God overlooks our sins so we can repent

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Il-31 Ħadd matul is-Sena

Messalin C pp 432

Reading 1       -        WISDOM 11:22-12:2

Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people's sins that they may repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD! This is the Word of the Lord.

                                                

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni   -  Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Għerf 11, 22-26,2)

Mulej, quddiemek id-dinja kollha qisha traba fil-miżien, jew qatra nida tal-għodwa li tinżel fuq l-art. Iżda int tħenn għal kulħadd, għax tista' kollox; int tagħlaq għajnejk għal dnubiet il-bnedmin biex huma jindmu. Għax int tħobb il-ħlejjaq kollha, u xejn ma tistmell minn kulma għamilt; li kien hemm xi ħaġa li stajt tobgħodha, int ma kontx tagħmilha. Kif setgħet tibqa' xi ħaġa fid-dinja kieku int ma ridthiex? Jew kif setgħet iżżomm, kieku int ma sejjaħtilhiex? Imma int, o Sid li tħobb kulma jgħix, lil kulħadd tagħder, għax kollox huwa tiegħek. Għax f'kulħadd hemm nifsek bla ma qatt jintemm. Għalhekk int twiddeb bil-ftit il-ftit lil dawk li jonqsu, twissihom u tfakkarhom fejn dinbu, biex jerġgħu lura mill-ħażen tagħhom, u fik, Mulej, iqiegħdu t-tama tagħhom. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm -    PSalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14

     R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever. R/

The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.                  R/

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.                                            R/

The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.                     R/

Salm Responsorjali  -   Salm 144 (145)

    R/    Mulej, inbierek  ismek  għal  dejjem  ta'  dejjem.

Ħa nkabbrek, Alla tiegħi, sultan,

u nbierek ismek għal dejjem ta' dejjem.

Kuljum irrid inbierkek,

u nfaħħar ismek għal dejjem ta' dejjem.         R/

Twajjeb u ħanin il-Mulej,

idum biex jagħdab u kollu tjieba.

Twajjeb ma' kulħadd il-Mulej,

tjubitu fuq kulma għamel.                                R/

Kulma għamilt iroddlok ħajr, Mulej;

iberkuk il-ħbieb tiegħek kollha.

Is-sebħ tas-saltna tiegħek ixandru,

fuq is-setgħa tiegħek jitkellmu.                        R/

Ta' kelmtu l-Mulej fil-wegħdiet tiegħu kollha,

Twajjeb f'dak kollu li għamel.

Iwieżen il-Mulej 'il kull min se jaqa',

iqajjem 'il kull min hu mitluq.                           R/

Reading 2       -       2 THESalonians 1:11-2:2

Brothers and sisters: We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfilment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.  We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a "spirit," or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand. This is the Word of the Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni  - Qari mit-Tieni Ittra lit-Tessalonikin 1, 11-12;2,1-2

Huti, aħna dejjem nitolbu għalikom li Alla tagħna jagħmilkom denji għas-sejħa tiegħu, u jagħmel li bil-qawwa tiegħu sseħħ kull rieda tajba tagħkom għall-ġid u kull ħidma tal-fidi tagħkom.   U hekk l-isem ta' Sidna Ġesu' Kristu jkun igglorifikat fikom u intom fih skont il-grazzja ta' Alla  tagħna u tal-Mulej Ġesu' Kristu. Ħuti, għal dak li għandu x'jaqsam mal-miġja ta' Sidna Ġesu' Kristu u l-ġemgħa tagħna biex ningħaqdu miegħu, nitolbukom biex ma toqogħdux tħawdu raskom malajr u tinħasdu  bħallikieku il-miġja ta' jum il-Mulej qorbot, u la jekk tkunu mnebbħin mill-ispirtu u lanqas jekk tisimgħu xi kelma jew taqraw xi ittra taparsi mingħandna.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                        -       LuKe 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." This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Evanġelju  -  Qari skont San Luqa 19, 1-10

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' daħal Ġeriko u kien għaddej mit-triq.Mela ikun hemm raġel, jismu Żakkew; dan kien wieħed mill-kapijiet tal-pubblikani, u kien għani. Kellu xewqa li jara min kien Ġesu', imma ma setax minħabba l-folla, billi kien raġel qasir. Għalhekk mar jiġri  'l quddiem u xxabbat ma' siġra tat-tin selvaġġ, għax minn dik in-naħa kien se jgħaddi. Ġesu', kif wasal hemm, ħares 'il fuq u qallu: "Żakkew, isa, inżel minn hemm, għax illum jeħtieġli noqgħod għandek."    Dak niżel bla telf ta' żmien, u  kollu ferħan laqgħu għandu.   In-nies, meta rawh, ilkoll bdew igemgmu bejniethom u  jgħidu li għand wieħed midneb daħal jistrieħ. Imma Żakkew, wieqaf,  qal lill-Mulej,  "Ara, Mulej, nofs ġidi se nagħtih lill-foqra, u jekk jien qarraqt  b'xi ħadd irroddlu għal erba' darbiet iżjed." Qallu Ġesu':  "F'din id-dar illum daħlet is-salvazzjoni, għax  dan ir-raġel ukoll huwa bin Abraham. Għax Bin il-bniedem ġie jfittex u jsalva l-mitluf. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Commentary:

I Need to Stay at Your House

Fr. Thomas Rosica

Sunday's Gospel story remains forever engraved in my memory. I still remember a song from my early grade school years that began with, "There was a man from Jericho named Zacchaeus." Years later, I would visit Jericho on many occasions during my graduate studies in the Holy Land -- to get away from Jerusalem on some damp, cold wintry day in order to enjoy Jericho's mild climate, or to savour the dates, mangos, lemons and other fruits for which the city's outdoor markets are famous. Jericho is rightly called the City of Palms in the Old Testament. It is truly an oasis in the desert!

The locals still point out to us foreigners the exact location of Rahab's house. She was the infamous prostitute of the Old Testament who made it into Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. Her "house" had become an accounting office on one of my last visits to Jericho.

The locals also take delight in pointing out the ruins of the walls that Joshua brought down in one of the Old Testament's mighty battles that may have never taken place! Best of all are the 39 or so sycamore trees that Zacchaeus climbed in order to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was passing by, and the house of the town's chief tax collector-turned-saint!

Small stature

So next  Sunday's Gospel is one of Jesus' beloved meals scenes in the New Testament. Luke's portrait of Zacchaeus is vivid and irresistibly charming! The story of Jericho's famous tax collector (Luke 19:1-10) is unique to Luke's gospel. We are told that he was the chief tax collector and very wealthy at that.  While a rich man, Zacchaeus provides a contrast to the rich man of Luke 18:18-23 who cannot detach himself from his material possessions to become a follower of Jesus. Zacchaeus, according to Luke, exemplifies the proper attitude toward wealth: He promises to give half of his possessions to the poor, and consequently is the recipient of salvation.

The evangelist's graphic description is enhanced in also calling him a "little man." His is a kind of smallness that is far more devastating and corroding than being short. His smallness emerges from his terrible self-image resulting from others' attitudes toward him. Are we not most vulnerable at these moments in our lives?

Though a member of a group that was widely despised, Zacchaeus appears in this story as a fundamentally honest and humble man who seeks the truth and is open to finding it where he can, even if it means climbing a sycamore tree in a crowd, just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. He represents that figure who turns up again and again in the scriptures -- the outsider, the person who for one reason or another looks in from the edge, but must always stay there. It is on the edge that we meet him, shut out by others, desperately anxious to be part of the proceedings, all the while failing.

The parade at our front door

Why would Zacchaeus be so intent on catching a glimpse of Jesus? Perhaps because Jesus is all that he is not! Jesus is admired, sought out, and above all accepted by a large following. If we are terribly honest with ourselves, we would admit that at some point in our own loneliness or alienation, in our real or imagined non-acceptance or un-love, we long to identify with someone else's seeming acceptance.

Do we not often strain our necks, like Zacchaeus in his tree, imprisoned in our loneliness, envy, jealousy, self-pity, laziness? And then suddenly, the unexpected happens. The parade stops at our front door, and we get an invitation with astonishing words: "I'm really glad to see that you are here," or "Let's go out for a coffee, you've had a hard day," or "Come and join us, it's not good to be alone," or "When are you going to invite me over? I'd really like to have supper with you." And the list goes on and on. An invitation leads to the most intimate favour of hospitality.

Houseguest

"Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today" (Luke 19:5). "Zacchaeus": Jesus called by name a man despised by all. "Today": Yes, this very moment was the moment of his salvation. "I must stay": Why "I must"? Because the Father, rich in mercy, wants Jesus "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). 

Zacchaeus' repentance is attested by his determination to amend his former ways, and shows himself to be a true descendant of Abraham, the true heir to the promises of God in the Old Testament. Underlying Luke's depiction of Zacchaeus as a descendant of Abraham, the father of the Jews, is his recognition of the central place occupied by Israel in the plan of salvation.

When the favour is asked of Zacchaeus, and all those like him who are accustomed to being shunned and rejected, Zacchaeus and his types are dizzy with excitement. The walls of Jericho truly come tumbling down! Perhaps for the first time, Zacchaeus is accepted without reservation or condition. And that is cause for great rejoicing, not shame. In true Lukan fashion, there is a celebration! Once again, those murmuring are shocked that Jesus would go to the house -- and even more shocked, to the table -- of a sinner so famous as Zacchaeus. As Jesus sat at the table among such high-society, he watched Zacchaeus rise up out of the ashes and the tomb of alienation, self-deception, dishonesty, which he himself had constructed.

Salvation arrives

Jesus declares publicly, "Today salvation has come to this house." It's almost as if Jesus said to the chief tax collector of Jericho, and through him, to each of us, "Zacchaeus, don't climb too high in that tree of yours ... and hide from me. Don't waste all your energy concentrating on your guilt as you see it. I need to talk with you and find out where you have boxed yourself in. Together we'll find a way past all of your excuses and out of the maze. Look, the tree is sprouting. I've come to save you!"

Morals of the story

Over the years, I have found several morals in this ancient story. One of them tells us that when it comes to the love of God, we must first declare that we are lost and empty, and then begin the process whereby we are found. We must name and own the masks we wear before we can ever begin to remove them and the makeup, and see our true face. We have to experience the death at work in us, our hearts, emotions, intellects, relationships and self esteem, in order to begin the journey up to Jerusalem, the City of the Resurrection. And sometime, we may have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, let down our defenses, jump down from the trees in which we were hiding, give half of our belongings to the poor, and pay back those we have cheated. Who cares what the critics are saying? When salvation has come into our societies, our communities, our homes and our hearts, no one can ever rob us of that precious gift any longer.

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