A Love Lesson from the Gospel Story of Zacchaeus, a Short Sinful Man

The Gospel story for the 31^st Sunday Year C (Luke 19:1-10) is always my favorite. It’s a story about a short man in Jericho, Zacchaeus.

I like this story because I feel some affinity with Zaccaheus.  As I am 5’5”, short for being a man,  I can relate to the fact that Zaccaheus had to climb up a tree to see Jesus because he would not see anything if he had to stay in a crowd.  When I am in a crowd, I also often have a hard time seeing a person I want to see, because there are far more people, who are taller than me, than people , whose heights are the same as mine or shorter than mine. 

Not to mention, I am also a sinner, as Zacchaeus was.  Of course, as a sinner, I want to be transformed as Zaccaheus was. And, I make my daily efforts for penitential transformation in seeking salvation, finding inspiration also in my fellow sinful short man, Zacchaeus.

There are many ways to teach about this Gospel story – though it is a story about a particular form of transformation, called metanoia, which is often translated as conversion.  But, in Zacchaeus’ case, his penitential metanoia came with his willing act of restitution.  

Another important issues to be learned from this story is that Zacchaeus called Jesus the Lord, though he was employed by the Roman Empire, the colonizer, as he was a tax collector for the empire. It means that those who are employed by the Roman Empire, whether they are Roman citizen or not, they were to call Caesar, the Roman Empire, their lord.  

As a Roman Empire’s employee, a tax collector for the Roman Empire, the colonizer of Judea, he was to call Caesar the lord. As a tax collector, he was at service for Caesar. But, the fact that Zacchaeus began to call Jesus his Lord indicates his metanoia, shifting his loyalty from Caesar to Jesus. This shift also means that he was giving up his sinful life as a tax collector for his new penitential life with his new allegiance to Jesus.  And, he was very joyful about this transformation. So, he happily gave his wealth he accumulated by abusing his Roman authority back to the victims of his extortion, to show his penance through this way of restitution.

The scripture did not mention if Zacchaeus said “I’m sorry”. But, the story really tells us that what is more important than an apology is an act of penance.  This echoes what James said – faith without works is dead (James 2:26). 

Now, this leads to what I emphasized in my teaching on this Gospel story to my Sunday evening prayer and scripture study group. 

As a mere apology is not sufficient to show our contrite heart, just like faith without works, neither is love without its action. In other words, merely saying, “I love you” is only as good as faith without works…merely as trustworthy as an apology without a penitential act. 

I emphasized in my teaching that what Zacchaeus demonstrates in this Gospel story is not only his contrite heart through his act of restitution but also his affection for Jesus through his great effort, which is the fact that he took all the troubles in climbing up a tree to see a man he likes. 

From this point of view, this story of Zacchaeus can be taken as a story about love, as seeking.  If you love someone, wouldn’t you seek this person at any cost – in spite of any obstacles – until you find this person? Not only this, as your love is so strong, wouldn’t you do everything to keep your faithful relationship with this person? 

I certainly see this in Zacchaeus, as he did not let his short height stopped his efforts to see Jesus, a man he felt enough affection to seek and as he took an action to demonstrate his love of Jesus. That is why he climbed up a tree to overcome an obstacle of his vertically challenged nature and he let go of half of his wealth for the poor, in addition to paying four-fold to the victims of his sinful acts. 

In my practice of psychotherapy, I frequently see troubled couples.  They have said they love each other. Those who are married have taken their matrimonial vows. Those who are married in the Catholic Church understand that their matrimony is sacramental and permanent. But, as their relationship journeys continue on, they face obstacles and begin to feel their desires for love have become weakened.  Their initial flame of affection begins to fizzle. 

So, as a pastoral psychologist, I often tell this story of Zacchaeus’ will to overcome obstacles in his pursuit of love in conjunction with these words from Song of Songs.

I hear my Beloved.
See how he comes
leaping on the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My Beloved is like a gazelle,
like a young stag.
See where he stands
behind our wall.
He looks in at the window,
he peers through the lattice.
My Beloved lifts up his voice,
he says to me,
'Come then, my love,
my lovely one, come.
My dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock.
In the coverts of the cliff,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet
and your face is beautiful.'
My beloved is mine and I am his.
Set me like a seal on your heart,
like a seal on your arm.
For love is strong as Death,
jealousy relentless as Sheol. The flash of it is a flash of fire,
a flame of the Lord himself.
Love no flood can quench,
no torrents drown.  (Song of Songs 2:8-10.14.16; 8:6-7)


These words from King Solomon’s Song, often used for a wedding Mass first reading, tells that love makes us pursue an object of love as if we are on mission.  And, on this mission of seeking our objects of love, we do everything we can to overcome any obstacles that get in the way. In other words, if there is an excuse to stop our pursuits – our missions, then, it is not true love,  because nothing can stop an action of love until it is completed, for “love no flood can quench, no torrents drown”(Song of Songs 8:7). 

In the case of Zacchaeus’ pursuit of Jesus, nothing stopped him, nothing kept him, from seeking him, though he had an obstacle – his height problem. 

We have gotten so easy on our discipline in terms of love, as we tend to get confused love with selfish pleasure. It is a phenomenon of psychospiritual immaturity – egocentric heart –creating a bubble of illusion to make us confuse self-gratification with love. 

We often do not realize this problem as long as the cost on ourselves to attain the self-gratification is lower than the benefit of the self-gratification. And, this is typically the case during an early phase of relationships, including a marriage. But, as relationships continue on, the costs begin to overweigh the benefits, couples with psychospiritual immaturity and lack of spiritual disciplines begins to feel temptations to stop seeking each other. And, this is a serious red flag in relationships that psychotherapy and pastoral counseling address. 

Blessed Pope John Paul II, in his address to general audience on 6 June 1984, said “Love is ever seeking and never satisfied” through his interpretation of Song of Songs.   In this address, Blessed John Paul II, who is set to be canonized to become Saint on the Divine Mercy Sunday of 2014 (April 27, 2014), emphasized on our need for psychospiritual discipline over eros so that our love won’t be mistaken for  a mere means for self-gratification. 

Imagine, if Zacchaeus’ efforts of overcoming an obstacle to seek Jesus were only for his self-gratification or out of mere curiosity, then, his would not make his sacrifice by giving away a large portion of his possessions in order to become more intimate with him. 

By calling Jesus his Lord, rather than Caesar, Zacchaeus’ allegiance is with Jesus. This is like a pronouncing a vow of a relationship. But, this must be constantly proven and demonstrated through actions because love is not static but rather constantly dynamic. That is why Blessed John Paul II characterized love as ever seeking and never satisfied, emphasizing on disciplines. 

Psychospiritually immature couples and seekers often let eros dictate their pursuits, while mature couples are guided by agape. Thus, couples and seekers who are psychospiritually mature are willing and joyful to make sacrifices for the sake of their pursuits of love objects – as in an image of young man seeking his love over the mountains and hills (Song of Songs 2:8) and as Zacchaeus overcoming his obstacle of short height by climbing up a tree. 

So, we can learn a psychospiritual discipline of overcoming obstacles, making no excuse, to keep our love ever seeking and never satisfied from Zacchaeus’ creative efforts to compensate his vertically challenged nature. 

We Christians are, by nature, lovers, because God of ours are ever seeker, who never give up on us no matter how many obstacles our sins put when we are influenced by Devil. 

Zacchaeus, as Jesus indicated, was truly a man of imago Dei, by calling him a descendant of Abraham. We Christians are also descendants of Abraham by faith through our baptism into the communion of Christ and all Saints. It means that we Christian never stop our seeking and let nothing keep us from our continuing pursuits that our love, as agape, drives. 

If we are to transform ourselves through metanoia into salvation, then, we sure take this lesson from Zacchaeus, too. 

Of course, I do not let my short height and other personal challenges become excuses in my everlasting pursuit of love, as I inspire people I provide my clinical and pastoral services in the same way. This is particularly true in my pursuit of the most important love object, after God, the beautiful woman, whom I call "mahal" in Tagalog. For this, I am in constant need of God's grace and mercy.