Cycle C- Year I:

3 November 2019: Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading: Wisdom 11:22--12:2

Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:11--2:2

Gospel: Please Read Luke 19:1-10

"To receive our Lord Jesus with great joy!"

There is this story of a man in desperate search for God:

The man whispered, "God, speak to me".... and a meadowlark sang. But the man did not hear.

Then he looked around and said, "God, let me see you"... and a star shined brightly. But the man did not take notice.

So the man cried out in despair, "Touch me, God and let me know you are here!"... whereupon, God reached down and touched him. But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.

In this Sunday's Gospel we will also hear the story about a tax collector eager to search for God. And he found God in a rather dramatic way.

St. Luke wrote that on His way to Jericho, our Lord Jesus was surrounded by a big crowd of followers. There was a man of power and money by the name of Zacchaeus who wanted to see Jesus. Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector and thus didn't have the best of reputation among his own people. In fact, he was hated for being a thief and corrupt (Bingo, even in those times!). Nonetheless, Zacchaeus' heart, like any human heart, sought God.

Now Zacchaeus was physically short in stature, so that because of the crowd surrounding Jesus it was impossible for him to see our Lord. But that did not discourage him, and he became creative, as he was determined to see our Lord Jesus that he climbed up a tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was about to pass his way.

Now we know that Zacchaeus is a rich man and has everything he needs. So, we may ask, why does he need to see Jesus face to face?

Well, before this encounter with Jesus Zacchaeus must have been restless, seeking for meaning in his life. He has heard the many stories about Jesus and he knows deep in his heart that this Jesus does not promise a great worldly life but an everlasting one in heaven. That is why he was determined to do whatever it takes just to get a close look at Jesus. And his efforts were rewarded because our Lord Jesus noticed him. As the story goes, Jesus invited Himself to be the guest in Zacchaeus' house that day, and this shocked the sensibilities of Jesus' own disciples and those of the crowd. They murmured that Jesus was going to be the guest with a man reputed to be a sinner.

But then Jesus saw past Zacchaeus' crimes to his heart, which was open to the grace that prompted him to climb the tree just to see Jesus. So when our Lord invited Himself to Zacchaeus' house it means an offer of forgiveness, mercy, and acceptance by God.

And on the part of Zacchaeus, he knew that accepting Jesus into his house meant that his life will have to change for the better. Zacchaeus realized that his wealth had come at the expense of the people (Bingo again!) Clinging to it would mean letting Jesus go from his life. And so he had to choose, and he chose wisely. So Zacchaeus told Jesus, "Behold, half of my possession, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over." (Lk 19:8)

This story about Zacchaeus teaches us about determination and humbling ourselves before God. As Christians we know that God is not about forced entry. Meaning, God doesn't force Himself on us. The door must be opened from the inside when we invite Him to our lives. We must make the decision to yield to His mercy and receive the gift of forgiveness. And to receive God's gifts means that our hands must be empty of worldly concerns. These are the things we must let go to grasp the hands of God.

And going back to the opening story of a man in desperate search for God, the lesson we can learn from today's Gospel proclamation is that God is always around us in the little and simple things that we take for granted. Let us not miss our blessing just because it is not packaged in the way we expect. And when we find our Lord Jesus, let us receive Him with great joy!

Finally, we can say that all religions are essentially about man's search for God. But Christianity is also about God Himself in search for man. That is the big difference! For we believe that God has not left us on our own. Rather, He Himself has come in search of us. The closing statement of our Gospel reading says, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost." (Lk 19:10)

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!