Walking with Jesus: Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

For Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022

Wisdom 11:22-12:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10

I just returned from leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I have done this before. People ask me why I keep going back: because this is God’s land and God calls each of us every day to be His people of love. As I so often have said, “You will never be the same on returning from the Holy Land.” Going to the various sites where Jesus ministered, cured, encouraged; promised His graces and love, and the gift of heaven to all who follow His way of love is life-fulfilling. I have never been the same … I have never been bored … I have experienced God’s lifting up the pilgrims to be a people convinced of God’s presence and knowing that He has called them to His Land.   Each of today’s readings emphasizes that God is love and that He loves each of us and helps us right where we are.  Am I listening? Do I allow this to happen? Do I feel that I have to do something special to deserve this? The point is that God just loves us. On the pilgrimage we celebrated Mass each day: Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth; Mount of Beatitudes; Church of Mary, Martha, Lazarus at Bethany; Church of Shepherds in Bethlehem; Church of All Nations at Gethsemane; Church of John the Baptist in Ein Karem; next to the site of the crucifixion in Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem. They all spoke of God’s love … His presence is forever leading us to our home in heaven with Him.

Today’s readings share this love of God. Take time to reflect on them and let God respond.

The reading from Wisdom urges everyone to turn to God for wisdom. God created the world out of nothing. He did this not because He was bored or wanted to impress us, but so that we could see His love and power. God is master of the entire created world, which is almost meaningless when compared to its Creator. He did this for you and me. And this same God looks with love and mercy on all that He has created. He gives each of us time to repent of our sins. Wisdom shows us that God is the source of all that is: Nothing and no one exists unless God desires their existence. God created me and you because He just loves me and you. Why do I want to complicate things? I and we are that important to God. Look at the phrases from Wisdom: “You have mercy on all … You can do all things … You overlook peoples’ sins that they may repent … You loathe nothing You have made ... You rebuke offenders little by little, so that they may abandon their wickedness.” What holds me back from believing in You?

Paul is urging the Thessalonians to be strong in facing the mockery and criticism of their faith from their community. This could lead them to a sense of unworthiness. In their reluctance, which is the result of God’s grace, they are proving themselves worthy of the call they have received from God. They must remember this … we must remember this ... as we struggle to live out our faith. Know that God has a plan that all will be with Him in heaven … those who want it. Am I one of those? Do I dismiss this as ever happening?

Zacchaeus was the tax collector in Jericho, a Palestine City in the West Bank, the oldest city in the world. It is an oasis, situated at the crossroads from the Jordan River Valley's elevation at 258 feet below sea level to Jerusalem at 2474 feet above. Zacchaeus collected the taxes that Rome mandated and the Jewish Temple tax. This system was tailor-made for corruption and abuse. And Jesus welcomed him. Jesus so often “ate with sinners” — not to condemn them but to give them the opportunity to repent and “be found.” “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” [Luke 9:20] It is interesting to note that Zacchaeus, whom the crowd calls a sinner, does not beg for mercy. Zacchaeus’ response is not in the future tense; he is saying: “I do repay” … if I find someone who has been defrauded, I pay him back four times. The crowd sees a little man who is a great sinner; Jesus sees a great man who is a little bit of a sinner. Who is Jesus calling for conversion? The crowd? You and me? Let God love us!

So I reflect on:

• We live in a culture that points the finger at others for being ‘horrible human beings’.  What can I do to get past demeaning and disrespecting others?
• Zacchaeus was a sight: a grown man running and climbing up a tree … a rich man the crowd ridicules … he was bold in finding and following Jesus. Am I capable of doing the same?
  

Sacred Space 2022 states:

“We are all like Zacchaeus, the shy man who did not want to attract any attention yet ended up getting far beyond his expectations. Jesus could see what He really desired in the depths of His heart, and invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ house. All who saw this began to grumble, but Jesus faced this criticism by proclaiming that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house. I try to imagine myself present in this scene: Would I be like the diffident Zacchaeus … like the complaining crowd … like the merciful and strong Jesus?”