Today’s
first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, written a century before Christ
points out that salvation doesn’t necessarily come primarily only to
those who are focused against sin, which is negative, but to those who
are open to God’s love, which is positive. It puts everything into
proper perspective. Before the Lord the whole universe is as a grain on a
scale, very small and insignificant, or as the morning dew. On the
other hand, God is almighty and all powerful. Yet this mighty God cares
and is concerned not only about the universe but also about each and
every one of us and is merciful towards us. He gently corrects us and
leads us from evil back to him. How do we respond to this great love? In
the words of the psalmist we say: ‘I will bless your name forever
more.’
He wants the best for us
A columnist, Scott Bennett, tells the story of a man ‘Michael’, who was
facing a series of devastating reversals in his life, leaving him
desperate and defenseless. He had no job, his car had been repossessed,
his marriage was ending, and his father had just died a month earlier.
One night, in a frantic cry for help, Michael lifted up his face to the
stars. And then the incredible happened. This is how he expressed it: “I
felt I was one with…. call it God, call it creation… I don’t know. I do
know I felt a peace that I have never known before or since. A power
and a purpose was revealed to me that night that I cannot put in words.
But I never doubted again that life is precious and has a purpose. –As
Christians we are blessed with a faith that teaches us we have in God a
compassionate, caring and loving father, whose thoughts are above ours
as the heavens are above the earth. God who created us loves us, cares
for us and will never cease pursuing what is best for us even if we fail
out of human frailty. “What the caterpillar calls the end of the road,
God calls a butterfly.”
James Valladares in ‘Your words, O Lord, Are Spirit, and They Are Life’
The Gospel today shows us clearly the attitude of God towards sinners
illustrated in how Jesus treats Zacchaeus the tax collector. Although
his profession would have made him very rich, Zacchaeus led a lonely and
isolated life in spite of his wealth. He had heard of Jesus and his
reputation in dealing with prostitutes and sinners. Zacchaeus hoped and
wanted to see Jesus. He hears that Jesus is passing that way but he is
lost in the crowds and is too short to see Jesus. But he grabs the
opportunity of seeing him by climbing a sycamore tree to get a glimpse
of Jesus. Perhaps, the crowds are amused by this short man, a
respectable tax collector, who is perched on the tree. But Jesus does
not pass by without noticing his effort. He stops, looks up and calls
Zacchaeus by name. “Zacchaeus, come down! Hurry, because I must stay at
your home today!” Zacchaeus, cannot believe his ears, Jesus is coming to
his home and wants to stay with him! The impossible has become
possible! The crowds are enraged because Jesus has invited himself to
the house of a sinner, a tax collector, a traitor and friend of the
Romans. Jesus is not bothered by the reaction of the crowd. He does not
see the sins but he sees the sinner and reaches out. Jesus’ attitude
touches Zacchaeus and the man who had been collecting riches all his
life now is ready to give it all to others, He no longer needs his
riches, he has found Jesus. It is worthwhile noting that Jesus does not
demand repentance before entering into Zacchaeus’ home. Jesus overlooks
the wrong doing in the hope that he will repent. He gave Zacchaeus the
opportunity to change in the atmosphere of unconditional acceptance. We
change not because God forces us to change but only when we experience
His unconditional acceptance even in our sins.
God comes to us in spite of ourselves!
A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was
very sick with fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to
pick up some medication for her daughter. On returning to her car she
found that she had locked her keys in the car. She was in a hurry to get
home to her sick daughter. She found a coat hanger there. Then she
looked at the hanger and said, “I don’t know how to use this.” So she
bowed her head and asked the Lord to send some help. A man got out of
his car and asked her if he could help. “Please can you use this hanger
to unlock my car?” she said. He said, “Sure.” He walked over to the car
and in less than one minute, the car was opened. She hugged the man and
through tears, she said, “Thank you so much! You are a very nice man.”
The man replied, “Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison
today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an
hour.” The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried
aloud, “Oh, Thank you God! You even sent me a professional!” –While we
are all sinners, the Lord sees the good within us and keeps coming,
knocking at the door of our hearts, encouraging us to come closer to
him.
Tomi Thomas in ‘Spice up your homilies’
Advantage Disadvantage
Several years ago there was a basketball player by the name of Nate
Archibald. When Nate finished college, most of the professional teams
ignored him because they thought he was too short. In fact his nickname
was ‘Tiny’. The Cincinnati Royals decided to take a chance on Nate and
signed him to play on their team. Well, Nate made it big in the NBA
because he was lightning fast, had good hands, and was a great shooter.
He played in the NBA for fourteen seasons and became known as the player
who proved that a ‘little man’ could play in the NBA. Just look at some
of the honours he won: He was named to the All-NBA team five times. He
was named to the NBA All-Star team six times. He was elected to the NBA
Hall of Fame. Not too bad for a man most people thought was too short to
play in the NBA. –The Bible tells us about another short man who became
great, even though he was not very tall. His name was Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus was not only short; he was hated by almost everyone because he
was a tax collector. As a tax collector he often cheated people and
collected more taxes than they owed. When he heard that Jesus was
passing by he made an attempt to climb a tree to see Jesus. Jesus saw
him and called him by name and went to his house and Zacchaeus was
changed forever. When Jesus enters our lives our shortcomings, our
handicaps do not matter at all.
John Pichappilly in ‘The Table of the Word’
Cared for the least of his people
There were some eyebrows raised when John XXIII was elected
pope. He was in his seventies and there was no great hope that he was
going to shake the Church. One of the first things he did, however, made
people sit up and notice. He went in person to visit prisoners in one
of Rome’s prisons. He met them as equals and chatted informally with
each. He even disclosed that he himself had a relative in jail! The work
and short pontificate of this man was going to open many doors, and set
many prisoners free. ?Jack McArdle in ‘And that’s the Gospel Truth’
May we remember that every tiny step we take towards Jesus is always blessed by Him!
Fr. Jude Botelho
botelhojude@gmail.com |
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