'God’s mercy is infinitely greater than any guilt of ours.' Sunday Reflections, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)
Gospel Luke 19:1-10 (New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycomore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’
Luke 19:1-10 in Filipino Sign Language
I'll 'hand over' to Pope Benedict XVI who reflected on today's gospel in his Angelus talk in Rome on 31 October 2010. I have highlighted parts of the Pope's talk.
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
The Evangelist St Luke pays special attention to the theme of Jesus' mercy. In fact, in his narration we find some episodes that highlight the merciful love of God and of Christ, who said that he had come to call, not the just, but sinners (cf. Lk 5:32). Among Luke's typical accounts there is that of the conversion of Zacchaeus, which is read in this Sunday's Liturgy.
Zacchaeus is a publican (tax-collcctor), indeed, he is the head of the publicans of Jericho, an important city on the River Jordan. The publicans were the tax collectors who collected the tribute that the Jews had to pay to the Roman Emperor, and already for this reason they were considered public sinners. What is more, they often took advantage of their position to extort money from the people. Because of this Zacchaeus was very rich but despised by his fellow citizens. So when Jesus was passing through Jericho and stopped at the house of Zacchaeus, he caused a general scandal.
The Lord, however, knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted, so to speak, to gamble, and he won the bet: Zacchaeus, deeply moved by Jesus' visit, decided to change his life, and promised to restore four times what he had stolen. 'Today salvation has come to this house', Jesus says, and concludes: 'The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost'.
God excludes no one, neither the poor nor the rich. God does not let himself be conditioned by our human prejudices, but sees in everyone a soul to save and is especially attracted to those who are judged as lost and who think themselves so.
Jesus Christ, the Incarnation of God, has demonstrated this immense mercy, which takes nothing away from the gravity of sin, but aims always at saving the sinner, at offering him the possibility of redemption, of starting again from the beginning, of converting.
In another passage of the Gospel Jesus states that it is very difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Mt 19:23). In the case of Zacchaeus we see that precisely what seems impossible actually happens: 'He', St Jerome comments, 'gave away his wealth and immediately replaced it with the wealth of the Kingdom of Heaven' (Homily on Psalm 83:3). And St Maximus of Turin adds: 'Riches, for the foolish, feed dishonesty, but for the wise they are a help to virtue; for the latter they offer a chance of salvation, for the former they procure a stumbling block and perdition' (Sermons, 95).
Dear Friends, Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus and he converted because Jesus first welcomed him! He did not condemn him but he met his desire for salvation. Let us pray to the Virgin Mary, perfect model of communion with Jesus, to be renewed by his love, so that we too may experience the joy of being visited by the Son of God, of being renewed by his love and of transmitting his mercy to others.
Zacchaeus Receives Jesus
Church of the Good Shepherd, Jericho [Wikipedia]
In an address to confessors on 7 March 2008 Pope Benedict said: Those, on the other hand, who recognize that they are weak and sinful entrust themselves to God and obtain from him grace and forgiveness.
It is precisely this message that must be transmitted: what counts most is to make people understand that in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, whatever the sin committed, if it is humbly recognized and the person involved turns with trust to the priest-confessor, he or she never fails to experience the soothing joy of God’s forgiveness . . .
It is not sin which is at the heart of the sacramental celebration but rather God’s mercy, which is infinitely greater than any guilt of ours.
Confessional, Parma Cathedral, Italy [Wikipedia]
Kyrie, Mass for Four Voices
William Byrd
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
A Chríost, déan trócaire
A Thiarna, déan trócaire
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