THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
The Gospel that we just heard is not a parable or a story
that Jesus told, rather it is an actual event in the Life of the
Lord.
1.) Jesus had just told His apostles that they were going to
Jerusalem for the last time. But first they must pass
through Jericho.
2.) As they approached the city, a blind man, the son of
Timaeus, was sitting by the side of the road begging.
3.) He heard all the voices and asked what was happening.
Someone told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by,
so he shouted, “JESUS, SON OF DAVIS, HAVE PITTY ON ME!”
Luke said that those leading the group traveling with Jesus told
him to be quiet. Jesus stopped and asked that the blind man be
brought to Him. When Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted, he
said, “I want to see!” Jesus healed him, and he joined the
entourage of Jesus.
It is at this point that the narrative of today’s Gospel
begins. Jesus is walking along the tree-lined streets, and
because of the news of the healing of the blind beggar, a large
crowd has gathered around Jesus and His followers. Suddenly,
there appears on the scene one of Jericho’s
1.) wealthiest,
2.) most hated, and
3.) shortest citizens - Zacchaeus, chief of the tax collectors.
Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but he couldn’t see Him
because he was very short in stature; so he
1.) forgot about his dignity – his place in society,
2.) ran down the road and
3.) climbed up a sycamore tree so that he would be able to
see Jesus.
What a strange and ridiculous sight it must have been for
the crowd which had turned out to greet Jesus, seeing Zacchaeus
perched up in a tree. As a tax collector Zacchaeus was
1.) a man of some importance and wealth.
2.) Certainly not the kind of person you would expect to find shimmying up a tree to see anyone.
But Zacchaeus,
1.) didn’t hesitate for a minute –
2.) he didn’t care if he looked foolish – he wanted to see Christ.
3.) His example has shown all of us that faith can change our lives.
Zacchaeus was not satisfied with his life. It was more
than idle curiosity that made him want to climb the tree to
see this Jesus.
1.) It was a dissatisfaction with his own life,
2.) a longing to be accepted,
3.) a desire to be loved be God and to be forgiven for his
sins.
When Jesus stopped, looked up and spoke, Zacchaeus
listened! Imagine his shock and surprise when Jesus holored to
him: “I want to stay at your house!” “Stay at MY house?”
1.) Zacchaeus responded with joy!
2.) He didn’t care what other people thought.
3.) He welcomed Jesus into his home.
When Zacchaeus responded to the Lord’s request, he discovered
that Jesus did not merely enter his house.
1.) He accepted him,
2.) He forgave him,
3.) He gave him new hope and self-worth.
4.) He entered into his heart: and this brought about a change in life - a new spirit that made it possible for him
a.) to be just and kind;
b.) to make restitution to those he had cheated;
c.) to live a new kind of life!
Zacchaeus found that you cannot entertain the Lord with an open
heart and ever be the same again.
We live in a world full of obstacles which
1.) block our view of Jesus – making it difficult to see Him in our pilgrimage of life
2.) and closing off our hearing Him speaking the Gospel of life speaking through His church, and
3.) responding to His request to “stay at your house – to be part of your life”.
1.) To find Him,
2.) to see Him,
3.) to hear Him, we have to be willing to run ahead, get away from the crowd which has no time or place for the Lord,
4.) We must stand on the moral principals that life us up above the crowd.
a.) We must be against abortion in a crowd of
abortion promoters.
b.) We must be a supporter of sexual morality in a
society which doesn’t care about morality.
c.) We must support marriage and family.
d.) We must stand up for the Church before her
critics.
e.) We must stand up for the rights of those who are
oppressed.
f.) We must make use of the sacrament of penance in
these times when so many neglect it.
These are but a few of the trees that we need to climb to
get a better look at Christ – and when we look at Him, he looks
back at us and says:
1.) “I want to stay at your house today”:
2.) I want to be a part of your life and bring about the
same kind of change that Zacchaeus experienced.
3.) I want you to be able to be able to exclaim with Saint
Paul “It is no longer I who lives: but rather it is
Christ who lives in me.”