The Rev. Dr. Francisco Alberca
30 October 2022: Proper 26
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Psalm 119:137-144
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Luke 19:1-10
On November 1°, the Church celebrates All Saints’ Day. It is the commemoration of the life of all those who, throughout history, have led lives of Holiness. Just as Zacchaeus climbed up a tree in order to see Jesus, Christians can learn and be lifted up by the lives of the Saints to better see how to follow Jesus.
How could we not see the hand of God in the love and dedication of Mother Teresa to the poor? Or in Saint Francis of Assisi’s embracing of poverty to increase his sensitivity in seeing the love of God in each created being and all of God’s creation? And thanks be to God, we have the beautiful example of our Patron Saint Paul as well. Today we look specifically to the example of Zacchaeus to see what repentance and closeness to Jesus can achieve in any human being.
Throughout the history of salvation, we can always see the love of God towards God’s creatures. God is: compassionate, forgiving, rich in mercy, and loves all his sons and daughters. I imagine that what impressed Zacchaeus was Jesus looking at him fondly, like a father or a mother might look at a rebellious son.
This is how God is with us; God rebukes with love, little by little, giving each of us time to correct our self and return to the right path.
How much joy the look of Jesus must have produced in Zacchaeus! This poor man; he must have felt that for the first time in his life he was truly loved. And not only that, Jesus then asks to stay in his house! Zacchaeus was honored to provide hospitality to Jesus, while those who considered themselves “perfect” criticized Jesus for wanting to stay in a known sinner’s house.
At the moment when Zacchaeus decides to take this great leap of faith, the miracle of conversion occurs, because Jesus, with his love, decides not only to stay in this man’s house, but also in his heart.
And not just in any heart or home, but those of a tax collector, in this case with a specific name, Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus a real human being who longs to meet someone who can fill his existential emptiness. Zacchaeus heard about Jesus, and wants to see him so badly in person that he scrambles up a tree so he can see over the crowd.
It would have been ridiculous to see a public figure like Zacchaeus to climb a tree. Tax collectors enriched themselves at the expense of people who were already oppressed by Roman taxes. In the eyes of the people they were both thieves and traitors, characters hated by all.
Life as a tax collector left, Zacchaeus feeling deeply empty. His climbing to the top of the fig tree reflects the first step in a process of conversion, similar to when the prodigal son “set out for home.”
To get unstuck from a life of vice or sin; you have to go out and do something bold; like taking a step homeward or climbing a tree.
What happened in the heart of Zacchaeus? How did such a radical change take place in him that he was willing to give half of his possessions to the needy?
Well, Zacchaeus simply received Jesus in his heart and Jesus, seeing his open heart, tells him: Zacchaeus, hurry down, because I must stay at your house today. In truth, this is what it means to receive Jesus in our lives. We hear the words of St. Paul connected to this scene “May Christ dwell in your hearts by faith”.
We can all become reoriented and give a new direction to our lives. Perhaps to do so, we need a touch of attention, the closeness of a helping hand, a defining moment or a transcendent experience.
Regardless of what causes us to wake up to this new direction, we must seek God, and set out on the path to God, as Saint Paul, Saint Augustine, and all the saints did. God wants us to seek him and, like the forgiving father in the parable, when God sees us turning to meet him, God goes running ahead joyfully to meet us. This encounter with God is not simply a physical encounter, but a spiritual encounter of affection, and of unconditional love. It is an encounter where the basis of everything is humility, because the one who humbles one’s self will be exalted.
When we let ourselves be found by God in this way, God converts us, and makes us his own. But the most surprising thing about Zacchaeus is his spontaneous reaction when Jesus enters his house, the first thing he does is remember the poor.
This is a wonderful reminder to when we commune with Christ, we are also in communion with the neediest brothers and sisters. And communion with Christ is never just an individual act. Though communion remains between Christ and me, this communion with Christ is also a universal act with the whole Church a Church in which there are always many poor people, poor people of all kinds.
When we talk about poverty, we are not only referring to economic poverty, which can be remedied with money; There are other much sadder kinds of poverty of spirit, for which there are many ways to help. To alleviate these kinds of poverty we can give from the wealth of our time, which is precious; offer assistance through prayer, through our company and proximity, through our work, availability, and through sharing the richness of our love, mercy and compassion.
If we are deeply in communion with Christ, surely we will find some way to enter into communion with the brothers and sisters who need us.
The vocation of every Christian is to imitate, to the extent and proportion of one’s possibilities, Christ. Saint Paul, our Patron, always said and repeated that: “it was Christ who lived in him”, he considered himself totally identified with Christ. That is also our vocation, the vocation of all of us who are part of the great movement that Christ founded.
Let us allow God to reorient our lives today. Let us, like Zacchaeus, do all we can to encounter the living Christ, and to allow his life to convert our own. And let us above all carry out this vocation of communion in our daily lives.
Then others will know that authentic followers of Christ share in a communion that is transforming the world, and the living Christ will be glorified in us. Amen!