Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

“So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully.” In today’s gospel reading (Luke 19:1-10), Jesus meets Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector of Jericho. In the time of Jesus, this was like saying he was major sinner and cheat. Zacchaeus was a small man who could not see over the crowd. He was determined to see who Jesus was so he climbed up into a sycamore tree. When Jesus saw him in the tree, he said, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” Zacchaeus was the lowliest of lowliest and yet Christ called upon him. Not only did he call Zacchaeus, he wanted to enter his house. Already, the gospel reading has so many lessons. Zacchaeus has to recognize that Jesus is the Messiah, Zacchaeus has to have faith, and most importantly Zacchaeus has to be humble.

Zacchaeus was not just a tax collector but the chief tax collector. Therefore, he had to go amongst a crowd of people who had deep hatred for him. He had to humble himself before those who hated him. To see Christ, he had to elevate himself above the crowd. He had to elevate himself above the smallness of his sins. This was a demonstration of his faith and trust in God. What is Zacchaeus’ reward? Christ says to Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham, for the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.” If we desire salvation, we must elevate ourselves above the crowd, we must humble ourselves and we must have faith. Zacchaeus hears the word of God and “So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully.” There was no hesitation by Zacchaeus. The grace of God had been given to Zacchaeus through the mercy of forgiveness.

He heard the call and answered it with faith; a faith that included reconciliation. Zacchaeus agreed to pay back fourfold anything he obtained unjustly and he gave half his wealth to the poor. Zacchaeus’ repentance was not because he was rich, but because he did not share the gifts that were given to him. This same scenario is played out everyday when Christ calls our name and we answer. Today’s gospel reading call us to do more then answer, we need to repent. We need to be willing to restore what we have done wrong and we need to be willing to share the gifts that God has given to us.

A Simple Prayer

Lord, I raise myself up to see you.

Call my name and I will come.

I welcome you into my home.

Fill it with grace and mercy

so that I can share with others.

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon