True Religion

Catholic Liturgy for the 31^st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Nov. 3, 2019.  Gospel of Luke 19:1-10. Theme: True Religion

Over the past few weeks we have been meeting a lot of outcasts in the Sunday Gospels written by St. Luke. This is because he was a huge fan of Jesus’ ministry to those thought to be beyond the reaches of salvation. St. Luke never tires of trying to get across to us, in so many ways and stories, the fundamental teaching of Jesus that the real purpose of true religion is to reconnect people with God and with one another. And that no one, no matter who they are or what their present situation in life might be, is excluded from this reconnection. No one.

To better understand the impact of today’s story upon those who witnessed it, it helps to know that the Roman Oppressors levied high taxes on the people they conquered. And in order to collect this money they hired some of the locals to do their dirty work. These hired men were greedy scoundrels who cared more about money and themselves than they did the good of their nation or their neighbors.

Zacchaeus was one of those guys. He was extremely rich with his wealth having been built up by the suffering of his neighbors. But all Zacchaeus had was his riches, and that can never satisfy what the human heart truly yearns for and desires. He was ostracized, lonely, and despised by the Jews of Jericho.  Because you see, in addition to the Roman taxes, scoundrels like Zacchaeus added a hefty commission to the charges.  The people were left with very little on which to live until the next tax-day.

It’s no wonder that the people muttered when the miracle-working prophet, Jesus of Nazareth, chose to spend the evening as the guest of such a sinful man!  But despite the fact that Zacchaeus was both a traitor and a swindler – or maybe precisely because of this – Jesus’ merciful heart went out to him. And this love, expressed by Jesus treating Zacchaeus as a person worth spending time with, deeply touched the heart of this greedy tax collector.

Can you imagine what he must have thought when Jesus picked him, above all others, out of the crowd? “Me? Is he choosing to spend the evening with me?” He was overjoyed, deeply touched and transformed at the core! We can see why St. Luke tells us he was dramatically converted on the spot! After years of rejection he had found reconnection. And his story teaches us some important things about how reconnection with God and others can happen for anyone, for us.

First of all, we see that reconnection begins with God reaching out to us. Jesus took the active initiative to kick off the relationship with Zacchaeus. And he does the same for us if we have the ears of the soul open to hear his voice. By climbing up that sycamore tree, Zacchaeus shows his desire to encounter Jesus and connect with him. This reminds us that when God reaches out to us he respects our free will.  He never forces himself into anyone’s life. He awaits a sign from us, an opening no matter how small, to enter in and reconnect. But it all begins with him.

Secondly, we must be willing to do whatever it takes to make room for God in our lives.   Zacchaeus ignored the taunts and laughter of the crowd when he scurried up the sycamore tree. Seeing and knowing Jesus were more important than what others thought of him. That was the beginning of true religion entering into Zacchaeus’ life and making a difference. He did whatever it took to facilitate his reconnection with God. We must do the same.

Thirdly, our reconnection with God must show itself in reconnected relationships with others. Zacchaeus goes above and beyond what either Roman or Jewish law requires of him regarding restitution for the money he had extorted over the years. And he seems to find a real delight in making these amends to others, reconnecting with them in a positive way. This is what Pope Francis calls the “joy of the Gospel”; the happiness of an honest heart and a conscience made clean by the grace and mercy of Christ.

So, perhaps today’s Gospel of Zacchaeus can inspire us to examine ourselves honestly and identify what destructive or sinful behavior in our lives Jesus needs to seek out and save us from. And perhaps it can move our hearts and minds to see if there is anyone in our lives to whom we need to make amends and reconnect with in a positive way.

I think that a major take-away from the story of Zacchaeus is that our encounter with Christ must affect a positive change in who we are, in how we think and in how we interact with others. Otherwise, we have not really embraced true religion, a religion that makes a difference in our lives in this world and leads us to eternal life in the next.