He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."
Looking back on the conversion of Zacchaeus, we come to wonder what it was that Jesus said to cause such a conversion. Jesus didn't talk to Zacchaeus about sin and repentance, but Zacchaeus suddenly talked about repaying four times every amount that he extorted from his fellow Jews. It was out of the blue, so to speak.
What probably touched Zacchaeus' heart was Jesus' invitation. He was moved by the fact that Jesus gave importance to him simply by gracing him with His presence and actually speaking to him. As a public sinner, Zacchaeus was probably shunned by society and perhaps often received a cold treatment. But from Jesus, he received a sincere and warm invitation to talk and to share a meal at his own household. Jesus recognized his existence. From that simple gesture alone, Zacchaeus was moved to conversion.
Jesus is always passing by in our lives. Zacchaeus went out of his way to see Jesus only out of curiousity, because he doesn't know Him well. We, on the other hand, know Jesus and have constantly been reminded that Jesus is kind and infinitely merciful. We know this yet we sometimes fear to come near Him in the sacraments of the Eucharist and of Reconciliation. We hesitate even though He Himself invited us when He said, "Come to me... and I will give you rest (Mt 11:28)." Like Zacchaeus, we must go and meet the Lord where He awaits us - in the sacraments and in a good private prayer life.
Aside from representing us sinners who should welcome Jesus is our homes, Zacchaeus also represents the public sinners who are condemned by society. Most of the time we judge these people - corrupt politicians, prostitutes, criminals and others whose sins are scandalous. We give them sentence as if we were Christ sitting on the throne. We tell them that they are going to hell and that they cannot be saved anymore. Because of that, they tend to stay in the box we put them in. They no longer come to Jesus because we make them believe that they cannot be saved anymore.
God wants all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4). We go against God's will when we judge other people and condemn them. We should, instead, help them by prayer and admonition to repent and to come back to God. Jesus accepted Zacchaeus; so must we accept other sinners, in the name of Jesus. By doing so, we become instruments of God's forgiveness and salvation.
Jesus seeks to save all who are lost. But He can never save us if we do not want to be saved. Zacchaeus reminds us to come to Jesus with confidence and to let Him enter our hearts. As a community, we must come to Jesus, leaving no one behind. Together, we join Jesus in passing by Jericho and journeying towards the heavenly Jerusalem.
What probably touched Zacchaeus' heart was Jesus' invitation. He was moved by the fact that Jesus gave importance to him simply by gracing him with His presence and actually speaking to him. As a public sinner, Zacchaeus was probably shunned by society and perhaps often received a cold treatment. But from Jesus, he received a sincere and warm invitation to talk and to share a meal at his own household. Jesus recognized his existence. From that simple gesture alone, Zacchaeus was moved to conversion.
Jesus is always passing by in our lives. Zacchaeus went out of his way to see Jesus only out of curiousity, because he doesn't know Him well. We, on the other hand, know Jesus and have constantly been reminded that Jesus is kind and infinitely merciful. We know this yet we sometimes fear to come near Him in the sacraments of the Eucharist and of Reconciliation. We hesitate even though He Himself invited us when He said, "Come to me... and I will give you rest (Mt 11:28)." Like Zacchaeus, we must go and meet the Lord where He awaits us - in the sacraments and in a good private prayer life.
Aside from representing us sinners who should welcome Jesus is our homes, Zacchaeus also represents the public sinners who are condemned by society. Most of the time we judge these people - corrupt politicians, prostitutes, criminals and others whose sins are scandalous. We give them sentence as if we were Christ sitting on the throne. We tell them that they are going to hell and that they cannot be saved anymore. Because of that, they tend to stay in the box we put them in. They no longer come to Jesus because we make them believe that they cannot be saved anymore.
God wants all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4). We go against God's will when we judge other people and condemn them. We should, instead, help them by prayer and admonition to repent and to come back to God. Jesus accepted Zacchaeus; so must we accept other sinners, in the name of Jesus. By doing so, we become instruments of God's forgiveness and salvation.
Jesus seeks to save all who are lost. But He can never save us if we do not want to be saved. Zacchaeus reminds us to come to Jesus with confidence and to let Him enter our hearts. As a community, we must come to Jesus, leaving no one behind. Together, we join Jesus in passing by Jericho and journeying towards the heavenly Jerusalem.
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