"Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."

Thirty-first Sunday Ordinary Time October 29 & 30, 2022

Wis 11:22-12:2 Ps 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14 2 Thes 1:11-2:2 Lk 19:1-10

How many of you have ever watched a Veggie Tale video? I’ll be honest and admit I’ve watched quite a few and enjoyed them, and as I was reflecting on this Sunday’s Gospel reading about Zacchaeus, a strange thought came to mind. What if this story were made into a Veggie Tale video, which vegetable would play Zacchaeus? For me, it would probably a Zucchini, but not any ordinary Zucchini, rather a Ronde de Nice Zucchini which is small and round instead of long or tall. I don’t much like eating Zucchini, so this would be the perfect vegetable to play Zacchaeus as he was short in stature and not liked by the people!

Now the reason that Zacchaeus is not liked by the people isn’t because he is a yucky vegetable but because he is a wealthy Jewish Tax Collector. Tax collectors were despised by the Jewish people because they were the traitors, who collaborated with the Roman occupation forces by collecting the taxes for them and often cheated the people by over taxing them, and as a result would become wealthy. So, they were hated and shunned by genuine Jews and regarded as sinners. As for Zacchaeus, he was not any ordinary Tax Collector, but even worse, he was the Chief Tax Collector. Ironically, however, the name Zacchaeus comes from Hebrew origins and means “pure, clean, innocent.” Let that sink in for a minute.

Now at the beginning of our Gospel reading it is clear Jesus had no intention of staying in Jericho and was simply passing through. So, what happened that changed his mind? What was it that Zacchaeus did that made Jesus change his plans? To get a complete and clear picture and understanding, we must look at the earlier passages in Luke’s Gospel.

In last week’s Gospel Jesus shared a parable about a repentant Tax Collector who, when he went to pray, beat his chest, and asked for God’s mercy on him, a sinner. Jesus tells us that this man was justified in his prayer, why? Because he recognized his need for salvation and was repentant. And now today we hear about Jesus encountering a Tax Collector. I think Luke in his writing was setting the stage for his readers for this encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus.

Now between last week’s Gospel reading and this week’s, there is another encounter with Jesus that is not in our cycle of readings this year, but it is one that we are familiar with and can be found in all the Synoptic Gospels. In some of the Gospels he is referred to as the rich young man, but in Luke’s version he is the Rich Official, who for me would be played by a Golden Zucchini.

Now this Rich Official asked the question “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” At first Jesus replies with the simple answer, you know the commandments…? To which the Official responds he has observed them since his youth. That is when Jesus challenges him to go further in his journey. “Sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.” But upon hearing this the rich man became quite sad because he was very wealthy; and unwilling to let go of his possessions, went away.

Jesus then explains to the people how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God, and those who heard the message asked, “Then who can be saved?” And so, the stage has now been set for Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus, who is both a Tax Collector and a wealthy man.

[at 5pm Mass: Fr. are you still awake over there? I haven’t bored you and put you to sleep yet, have I?]

We don’t know much more about Zacchaeus at this point, other than he was trying to see Jesus, but could not because of the crowd. Those in the crowd most likely knew him and were making it difficult for him to get anywhere near Jesus and keeping him at a distance. So, what does he do, he decides to get ahead of the crowd, go to where he anticipates where Jesus will be and climbs a tall sycamore tree. He did not give up his pursuit of seeing this Jesus who he had most likely heard of as people talked about the things he had done and the words he had proclaimed.

At this point I must ask myself, what is my sycamore tree, and what is it that keeps me from seeking out Jesus? Where are we willing to climb to get a closer look at Jesus? Besides coming to weekly Mass on Sunday, are we willing to seek him out at daily Mass, or at Eucharistic Adoration? Are we willing to study His word in Sacred Scripture and participate in one of the many study groups we have in our parish like the Saturday morning men’s group? What about going to a Catholic men’s for Christ Conference or a Catholic women’s for Christ Conference? What is keeping us from attending? Or what about a CRHP Retreat, or a Welcome Retreat, or a White House Retreat? Do we make time for him by entering into conversation with Him in a daily prayer life? Who or what is keeping us from climbing our sycamore tree? What are the obstacles that get in our way, and how can we get around them so we may have a closer look at Jesus, like Zacchaeus?

And so, Jesus, upon seeing Zacchaeus, moved with compassion, and seeing that which is pure, clean, and innocent in his heart, calls out to him, and changes his initial plan of passing through the town. Jesus does the same with us! When we seek Him out, he finds us and moved with love and compassion for us, calls us by name, and invites himself to enter into a relationship with us.

As a result of the encounter, Zacchaeus’ heart is moved with conversion and he promises to do what the Rich Official was not willing to, and yet Jesus did not have to ask him to consider doing it? Rather it came from within Zacchaeus himself. He vows to give half of his possessions to the poor and to pay restitution to anyone he has cheated.

Now again I need to ask myself, upon entering into a relationship with Jesus, as he calls out my name and invites Himself into my life, what must I do, and what am I willing to do to continue the journey? What possessions do I not need? Who have I wronged and need to be reconciled with?

This encounter with Zacchaeus is the answer to the question, “Then who can be saved?”

In order for us to find salvation, to be saved, we need to do more than just seek Jesus out and learn about him, as that is only part of the journey, the first steps. We must also be willing to both recognize we are sinners and repent and have a conversion of heart; a conversion that calls us into action and that is tied back to our community.

Zacchaeus, like the Tax Collector in last weeks reading, had a repentant heart, but unlike the Rich Official, was truly willing to be a follower of Christ, and in his conversion, was able to let go of his wealth, and seek reconciliation with his community.

And so, I leave you with this question: Which Zucchini are you right now, and which Zucchini do you wish to be?