now.
Thirdly, the gospel ends with the beautiful saying of Jesus, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Christ is telling us that he seeks for the sinners and the lost in order to offer them or us salvation. Such is the great love of God! The sinners have an important place in God’s plan of salvation. But the seeking of God does not mean that we need to wait until he finds us. God always seeks the sinners. But often, sinners love to hide from God. In the children’s game, “Hide and Seek”, the successful “seeker” is a great winner. But an “unsought hider” can equally be great. But that is not applicable here. Choosing to hide ourselves from God never helps us on the process. We surely miss the blessings of salvation that are offered us by God.
Let us also follow the path taken by Zacchaeus. Let us be convinced that Zacchaeus was already fed up with his “sinful’ life. Thus, he was in search of God. He meaningfully seeks for God. Life is and should be a constant search for God. As the Psalmist says, “As the hind longs for running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God.”
|
MSP CENTRAL OFFICE
or MCPO Box 1006 PHONE: Landline +63 49 521 8371 / Smart: +63 999 798 0581
FAX: (632) 831-9937 |