Word to the Wise
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
[Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22 and Luke 19:1-10]Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. Zaccheus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.
I love Zaccheus! He is truly one of the great comic figures of the bible. His socially despised job as a tax collector is no barrier to his curiosity about Jesus! No fool he! He runs ahead and climbs up a tree because he's too short to see Jesus over the heads of the crowd. His persistence, like that of the Blind Beggar yesterday, pays off. Jesus once more takes on "the establishment" by going to stay at the home of a tax collector! Yesterday, he responded to a disabled person - someone who would not be "accepted" socially. I once read a story of two society matrons who considered themselves to be pious ladies. One of them said to the other, "My dear, do you realize that if our Lord came again, we would not receive him, for his father was a carpenter!" The other said in reply: "Ah, but you forget that he was well-connected on his mother's side!" Jesus ignores the "connections" and reaches across the social boundaries. He stands at the door and knocks. Anyone who answers will have a wonderful guest. AMEN