Recap of 11/5/19 Meeting

Thanks to everyone for the kind gifts. Totally unexpected and not deserved, but thank you. My first pair of Jesus socks :)! Recap...

The story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) is filled with ironies, starting with his name, which is translated as “clean.” In those Jewish days, Zacchaeus was anything but clean. He was literally ritually unclean because of his sins (primarily against the 7th Commandment) as he was knowingly, and continuously, stealing. This story also highlights issues of wealth and possessions, which appears to be one of Luke’s favorite themes. Zacchaeus was not only a tax collector, but the Chief Tax Collector in Jericho, so he was very rich. It also seems strange that Zac climbed the sycamore tree to see Jesus. Rich people with status don’t climb trees – not to see anything. Even though Zac climbs the tree to see Jesus, Jesus sees him and calls out to him first. As much as Zac has made a spectacle of himself, Jesus invites himself to his house. That’s a problem in itself since it suggests Jesus is condoning this man’s behavior, because you don’t break bread with sinners! Therefore, the Jericho Jews are scandalized.

At Zac’s house, against all expectations, he does a 180°, not only promising to repay those he cheated by 4x (a requirement spelled out in Leviticus), but he also decides to give half his possessions to the poor. He could have stopped at the 4x repayment and he would have been praised! So not only is Jesus doing some radical things here, but now Zac is, too. Further unexpectedly, Jesus states that Zac not only is a son of Abraham, but that salvation has come to his house, and that he (Jesus) has come for people such as this. Jesus came for such as these? Jesus is making it clear that God comes for everyone – rich, poor, sick, whatever. Nobody is out of reach. In this case, a wealthy man gets through the eye of the needle!

The Jewish townspeople have already judged and condemned Zac. Therefore, Jesus’ point is to stop doing that. We don’t know the souls of anyone. Only God does, and God wants to save everyone possible. He doesn’t need us condemning anyone before he’s finished. We are supposed to pray our fallen brothers, not condemn them.

Jesus not only “sees” Zac for who he is, but for who he could be. God sees inside people; he knows us even though we may still be a mystery to ourselves. Yes, God has a plan for us, but we have to be willing to show up. In today’s story, Zac showed up.

Wisdom 11:22-12:2

The first reading is from the Wisdom of Solomon (Wis 11:22-12:2), one of the Catholic books of the bible that are not part of the Protestant bible.

Not only does the reading sound like they are describing Zac in the Gospel, but you will also note that the God of the Old Testament sounds awful loving and merciful. Unlike earthly OT kings who use cruelty or threats of execution to exert their power, divine power is shown by acts of mercy. God shows us how power should be used. He offers sinners every opportunity to right their course.