33rd Tues. Zacchaeus

 

When I went to Medjugorje about 6 years ago, a large number of people gathered around a visionary, who was going to have an alleged apparition of the Virgin Mary on the side of a hill. The number of people was so great, many could not even see the side of the hill where the visionary was going to have her vision. As I was leaving, another priest and I noticed a short man, who had climbed a tree and was laying on one of the branches. He was rewarded for his ingenuity, by getting closer than 90% of the people who came. He had clear view of the event. I pointed to the man in the tree and said, “Zacchaeus” and both of us chuckled.

Zaccheus wanted to meet Jesus even if it looked ridiculous in the eyes of the world. He climbed up a tree not to get the attention of Jesus, but see Him personally.

There are many ways we experience Jesus at Mass. We experience Jesus in those sitting near us in the pew. We experience Jesus in the priest, who is ordained and who acts on behalf of Jesus, especially through the sacraments. We experience the words of Jesus through the Word of God, the Gospel and homily. With the eyes of faith, we see Him at the moment the bread is changed into His real and true presence. To the eyes of the world it looks ridiculous to kneel before what appears to be bread but in fact is the risen Jesus. We experience His tender love when we receive Him in Holy Communion.

We can also learn from Zacchaeus is he didn’t let the people’s perception of him block his way nor stop him to see Jesus. As a tax-collector, he couldn’t avoid the common perception that he was a cheater, a traitor for the Jews, an extortionist. He wanted to get to know Jesus and he wanted to change his life.

Listen to Jesus’ words ‘Come down and I will have dinner at your house.’ This is a call for us to make a place for Jesus in our homes, in our lives, in our hearts. This means we let God in our life. This means we look to God for answers to the questions in life.

Today, let us turn to the Virgin Mary and ask Her to help us to make an effort to see Jesus around us, to accept the way God created us and make a place in our home for Jesus, for by doing these three things, Zacchaeus will be a good example for us in getting to know and love Jesus.