June Trinity
Luke 19:1-10 (Madsen)
And he came to Jericho and went through the town.
See, there was a man called Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and a rich man. He wanted to see Jesus, to know who he was, but because he was small of stature, he could not see him in the great crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a mulberry-fig tree to see him, for he had to come past there.And when Jesus came to the place, he looked
up to him and said, ‘Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must be a guest
in your house!’ And he came down hurriedly and made him welcome in his house
with great joy. All who saw it became indignant and said, ‘He has gone in to be
a guest in the house of a sinner.’
Then Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, ‘Lord, see, half of all that I have I give to the poor, and if I have taken too much from someone, I give it back to him fourfold.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘So today healing has come to this house. This man, too, is a true son of Abraham and the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.’
3rd June Trinity
June 21, 2020
Luke 19: 1-10
One’s placement in life, one’s job, vocation, or upbringing, does not necessarily say anything about one’s moral stature. Being poor and lowly does not prevent one from being a moral giant. But neither does being rich or elevated. It all depends on the individual’s inner and outer response to their circumstances.
Yet Zacchaeus has the desire to know Jesus. His ‘running ahead
and climbing the mulberry-fig tree’ may also be seen as a description of his
inner state: He prepares himself ahead of time and elevates his spirit for the
encounter. And then not only can he see Jesus, but he will be seen.
In any case, Jesus is aware of him and responds positively
to him by entering into a close relationship with him, much to Zacchaeus’ joy.
And it is clear from what follows in the gospel that Zacchaeus
has used his wealth and position in a moral way: of his own wealth, he gives
half to the poor. And in his official position, he is conscientious in how much
he charges and scrupulous in making fourfold restitution for any mistakes.
He is a just man, using his position and personal wealth to benefit the whole
community. Jesus calls him a true son of Abraham and connects with him. Zacchaeus
is someone Jesus can work with.
Christ sees us all, elevated or lowly. He sees into our
hearts and into our deeds. He brings His healing work of redemption to all,
despite the public’s opinion about them or their status in the community. It is
the state of our hearts that Christ is interested in. It is our love translated
into deeds of justice and mercy that make us those He can work with. For
especially now, Christ needs us in order to do his work of healing in the world.
In the words of Theresa of Avila
Christ has no body now but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
He looks compassion on
this world.
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.
Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the
world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
*See Mt 9:11, Mk 2:16, Lk 5:3
No comments:
Post a Comment