Word to the Wise
Sunday, October 30, 2016 - 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[Wis 11:22-12:2; 2 Thess 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10]"Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost." [Luke]
There's an old expression, "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." But the story of Zaccheus comes pretty close to disproving it! Zaccheus was a tax collector "and a wealthy man," which means that he was profiting considerably from working for the Romans and their allies. It would be hard to find someone who was hated more by his fellow Jews. Yet, Zaccheus "was seeking to see who Jesus was," and assured his place in our imagination by climbing a tree because he was too short to see over the crowd. When Jesus becomes aware of him, his conversion is assured because he declares his intention to repent. Jesus then goes to his house to dine - a symbol of the kingdom.
In my years of pastoral ministry, I have come across people like Zaccheus who were curious about Jesus and wanted to know more, but were afraid that their situation was too awful for Jesus to care about. Nevertheless they reach out in some tentative way, like Zaccheus. The crowd in this scene was scandalized that Jesus would "stay at the house of a sinner." Zaccheus declares that he will do more than the law required in repentance. Jesus declares him to be saved. Perhaps this leaves the crowd in a position of learning what real mercy is and that they still need conversion? Are we skeptical of those who we consider to be notorious sinners and refuse to reach out to them when they show some interest in repentance. Maybe they won't be as creative in their approach as Zaccheus was, but one never knows. Anytime we can bring salvation to a lost person, we have made a silk purse out of a sow's ear! AMEN
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