This is a
re-write of a homily from several years ago.
I love to
see the children come forward for the Children’s Liturgy. They are so excited.
They are all skipping and jumping and smiling. Their understanding of God is so
clean, pure, and innocent.
Just ask
them about God. They will tell you about God in their simple truth.
We should look
at our faith with such simplicity. The story of Zacchaeus is a good one to look
at from a simple point of view.
The name
Zacchaeus means “clean, pure, and innocent.” (http://www.name-doctor.com) But somewhere, somehow, and at some time, Zacchaeus had lost his
way
So look at
the story again: In Jericho, there was clean,
pure, and innocent man who had lost
his way. He
was the chief tax collector, a
wealthy man, and 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.
Jesus
looked up and said, “Clean, pure and innocent man come down quickly, I must stay at your house.”
And
he came down quickly and received him with joy.
The
crowd grumbled, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”
The
clean, pure
and innocent man stood
there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, 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….For the Son of Man has
come to seek and to save what was lost.
Zacchaeus
climbed that tree to find grace. Despite all that was against him, he found
Jesus. Grace was seeking him out.
Jesus came
to save a clean, pure, and innocent man who had become lost.
No one told
Jesus who Zacchaeus was. There was no formal introduction. Jesus saw him and
knew him as Zacchaeus, a clean, pure,
and innocent man. He didn’t see a tax collector or a sinner; but, instead he
saw the person God created and said was good.
When Jesus
said I must
come to your house, it was an act of love.
The clean, pure and innocent man, who was once
lost, receives
him with joy.
We can
probable all picture Zacchaeus throwing open his arms wide and embracing Jesus.
I see tears of joy brought by the love and forgiveness Jesus brings to
Zacchaeus. You spare all things, because they are
yours, LORD.
Be like Zacchaeus,
seek Jesus. Rise above the world around
us.
God
forgives us. That forgiveness overcomes everything that keeps us from God.
Throw open your
arms and receive Jesus with joy.
People find
this hard. People see the sinners we are instead of the clean, pure, and
innocent creation of God we once were.
In our
simplicity many think that if God is so great then we don’t matter. To God the
whole universe is nothing more than a grain of sand or a drop of morning
dew.
God is so
big and infinite that He has mercy for each of us. God is so great and so good
that we do matter. He has mercy on all, because God can do all
things; even overlook people's sins that they may repent.
The
Catechism teaches: God …, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his
own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws
close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his
strength. (CCC 1)
Despite all
that was against him, Zacchaeus found Jesus. A clean,
pure and innocent person seeks Jesus. And, Jesus
came to save those clean, pure, and innocent people who have become lost.
Through
baptism, we are born again - clean, pure and innocent children of God so that
our God may make us worthy of his calling and powerfully brings to fulfillment
every good purpose and every effort of faith that the name of our Lord Jesus
may be glorified in you and you in him.
Throw open
your arms and receive him with joy.
Be good, be
holy and preach the gospel by the way you live your life and love one another.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment