Tuesday of the 33rd Week in
Ordinary Time - Luke 19:1-10
The Gospel today is the story of
Zaccheus, the tax collector. Tax collectors (then and now) are not very popular
with people — in Jesus’ time and also today. And yet Zaccheus was determined to
see “this Jesus” he had heard so much about. He had heard stories of his
preaching as well as tales of his amazing power to heal. Zaccheus wanted to see
and to listen to this man’s preaching and decide for himself who and what this
man was.
Zaccheus knew the route that Jesus
most likely would take through Jericho. He made sure he got there early to get
a good spot. As we know, Zaccheus was a man of short stature and if there was a
crowd he would be unable to see Jesus. He found a way around that problem. He
decided to climb a tree that was on the roadside. Being in the tree above the
crowd should enable him to see Jesus clearly!
As Jesus was walking down the road,
he looked up and saw Zaccheus sitting in the tree. Surprisingly, Jesus asked
him to come down. Jesus told Zaccheus that he wished to stay at his house.
Zaccheus was amazed and overjoyed that Jesus would come to his house but simply
being in Jesus’ presence overwhelmed Zaccheus. Immediately, Zaccheus had a deep
conversion. Simply being in Jesus’ presence and then “being seen” by him
changed Zaccheus’ heart and his life! He would never be the same!
Today Jesus is inviting us to “come
down from our tree” and spend time with him. He wants us to sit with Him
and listen and talk with him. What will our response be? Will we invite him
into our “inner” home? Or will we stay in our “tree” and watch him walk by? If
we choose to invite him into our inner “house,” we also may have a
“conversion!"
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