THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR "C"

Cycle “C”: Luke 9, 1 – 10

Someone has written that as Christians we should love beauty. Where beauty is apparent, we should enjoy it. Where beauty is hidden, we should unveil it. Where beauty is defaced, we should restore it. And where there is no beauty at all, we should create it. And the latter is exactly what Jesus did as described in today’s gospel. His subject was a despicable character. Zacheus was part of the unjust structure of his day, doing his bit to make the world unhappier by collaborating with the Roman oppressors and lining his own pocket. The crowd was hardly going to help this short ugly fellow get close to Jesus. Not wanting to be shoved around, he climbed a sycamore tree thereby ruining his immaculate white Roman toga and soft leather sandals. He had heard much about this Jesus from his clients before he relieved them of their wallets. He wanted to check the Prophet out for himself.

Jesus was interested in Zacheus as a person, not as part of the structure or class to which he belonged. And by reaching Zacheus’ heart, Jesus made the world better. His penetrating gaze and discreet self-invitation (“I want to be your guest”) almost knocked the shorty off his sycamore perch.

Zacheus is moved by the warmth and acceptance of Jesus to make a new fresh start. Money has linked him to the community. He has become, we are told, “A wealthy man”  -  probably through sharp practice. But just as money has led him astray, so money will be a sign that his conversion is genuine, as he now pursues responsible links with the community, giving generously to the poor and compensating anybody he has defrauded. We similarly need to encourage others in our culture to make creative and responsible use of their resources, and so help to weave a greater sense of community. Any conversion that does not take seriously our resources and our abilities is too private and too inward. Frederich Buechner writes of Zacheus, “He climbs up a sycamore a crook and climbs down a saint.” Why cannot something of the sort be said of our own selves ? Consider too that the Teacher does not have to do as much work with you as he had to do with Zacheus. The very fact that you are listening to these lines indicates that, spiritually speaking, you are more than half way home. With a little more push you can cease being a mediocre Christ-follower and start becoming a fascinating one.

There’s a line in today’s gospel that I find most fascinating: “When he reached the spot, he looked up and spoke to him.” Jesus looked up at him, and from then on the world for centuries looks up to him. In Jesus, Zacheus met someone who was not put off by his small size, his contemptible job, his unpopularity; Jesus accepted him as he was and saw the potential of what he could be. Jesus noticed him, addressed him by name; and of all those eager to be his host he chose this despised collaborator. What a boost to Zacheus’ self-esteem! Jesus said of him “he too is a son of Abraham.” Jesus expressed genuine praise, appreciation and encouragement. Such expressions nourish our self-esteem. In our daily lives, if we rub shoulders with a celebrity, we bask in their reflected glory. So it was when Jesus went for a meal with Zacheus. In Jesus Christ, God rubs shoulders with us. Henceforth no one should count themselves worthless.

To be looked at by a fellow human with sincere love is heartening enough; but to be looked at by Jesus can be ecstatic. Remember how Jesus looked at Peter on the night of his denial. It is helpful to spend a longer period of time just centring in the affectionate and loving gaze of God. Whatever comes to the surface  -  my joys and sorrows, successes and failures, dreams and plans, anxieties and desires  -  I quietly let come and go, entrusting all to God. “Look at me, O God, that I may love you.” The heart of this prayer is solely that god looks at me with love and delight, and rejoices in my being present. For us, too, the Holy One is “God who sees.” In Psalm 80, we pray three times, “Let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.” There is no fear in these words, just a certainty that the gaze of God will bring us relief. There is a deep-seated conviction among Christians that the look of God accomplishes divine goodness, and that it is wholesome to dwell in his gaze. This helps us to overcome negative fear of God which we might have imbibed and which is so hard to expel.

St. Augustine prays with stark confidence, “aspice me ut diligam te”,  “look at me that I may love you.” He has no doubt about the serenity of God’s gaze and that it will bring out the best in us, namely, our love for God.

Like Zacheus of today’s gospel, how many people feel abandoned and lonely, ignored, not seen or heard, and have no one with whom to share. Such irony, for at the same time “someone stands at the door and knocks”, someone who wants to enter and share a meal. That someone knows all about them in the kindly light of gentle love. In the words of Cardinal Newman, “He notes your very countenance, whether smiling or in tears, whether heartfelt or sickly. He looks tenderly upon your hand and feet; he knows your voice, the beating of your heart, and your very breathing. You do not love yourself better than he loves you.”

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, when you walked among hurt and lonely people,

you looked at them with understanding

and approached them with arm outstretched,

showing them that they were truly loved.

Come, now, we pray,

and touch all who are in pain and distress;

heal those who have stopped believing in themselves,

comfort those who are at the end of their tether,

and pour into their hearts the gentle balm of your Spirit.