Reflecting the Gospel Reading of the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, Luke 19:1-10, I asked the group that I teach: Have you had a “Zacchaeus” moment?
*****
Have
you had a “Zacchaeus” moment?
And how your “Zacchaeus
moment” has been affecting you?
There are questions to ponder and reflect in reference
to the Gospel Reading of the 31st Sunday, as this liturgical year
draws near to its end in the week of the 34th Sunday.
What is a “Zacchaeus” moment?
To put it simply, it is a life-changing moment in life
in meeting Christ. It is a threshold moment in which your old life of sins
begins to give its way to a new life with Christ, as Zacchaeus experienced upon
his encounter with Jesus. But to attain a “Zacchaeus moment”, you must make an
effort and even take a certain risk, as Zacchaeus climbed up a sycamore tree to
see Jesus, who was passing by.
In the Gospel Reading of the 31st Sunday in
Ordinary Time, Cycle C, Luke 19:1-10, we meet a chief tax collector of Jericho,
Zacchaeus, and Luke describes him as wealthy but short. This is the only
biblical narrative in which Zacchaeus is mentioned.
It was very likely that Zacchaeus, as a chief tax
collector for the Roman occupiers, made himself rich by taking more money than
the amount that is required by the Romans to be collected from his fellow
Israelites. Like many other tax
collectors, Zacchaeus probably abused the authorities entrusted on them by the
Romans for his personal gain. Against such a sinful act, John the Baptist
preached and urged tax collectors to repent in preparing for the public
appearance of Jesus (i.e. Luke 3:13; cf. 3:14).
Though he was an Israelite (i.e. Luke 19:9), Zacchaeus
was hated by the rest of the Israelites, because he worked for the benefit of
the Roman occupiers. This means that he probably did not have a friend among
his own people, for being seen as a traitor. In other words, Zacchaeus was
likely to have suffered internally from existential problem as to who he really
was. And all the wealth that he had accumulated certainly did not help him at
all.
Zacchaeus must have sensed that he would need to
change his life to be delivered from the internal existential suffering. Then, he had heard about Jesus and learned that
he was coming to Jericho. There must have been something bubbling up from deep
within of this tax collector, orienting him to Jesus. So, realizing that Jesus
was passing by his town, Jericho, Zacchaeus must have felt that it would be a
remiss not to see him. For Zacchaeus, it was “carpe diem”.
Though his heart was burning for Jesus, it was difficult
to take a glimpse at Jesus in the crowd. It was not only because he was short
but the crowd might pull him away, as he was hated by his people for working
for the Roman occupiers. His short stature was his physical challenge to see
Jesus in the crows, and being a chief tax collector for the Romans and making
himself wealthy by abusing his Roman authority, was more like a psychospiritual
obstacle, to him. But Zacchaeus did not let such challenging factors prevent
him from seeing Jesus. So, he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up a sycamore
tree to have the first look at Jesus as he would pass by (Luke 19:4). This
shows his resolved desire to see Jesus.
And as he passed by the tree on which Zacchaeus was, Jesus casted his eyes on him and said:
Zacchaeus,
come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house(Luke 19:5).
The society did not care about this short man who works for the Roman occupier as their tax collector. But Jesus did. Zacchaeus was rather an outcast in his own Jewish community in Jericho because of what he does for the Romans and for his own self-gain. But, Jesus took notice of him and called him to come closer to him and to have dinner with him.
Of course, Zacchaeus was excited that Jesus showed his
such a care for him. So, he came down quickly and ὑπεδέξατο / hypedexato: welcomed Jesus to his house with joy (Luke
19:6).
This is what I mean by “Zacchaeus moment”.
In this Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus, a result of
Zacchaeus’ uncompromising determination to see Jesus, at the root of the
sycamore tree in Jericho, the life of this sinful tax collector’s life began to
change.
From the “Zacchaeus moment” on, Zacchaeus was with
Jesus, as he received him into his house for the table fellowship, he declared
to give half of all his possessions to the poor and repay fourfold to those
whom he may have extorted in the past (Luke 19:8). This clearly indicates
Zacchaeus’ conversion, letting his past sinful life go and embracing his new
life with Jesus. And he was in joy to have encountered with Jesus, as Jesus had
delivered Zacchaeus from his existential suffering by affirming him as a “υἱὸς Ἀβραάμ”(huios Abraham), saying:
Today
salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of
Abraham (Luke 19:9).
For being an Israelite, being called by Jesus, “υἱὸς Ἀβραάμ”(huios Abraham): son
(descendant) of Abraham, is a powerful existential reaffirmation of who
Zacchaeus was. And it matters the whole universe to this short man. His
association with the Roman occupiers and his negative social reputation and
money no longer mattered to him.
And Jesus said further more:
For
the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost
(Luke 19:10).
After all, Zacchaeus was a lost sheep of Israel, a son
of Abraham lost to sins. But, Jesus the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14) came to
have found him, who was also longing to see his shepherd, as to reflect what
Jesus spoke of himself in the parable of finding the lost sheep (Luke 15:3–7).
This Gospel Story of Zacchaeus’ life-changing
encounter with Jesus, the “Zacchaeus
moment”, leading to the table fellowship with Jesus for conversion (Luke
19:1-10), is actually a story of us. We are, one way or anther, Zacchaeus, who
was once lost to sins but found by Christ at the moment of the “Zacchaeus moment”, resulting in the
conversion through the table fellowship with him.
Remember, for those who have had a “Zacchaeus moment”, a life-changing
personal encounter with Christ, they are called for the table fellowship with
him for resurrection (i.e. John 6:40) and eternal life (i.e. John 6:50-51). And
this table fellowship is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist at Mass.
Ideally, we are to have a “Zacchaeus moment” prior to receiving the First Communion. In fact,
regardless of having had a “Zacchaeus
moment” of encountering Jesus the Christ, before receiving the First
Communion or not, we all need to remain steadfast to have a “Zacchaeus moment” of salvific encounter
with Jesus the Christ throughout our life. And this resolved will to have a “Zacchaeus
moment” prompts us to make distinct efforts, even it may come with a risk, like
getting injured due to falling off a tree, to have a life-changing encounter
with Christ. After all, it indicates the firmness of our faith.
Zacchaeus joyfully received Christ at his home for the table fellowship with him. And this makes a parallel to receiving Christ in the form of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist at Mass. It, in essence, means to receive Christ in us, in our most inner part, so that he can dwell is us, in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17).
The First Reading of the 31st Sunday (Wisdom
11:22-12:2) reminds us that we are inherently good, as God’s beloved children
(1 John 3:2), as God chastises us to abandon our wickedness to retain our original
goodness. This action of discipline by God is out of His abound mercy (Psalm
145:8), as reflected in the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13,
14).
The humanity has become lost sheep ever since the fall
of Adam and Eve, symbolized with the loss of Eden. However, this does not mean
that we had become inherently wicked so our merciful God has been helping us to
keep our inherent goodness, as we recall from the First Reading (Wisdom
11:22-12:2). And the wickedness gives is way from us and a new life of joy with
Christ the Son becomes the reality, upon a “Zacchaeus
moment” of encountering Christ, as described in the Gospel Reading with the
case of Zacchaeus’ conversion (Luke 19:1-10). For this God the Father has sent
His Son, the Christ (i.e. John 3:16-17; 12:44-47). This is also to keep us
worthy of God’s calling on us to maintain the inherent goodness for the
fulfillment of His Creation all the way to the Christ’s return at the eschaton, as reflected in the Second
Reading (2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2).
Soon, we will be reflecting on the return of Christ on
the 34th Sunday, which is also known as the Solemnity of Christ the
King.
Ever since the 13th Sunday (Luke 9:51-62),
the Sunday Gospel Readings have been following Jesus on his journey to
Jerusalem to consummate his earthly salvific mission. On the 31st
Sunday, Jesus has come only 18 miles away to Jerusalem, as the Gospel Reading
(Luke 19:1-10), reminds that he was passing through Jericho, where he found
Zacchaeus and saved this lost sheep of Israel, as he showed his steadfast will
to be saved by climbing up the sycamore tree.
The salvation of Zacchaeus in Jericho, near Jerusalem,
also means the recovery of the inherent goodness in him and in us, though it
had been lost to sin in the past.
There is a juxtaposition between Jesus’ triumphant
entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-44), which is reflected on Palm Sunday
(Passion Sunday) and the Parousia (the return of Christ, as the King of the
Universe)(Revelation 19:1-21), as this liturgical year draw nearer to its end
in the week of the 34th Sunday. And this reminds us that we cannot
afford to waste our life not having a “Zacchaeus
moment” for recovering and maintaining the inherent goodness, our core
identity as the beloved children of God, by encountering Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment