“…And he made haste,
and came down, and received him joyfully” (Luke 19:6)
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AN OVERVIEW OF THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
COI
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RC (31st Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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There are no parallel readings to Luke 19:1-10 in the other
two synoptic gospels.
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SERMON NOTES (697 words)
These words – “to live is to change, and to be perfect is to
have changed often”* were composed by a certain Englishman, John Henry Newman
(1801-1890), an Anglican at heart, who found his ecclesial home on the far side
of the river Tiber in Rome and now Saint John Henry Newman to a billion or so
Christians. He had more than a passing association with Ireland in the sowing
of seeds for University College Dublin.
The implications of changing often and changing for the
better – please note – is that to others one may seem contrarian, unstable and
incoherent. One might also undergo the gauntlet of losing a few friends and
family members along the way. Hint - many a ‘convert’ from one branch to
another of the Christian family knows a thing or two about these matters.
However, ruthless honesty and a thirst for the ‘good life’ drives us on. That
‘good life’ is not the search for, or finding of, some perfect church or
denomination; there is no such thing. Rather it is the good life hidden in
Christ and the search for it is a challenge to the prevailing ideologies and
fashions of our time.
What is the point of recalling or celebrating this Victorian
Englishman whose intellectual rigour and moral consistency puzzles and attracts
Anglicans and Roman Catholics alike? I suggest that the answer lies in the
Gospel reading we have just heard.
There was a man, Zacchaeus, who sought truth, beauty and
love and found it in the person of Jesus. He had to seek it out from a height
on a sycamore tree given his short stature. However, Zacchaeus had to go
further by inviting Jesus into his home and completely letting go of his social
and financial securities. The story seems to be telling us that Zacchaeus
sought out, found and committed his life to Jesus. However, reading and hearing
the text at a deeper level opens up to us a different and much deeper truth. Zacchaeus
was searching for something long before he set eyes on Jesus. God in Jesus saw Zacchaeus
long before Zacchaeus saw Jesus. God sowed in the heart of Zacchaeus a longing
and a curiosity for something more than the accumulation of wealth and worldly
status. It reminds us of what Jesus said, in answer to the question of
Nathanael, ‘How do you know me?’ (John
1:48):
“I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Climbing that tree took courage. Behold the spectacle of a
great and despised public sinner perched on a common tree seeking to catch the
eye of a great prophet and healer. We might conjecture that Zacchaeus struggled
with himself over a period of time before he summoned the courage to go out and
climb the sycamore tree. There was much at stake for him since he was, after
all, the chief tax collector. He surely would lose not only wealth but a whole
network of friends and possibly family too.
It often happens that after a long period of struggle comes
a time of sudden decision. This happened in a moment when Jesus’ eyes met Zacchaeus’
eyes. What was the immediate fruit of this very decisive step on the part of Zacchaeus?
It was the gift of joy and peace. This is the sign that we are on the right
path when we decide for Christ in our lives.
Luke tells us that Zacchaeus ‘hurried down and was happy to
welcome him’ (v.6
in the NRSVA version). I
prefer the King James version on this one:
And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
When was the last time one of us received someone – anyone –
with the fullness of joy?! Blessings on the one who receives with joy because true
and godly joy will convert the world, melt hearts and pave the way for the
coming of God’s kingdom in our time and in this place.
Our journey involves a trust because no more than Newman or
Zacchaeus we do not see what lies ahead.
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on,O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone;And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.
(from ‘Lead Kindly Light’ by St JH Newman)
* On the
development of ideas (JH Newman)
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A PRAYERFUL WALK THROUGH LUKE 19:1-10
Chapter 19 opens with a story about a rich publican. It
builds on the parables and stories of previous chapters in Luke. Already, Jesus
had passed by a blind man on his way to Jericho. He too was healed.
Characteristically, it expresses the joy and freedom of conversion. Jesus came
with a radical message that associated him with outcasts, the poor, the
despised and sinners.
v.1-2 Zacchaeus – who was he
He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich.
Rich, powerful and
despised, Zacchaeus was the sort that attracted the hatred and resentment of
many. He lived off others by extortion and pressure. Jericho was a place
renowned for the Balsam trade in the 1st century. It is likely that
Zacchaeus was benefiting from a particularly lucrative trade in extracting
taxes from a hard-pressed local population.
v.3 He sought Jesus but was not able to see him
at first
He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.
Zacchaeus was
vertically challenged. However, he was keen to see Jesus. He had heard much
about him. He was probably drawn to his teaching and influence. Jesus had
enkindled something in the soul of Zacchaeus.
v.4 He
places himself in the way
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.
It was enough that
Zacchaeus placed himself in a way that Jesus would see him.
The tree referred to here was possibly not quite a fig tree
but a sycamore tree except not like the European one with which we so familiar.
Rev Patrick Comerford points out that the tree referred to this Gospel passages
is the ‘sycamine tree, which has the shape and leaves of a mulberry tree but with
fruit that tastes like the fig’ (CME
blog Limerick and Killaloe).
v.5-6
Jesus invites himself in
When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.
Jesus calls him by
name. He knew what was in the heart and mind of Zacchaeus that day. Jesus also
presents himself at our door (Revelation
3:20). Are we ready to hear and to open?
v.7
The judgment of the crowd
All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’
Tax collectors were seen as dishonest and extortionate
go-between people who did the dirty work of the Roman authorities and, at the
same time, made lots of money out of their occupation by cheating and driving a
large margin between income received and money paid into central coffers. Again
and again throughout the gospels, Jesus is taken to task for eating and
drinking with the ‘wrong sort of people’.
v.8
The moment of surrender
Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’
In typical Lucan
fashion, the story of conversion is about the kingdom of God breaking out with
freedom for the poor. Zacchaeus was
serious and showed it by divesting himself of much of his considerable wealth.
Note, however, that Zacchaeus goes much further than what was prescribed in the
Law in the cases of non-violent crime (see, for example, Numbers
5:5-7). He undertakes to pay back four times the amount defrauded
which would have been the worst penalty (Exodus
22:1).
v.9-10
All are in need of salvation
Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’
Jesus came to seek and save all – not just the poor. Even
the rich can be set free. In this case, the rich can be set free from
attachment to riches. This particular son of Abraham was set free. Today all
are invited in. Note that salvation had not only come to the individual,
Zacchaeus; it came to his entire household. Salvation is both individual and
corporate. Luke presents Jesus as the Pastor who will seek out, heal and
restore those who are lost (see also Ezechiel
34:16).
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