A Reflection for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time: 3 November 2013
"HIATUS ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM" - THE STORY OF ZACCHAEUS
(Lk19: 1-10)
Of the Four Gospels, only the Gospel of Luke includes the story of Zacchaeus. Luke portrays Jesus as being on a journey to Jerusalem, which began in the synagogue at Nazareth, and which today has reached as far as Jericho. Along the way there have been teachings for the disciples, challenges for temple authorities and the rich, and healings for the sick. In today's Gospel, the crowds take a deep breath as all this comes to a halt under a sycamore tree.
Zaccheus, as Luke points out, occupied an unpopular and maligned position in the society of the day. He was not only a tax collector, he was the capo of all tax collectors, and rich. From what is known of such men, they filled their pockets with the proceeds of their larceny, as well as being in fiscal collaboration with the Roman authorities. To add to the picture, Luke describes Zacchaeus as 'short of stature' - thus completing the portrait of a thoroughly unlikeable man.
However, in contrast to the crowd and society at large, Jesus does not see Zacchaeus in this light. Whereas Zacchaeus climbed the sycamore tree to get a glimpse of Jesus, it is Jesus who sees him first, and sees him for who he really is - also a son of Abraham. Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name (which means, 'righteous one,' a curious name for a tax collector) and invites himself for dinner. The crowd is dismayed, for to share the house of a sinner is also to share the sin. But something happens in the private space of the house: condemned by the crowd for his sins, Zacchaeus has been welcomed and forgiven by Jesus, perhaps for the first time in his life. So repentant is he, that he vows to restore to anyone he has wronged, an amount well in excess of what the Law required. Considering the way Zacchaeus made his fortune, that would not have been a short list. "Today, salvation has come to this house," declares Jesus. True enough - for Jesus himself is salvation.
In the story of Zacchaeus, Luke gathers into one concise narrative all the teachings of the journey so far: faith, forgiveness, healing, restitution and discipleship. If a chief tax collector can be welcomed and forgiven his sins and transgressions, can we not find, when we welcome Christ into our spiritual house, the same life-giving salvation? Who Jesus is for us cannot readily be seen in the busy context of daily life, unless like Zacchaeus we take time out to get a better view. When we spend time in prayer, alone or in church, the same Jesus who welcomed him will also welcome us. In the quiet presence of Christ, away from the crowds, we will find forgiveness and peace.