In today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom we hear that “Your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord!”
Preceding that statement, we hear that the Lord over-looks sins and has mercy on all, that He, the Lord our Creator, loves all things and loathes nothing He has made. As we begin to near the end of the liturgical year and head into Advent with a new year (Church year we will be hearing more apocalyptic readings. For many, this is uncomfortable. However, we need to hear these readings in light of today’s reading so that we can have a clear understanding of God’s mercy, His love, and His desire for all of us to join Him in heaven.

In today’s modern world many are very content in understanding God as “all merciful and all-forgiving! In the end, the Lord will forgive my sins and welcome me into heaven. That understanding gives us great comfort, and indeed it should. However, we must not lose sight of the Lord’s great desire to continually call us to His Truths. While He states in the Gospel, “Neither do I condemn you—but go and sin no more,” He calls us —to learn His Truths,, know them, and to live them. Today’s gospel is a wonderful account of that the Forgiving and Teaching Christ.

Zacchaeus is a sinner, and the worst kind—a chief tax collector. A Jewish man who oversaw the collection of the Jewish taxes so as to empower the Roman government. On top of inflicting Roman rule on his fellow Jews, he stole from them and their hard-earned taxes. He made his personal wealth and com-fort off the backs of his brothers and sisters and then subjected them to Roman rule. But Christ even welcomed this man to dinner. He forgave Zacchaeus because Zacchaeus saw what he needed to do—convert to the ways of Jesus using what was around him—the sycamore tree—and then had the courage and the fortitude to do it. He walked into salvation by walking the way of the Lord. This is a good lesson for all of us to focus on right now: What is missing from my life—my life of Christ—and what must I do to amend my ways and follow Him? After all, we are planning for our eternal life—and that’s a long, long, long time. Peace!