Gospel: Lk. 19, 1 – 10
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.”
Homily
In 1970 when Fr. Gerry Pantin left teaching A level subjects at St. Mary’s College to minister to the young people of Laventille, he was asked if he was going to waste his time with “those people”. In the minds of many, “those people” were beyond salvation and it was no use wasting time on them when one could be doing something productive elsewhere. This is an attitude which the socially and materially comfortable often have and which the denominated “those people” often internalize building in themselves huge inferiority complexes.
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Zacchaeus is not fazed by the reaction of the crowd however. Zacchaeus’ reaction is immediate. He commits himself to Jesus and to the living of a life characterized by justice. “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.”
The lesson for us the followers of Jesus is very clear. No one is beyond redemption. If we imitate Jesus, when the occasion arises, we open up possibilities for good among persons normally ostracized on social, moral or ethnic grounds. How many young people from the Laventille hills are now productive members of society because of the possibilities which Servol has opened up for them? Jesus however did not simply open up possibilities, Jesus became one with the ostracized. He went to stay at Zacchaeus’ house. It is in becoming friends with the ostracized that they begin to trust us and open themselves to the possibilities being presented to them. When that mutual trust grows, we no longer speak of “those people”. We see ourselves as brothers and sisters in Christ and the courtesies offered to brother and sisters are offered to all.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, through your Son Jesus you extended your love to all who are on the fringes of society and You invited them to share in the company of Jesus Christ and find acceptance and friendship in the Christian community. As the modern day disciples of Jesus Christ, help us to continue the work of extending your love to all those on the fringes of society, those we refer to as “those people”, so that they may recognize that we are all indeed brothers and sisters and see the possibilities open to them as signs of your love. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, the mother of us all and Jesus your Son. Amen
