Today’s readings come to us complete with a theme of repentance—and within the context of that theme we must ponder the “after effect” of repentance: transformation—and that is what these readings are taking about today.
Practically speaking, the “after effect”—or consequence—of repentance is conversion through our openness to God’s free gift of salvation. It is through our contrition of the heart, that we are absolved of our sins and return to friendship with the Lord. This is why the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the seven (7) Sacraments of the Church, and handed them over to Peter and the apostles when He said to them: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18) It is through His Grace that we are forgiven and transformed—conversion—to be open to God’s ways in our lives.
Today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom sets the stage for Zacchaeus’ gospel conversion. Why should we care what the Book of Wisdom tells us about Zacchaeus’ conversion? We care because it illustrates God’s love for us. In this Wisdom reading we hear that “compared with God, the ‘whole universe is’ is like a tiny weight used on the most sensitive scales or like a single drop of morning dew. The Bible’s starting point is always the greatness of God who, nonetheless, deigns to love and care for us frail creatures like a mother loves the child of her womb. In God’s eyes, existence equals goodness because everything that God made is good. That goodness precedes any action or accomplishment on our part. We don’t earn worthiness; it is bestowed on us as an essential aspect of our existence.” (LPI, Graziano Marcheschi, MA, DMin, et al, 2016)
In our second reading from St. Paul to the Thessalonians we have two longish sentences (that’s St. Paul!) which don’t appear to have much of a Common. The first is about prayer, the second is about being misled by false teachings. However, as we recall from last week’s second reading, St. Paul used a sports analogy about “finishing the race,” and why we should put the effort into finishing a race or in fighting a cause or standing up for a person: because it is the truth—if we ge behind something that is not founded on truth, why bother? Paul connects the two topics well, and leads us into a conversation about Truth and God’s words…living our lives. Well, that is what faith is all about: Believe it—because you know it is true; Live it, for it is Truth; and, Share it—for that leads to salvation. Once we know the Truth we must convert to the Truth, and that too leads to salvation.
Today’s Gospel gives us the familiar story of Zacchaeus, “who was a chief tax collector at Jericho, mentioned only in the Gospel of Luke. A descendant of Abraham, he was an example of Jesus’ personal, earthly mission to bring salvation to the lost. Tax collectors were despised as traitors (working for the Roman Empire, not for their Jewish community), and as being corrupt.” (Catholic Encyclopedia ) This is a well-known account. In the seminary there was always lively discussion about Zacchaeus. Who was the seeker and who was the pursued—Jesus or Zacchaeus? What would have happened if Zacchaeus did not climb the tree? What if he only needed to hear Jesus’ voice rather than see Him and size Him up? Was the miracle of his conversion instantaneous or slower, maybe over time as the “lover of souls” called him closer to Christ by his heart being change or his conscious being challenged?
We have already been told that God loves us because by being His creations we are good by His creation—even before our first breath. We know from Christ and from the gospel accounts that the Lord seeks us and desires us to spend eternity with Him. We have been told, in Truth, that the God of all seeks a relationship with each of us that is built upon Truth. St. Paul reminds us to know the Truth. It is faith that gives us the grace to seek His Truths, to live them in-and-through our lives, and it is faith and prayer that leads us to repentance and conversion—a change from the former ways of life to a newness of life, a life in Christ through faith lived-out. Believe it. Live it. Share it. May we not feel that God does not desire us nor wants us to know Him and His Truths. So repent and be converted so that Salvation will be ours. May we, who like Zacchaeus, are called to Christ have the courage to respond with the equal vigor and like this tax collector climb the tree to heaven.