31st Sunday of the Year C 2016

May the good Lord give you the grace to always have the burning desire to encounter Him and to be open to him just as Zacchaeus did in the gospel reading of today. Happy Sunday! + John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE  AND  FAITH

(Wisdom 11, 22-12,2; 1 Thess 1,11-2,2; Luke 19, 1-10: 31st Sunday of the Year C 2016)

                                                                                       
    The author of the book of Wisdom, sometimes referred to as the Pseudo Solomon, presents to us some of the aspects/attributes of God. He speaks of the immensity of God. The entire expanse of the cosmos is as nothing when compared to God. This powerful  and immense God is a lover of what exists as he does not despise anything he created. His love for his creation is manifest through his mercy. God is merciful as well  as he is powerful. In our world that glorifies strength, mercy could appear to be a weak virtue. This passage dispels the false perception. Only the one with power can move beyond the strict rules of retribution, and if divine power is boundless, then it is possible that divine mercy has no limits. This idea may have led the author to indicate that the imperishable spirit of God is in all things. What could sound like pantheism (a doctrine which identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God) might be better understood as panentheism (the belief or doctrine that God is greater than the universe and includes and interpenetrates it). The implications of such incarnational concept are noteworthy. First it provides the clue to the reason God so loves creation. Second, it throws more  light on the intrinsic value of the natural world both human and non human. Pseudo Solomon was not oblivion of human weakness. He knew that people sin and he knew that there was suffering because of it. This in no way nullified his claims about the mercy of God. Instead, that mercy explained the way God dealt with sinners. They were rebuked more as a correction than as a punishment and this was done in order to bring them to greater insight, deeper commitment and trust in God.
    The responsorial psalm, (Psalm 144) partly a hymn of praise, expanded the attribute of God (which Pseudo Solomon started in the first reading) using covenant language: The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness. God is described as gracious, compassionate and filled with loving kindness. It is to be noted that this divine goodness was not reserved for Israel alone but was extended to all God’s works. This includes all people and nations and also all  natural creation. Thus, the covenant has been expanded to a universal embrace.  The final section of the psalm extols God’s reign and God’s care for those who are burdened. God’s reign, unlike the reign of other gods, is resplendent, eternal and universal. In this light, the covenantal faithful ones were called not only to praise God for wonders God had accomplished in and for them but also to announce the glory of God’s rule to the entire human race, to all children of Adam. It was not enough that they enjoyed the privilege of belonging to God’s kingdom. Through them, God invited the entire universe to participate as well.

    The passage of the book of Wisdom finds its full verification in  today’s gospel passage. Jesus, the revelation of the image of God the Father, manifested the divine power of showing mercy and forgiveness in his mission to seek and save what is lost. We are not to forget that the Jews prided themselves as the people whom God saved from bondage and with whom he entered into a covenant. Therefore, any kind of servitude was repugnant to them. Zacchaeus belonged to the hated class of those who kept the servitude on, as he was a tax collector and a principal one, for that matter. This means that he probably benefited from both the taxes paid and  the fees the tax collectors themselves exacted of the people. He conducted his business in Jericho, a prominent city on the east-west trade route. His repute as tax collector, notwithstanding, Zacchaeus was described as possessing several honourable qualities. The interest in seeing Jesus overrode any shame he may have experienced in having to climb a tree. He responded immediately as Jesus has instructed and he extended  the fullness of customary hospitality to him. The extent of his transformation was seen in the extent of his restitution. The law prescribed the return of the money extorted along with twenty percent of that amount (Lev 6,5). Zacchaeus was extravagant in his compensation, repaying fourfold whatever he must  have owed and he did this in addition to giving half his possession to the poor. Such prodigality was his response to having been called by the Lord and honoured with his presence.

    Jesus not only accepted Zacchaeus’ hospitality but boldly invited himself to the man’s home. In a sense he became the host, inviting Zacchaeus into his life, into the intimacy of his friendship. By this act he displayed the unrestricted nature of his love. He established a bond with a man of questionable character, and he thereby transformed him into a man who repented and radically reformed his life. Although the home belonged to Zacchaeus, the real home into which Jesus invited him was the reign of God and there Jesus was the host. The hospitality Jesus offered dissolved all constraints. Sinners become friends; the lost are found; all are restored to their rightful place, as children not merely of Abraham but of God. The creativity of the Creator is matched by compassion of the re-Creator. 
    In accepting Zacchaeus’ hospitality of, the people murmured against Jesus and condemned him for eating with sinners. In his bid to save what is lost, Jesus saw the utmost need and urgency of going into Zacchaeus home that day: Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today. Jesus had to enter the house of Zacchaeus so that salvation would come into the house. Jesus was only passing through Jericho and if they did not seize the moment, the opportunity could be lost. The urgency of the moment demanded that religious and social customs had to be set aside. Zacchaeus, might well have been a sinner. His decision for restitution implied that he knew he was. Jesus did not even challenge the criticism of those who accused him of associating with a sinner. Instead he insisted that only those who were lost can be found, only those who were perishing can be saved. Those who revered themselves as righteous seldom understood this and as a result missed opportunities for their own salvation.

    The compassion of God was manifest in the fact that God promised us a future. In that future all the blessings of salvation will be brought to fulfillment.  Like Zacchaeus, we have been called; we have been invited to open ourselves to the Lord who is coming so that he can extend to us the riches of his own hospitality. Therefore as we have a future, our past will not hold us back, division will be dissolved. We have a future; this is the reason to cry out in praise and thanksgiving to the immense, powerful, compassionate and gracious God who is of loving kindness:  I will praise your name forever, let all your works give you thanks! Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye