Thirty-first Sunday
in Ordinary Time
A Homily - Cycle C -
2012-2013
by Rev. Luke Dundon
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First Reading - Wisdom 11:22-12:2
Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14
Second Reading - 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2
Gospel - Luke 19:1-10
Written to explain that
Christ came to save everyone.
At
that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a
wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because
of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a
sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When
he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house." And he came down quickly and
received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble,
saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." But Zacchaeus
stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall
give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it
four times over." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this
house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man
has come to seek and to save what was lost."
So,
true story – a few weeks ago, an Italian was working in his Italian office. He
was minding his own business (literally!), when the phone rang. His secretary
picked it up, spoke on the phone, then called him in his office – uh, sir? Yes,
what is it? Um, sir, you’ll never believe who’s on the phone. Well, who is
it? Um . . . it’s the Pope. Oh! (This man was an atheist). He picks up the
receiver, hand trembling – hello? Hello! Is this Eugenio? Yes it is . . . is
this the Pope? OF course it is, Eugenio! You wrote me a letter, wanting to
talk with me. I’d like to talk with YOU! Uh, ok . . . So Eugenio, next Monday
and Wednesday are busy, but can you come at Tuesday at 3pm? I know it’s a bad
time, but it’s the only time I have. Sure, Holy Father, I will see you there!
Great! Just let the Swiss Guard know that you have an appt with me. See you
then! . . . and thus began an amazing conversation between an atheist and the
Pope. A conversation that wasn’t aimed by Pope Francis for conversion of the
atheist, but simply to enjoy the time together and get to know one another. The
Pope said that he looked forward to seeing this man again. While Eugenio might
not have left a converted Catholic, word on the street is that it’s had an
impact on him that will last for all time . . .
But
what’s really cool about this meeting, is that the Pope personally called up an
ATHEIST and wanted to spend an afternoon together, with NO specific plans to
convert him or even prove God’s existence to Him – simply to enjoy the
opportunity of getting to know this man. Jesus looked up in the sycamore tree
and saw a TAX COLLECTOR, a man hated by his own countrymen, and said – Zacchaeus,
you need to stop stealing from the people! No, that’s not what he said. He
said, Zacchaeus, you need to be a more faithful Jew! No, he didn’t say that
either. Jesus looked up and said, Zaccaeus, I need to dine at your house
tonight!
And
this tax collector didn’t waste the opportunity . . . by the end of dinner, he
agrees to pay back fourfold everything he stole, giving half of his funds to the
poor . . . because Jesus asked for it? Not at all . . . all Jesus did was
announce that He wanted to dine with Zacchaeus. This short-in-stature tax
collector shows one of the greatest conversions stories in the Bible – and he
does so, NOT because Jesus says, “Change your ways, ”but rather because Jesus
reminds Him that He matters . . . He’s a tax collector, but God cares about Him
. . . in fact, God wants to DINE with him. . .
Eugenio
the Italian atheist became a friend of the Pope a few weeks ago, and a tax
collector became a friend of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago . . . NOT ONE mention
by the Pope or by Jesus that these individuals needed to change . . . but change
has happened on its own!!! Both individuals saw something irresistible,
something beautiful, something worth responding to . . . and the result is
conversion, turning the heart away from what is selfish or prideful or
ego-driven, away from sadness or fear or pain, and turning the heart TOWARD what
is holy, and good, and, well, INTERESTED in who I AM as a human being! Why did
Zacchaeus respond so quickly? Why did the ATHEISTS’s hands shake as he spoke to
the pope on the phone? When our Lord Jesus Christ looks us in the eye, we don’t
just see the God of the universe reigning over us. We see infinite love, we see
a face which has endured death, we see something irresistible – regardless of
what we’ve done or how well we’ve done it, we see the God who is CAPTIVATED by
who we are. And, REGARDLESS of what we’ve done or how well we’ve done it, He
wants to be a part of our lives, TODAY. How many other people have treated us
like this? The encounter will be amazing, the change will be beautiful, if we
allow ourselves to look back, and see the divine carpenter, who is asking us BY
NAME, “Can I spend time with you?” Please have dinner with Him, please have a
conversation with Him, please “hang out” with Him . . . it will have an impact
that will last for all time . . .
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