31st Sunday - C (October 30, 2022)

 

A Descendant of Abraham

Luke 19: 1-10

 

The people in the crowd know Zacchaeus as a sinner. 

 

On the contrary, Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name, and declares him “a descendant of Abraham.” Thus, Jesus sees Zacchaeus a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.    

 

In Genesis 22:18, God promised to Abraham, “in your descendants all the nations of the earth will find blessing.”  Here, by entering the life and staying at the house of Zacchaeus, Jesus restores God’s promise in this man, known to others only as a sinner.  Zacchaeus’ household now know God’s mercy, and Zacchaeus brings God’s blessing to the poor. 

 

Image source: Jacopo Palma, Christ Calling Zacchaeus, wikimedia.org

31st Sunday - B (October 31, 2021)

 

Our Real ID

Mark 12: 28-34

 

We have various ID’s, emblems, membership cards, passports that indicate membership of organizations, clubs, or citizenship.

 

What identifies our membership or citizenship of the Kingdom of God?

 

Today, Jesus tells us that our membership of that Kingdom is to love God and to love our brothers and sisters.

 

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

31st Sunday - C (November 3, 2019)

A Guest

Luke 19: 1-10

Jesus tells Zaccheaus, “I must stay at your house.”

By using “must,” Jesus expresses a sense of obligation [1] , or rather, the reason of his coming among us – “to seek and to save what was lost.”  It is the obligation of the Father’s plan and of Jesus’ love for sinners.

Some people find it hard to accept God’s plan of salvation.  They “grumble” that Jesus makes himself a guest at the house of a sinner.

So great is Jesus’ love for us sinners that he makes it his obligation to be our guest.

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[1] “In Luke, the verb dei (“must”) is used to convey divine necessity – that is, what Jesus must do in fulfillment of God’s plan” (Pablo Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Academic, p. 75).

Image source:  Zacchaeus by Niels Larsen Stevns, en.wikipedia.org

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31st Sunday - B (November 4, 2018)

“You are not far from the kingdom of God”

Mark 12:28-34

The scribe acknowledges Jesus’ teaching of the greatest commandment – love God and love your neighbor.  And Jesus tells him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Jesus came to inaugurated the kingdom of God.  The kingdom of God is not just about the future or the afterlife.  It will reach its fullness then.  But it is already here among us. 

The more we love, the more we live and spread that kingdom. 

 

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

31st Sunday - A (November 5, 2017)

Matthew 23: 1-12

Giving Oneself In Service

Today, we hear St. Paul expresses his love for the Christian community of Thessalonica, “We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children.  With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us.”

Paul learned that from Jesus, who practiced what he preached and was the servant of those he loved.

As we celebrate and receive Jesus, who continues to give himself to us in his life-giving words and his Body and Blood, may we learn to give “our very selves” in loving service of our brothers and sisters.

31st Sunday - C

Commentary

Luke 19:1-10

“I Must Stay at Your House”

In Luke’s account of the life and ministry of Jesus, this event is the last stop on Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem.  The stop is not a part of his plan since he “intended to pass through the town” of Jericho.

Yet, Jesus makes the unplanned stop.  He practically invites himself to dinner at the house of a sinner.

And Zacchaeus receives him with joy.

He changes his plan to spend time with a sinner.  Truly, he “has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

I can keep Jesus out if I do not have Zacchaeus' attitude.  But no sins of mine can keep Him out. 

31st Sunday - C (October 30, 2016)

Readings

Image source: http://www.reverendfun.com

31st Sunday - C

Commentary

Luke 19: 1 – 10

The Joy of God’s Forgiveness

There are two conflicting reactions to Jesus and his treatment of Zacchaeus.

The people who are with Jesus “begin to grumble” because he is going to the house of a sinner.

Prior to this incident, this kind of reaction was typical of the Pharisees and scribes when they criticized Jesus for welcoming, and for eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. [1]

This time, they “all” grumble.  And in this case, the pronoun “they” refers to the disciples and all those who have been traveling with Jesus as he continues his journey to Jerusalem.

Why do they all grumble?  Is it because unlike other tax collectors who Jesus reaches out to before, Zacchaeus is a big time “bad guy”?  He is “the chief tax collector.”  His crime is well known.   Or is it because Zacchaeus seems to get off the hook too easily?  Probably both!

Zacchaeus, on the contrary, “receives Jesus with joy.”

Like his fellow tax collector in the parable of last week’s Gospel passage (Luke 18: 9-14), Zacchaeus acknowledges that he is a sinner.  He climbs the tree “for he is short in stature.”  But can this explanation also indicate his moral stature in the eyes of the people around Jesus?  Morally, he surely is “short in stature.”  He probably knows that he does not belong in that crowd. 

And like the other tax collector, Zacchaeus accepts God’s mercy.  As a result, he can “receive [Jesus] with joy.”

To admit that one is a sinner, and to accept God’s forgiveness are the conditions of joy.

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[1] Luke 5:30 and 15:2, Footnote, The New American Bible, Revised Edition, 2011.

31st Sunday - C (November 3, 2013)

Readings

Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org