There was a banker in a small town,
a very wealthy man, and everyone knew he was wealthy. One day the head of a local charity came by
and said – “sir, I’m aware that you’re very wealthy, you make a lot of money
and I notice that you’ve never given in our annual fund drive to help the
poor. So I’m hoping that you’ll make a
very generous donation this year!”
“Well…you probably aren’t aware,”
the banker replied, “that my mother is very sick with astronomical medical
bills.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that,” said the
man.
“And you probably don’t know that my
brother died recently leaving his wife a widow with six kids and little money
and she doesn’t work,” the banker continued.
“No, I didn’t know that” said the
man.
“And my sister has a child with a
severe disability and it’s very expensive to take care of her.”
“Oh, I’m sorry” said the man.
“So I ask you” said the banker, “if
I don’t give any money to any of them, why would I give any money to
you?!”
*
* * * * *
I heard that joke at Mass up near
Albany last weekend – we were up visiting our daughter there and heard that and
said to myself “I have to tell that one next week because it fits with the
Gospel - it reminds me of Zacchaeus!
This Zacchaeus, after all, was
probably just about as popular in Jericho as this banker must have been in his
little town. Chief tax collector and
very wealthy. Tax collectors in general
were seen as symbols of the hated Romans, and Zacchaeus was the “chief” tax
collector! We get a glimpse into how
everyone felt about him when they all began to grumble at Jesus saying “He has
gone to stay at the house of a sinner!”
They are all sitting in judgment of this man. They all began to grumble – including,
we presume, the disciples who were accompanying Jesus.
But Our Lord, as He so often does,
surprises - perhaps “dismays” is a better word – this crowd. He stops and speaks to Zacchaeus, calls out
to him, calls him down from this sycamore tree, and invites Himself to go and
stay at Zacchaeus’ house!
And what happens? This encounter with Jesus results in a change
of heart…Zacchaeus promises to give half his possessions to the poor and repay
anyone he’s extorted four times over.
Zacchaeus has repented and has been saved. “Today salvation has come to this house” the
Lord tells Him. Jesus has initiated a
personal encounter with this man and by that encounter, Zacchaeus has been
saved.
Now, notice what the Lord didn’t say. Jesus didn’t point at Him and call Him a
sinner. He didn’t announce what everyone
seemed to know – that Zacchaeus was one of those sinners, a tax collector! In fact, He didn’t even talk about his
sins. And Jesus doesn’t demand that
Zacchaeus repents before He stays at his house, has supper with him.
No.
Jesus first invites Zacchaeus.
Invites him into a personal encounter and it is by that encounter with
Jesus, Zacchaeus repents and is saved.
My sisters and brothers, you and I
can take away quite a bit from this Gospel.
In terms of our own attitudes, and in terms of the kind of Church
community we’re building here.
This Gospel brings to mind the
interview with Pope Francis from a couple months ago that was published in
Italy and then in America Magazine. In
that article, the Pope said that the Church is a “field hospital for
sinners.” And in the same article, when
asked “who is Jorge Maria Bergoglio?” the new Pope paused and reflected for a
moment and then simply said “I am a sinner. “
He went on to recall the moment he was elected pontiff, when asked if he
would accept, and he said “I am a sinner, but I trust in the infinite mercy and
patience of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and I accept in a spirit of penance.” I found the Holy Father’s words and humility
inspiring – for who thinks of the pope as a sinner? But aren’t we all?
You see, there is this perception,
right or wrong, that the Church is a place for perfect people. That the order of things is that people need
to recognize their sinfulness, repent and then be welcome in
Church. Rightly or wrongly, we Church
people are perceived as too often focusing on the sins of people, the sins of
the world. Perhaps not intentionally,
but perhaps acting to keep people from seeing the Lord.
But in our Gospel, Our Blessed
Lord’s focus is on the person, not the sin – on Zacchaeus, whom he calls down
from the tree and looks upon with love, even when everyone else is looking upon
him with scorn.
In that same interview, Pope Francis
dreams of a Church he calls quote ”the home of all, not a small chapel that can
hold only a small group of selected people.”
The Pope says “I see clearly, that the thing the
church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of
the faithful.” He says the Church is to be a field hospital for sinners.
“The most important thing, said Francis, “is the first proclamation: Jesus
Christ has saved you. And the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy
above all.”
My brothers and sisters, you and I
are here today precisely because we are sinners who experience here, in an
encounter with the living Lord, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation! Anyone without sin has no need of a Savior,
has no need of Church!
And if we find here forgiveness and
mercy, if we experience here the infinite love and tenderness of Our Lord, how
can we not go forth from here to share that good news?! Nourished here by the Body and Blood of Our
Lord, to go forth into the world, into our families, communities, workplaces,
and schools, and share that good news?
By our words and by our lives, by our joy! Jesus Christ has saved us, each of us, and is
saving us! How can we not be joyful
about that and not want to spread that good news!?
If we find here our salvation, not
in following rules, but in an encounter with a person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who
loves us more than we can know, if we find Him here, then let us go forth from
this place and be His presence out in the world around us, so that in each one
of us, in our open arms and open hearts, our world will come to know Him, Jesus
Christ, who is Lord forever and ever.
Amen.
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