Zaccheus and the Sycamore

November 17, 2015
Tuesday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
1st reading: 2 Mac 6:18-31
Gospel: Lk 19:1–10
When Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the city, a man named Zaccheus was there. He was a tax collector and a wealthy man. He wanted to see what Jesus was like, but he was a short man and could not see because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up asycamore tree. From there he would be able to see Jesus who had to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, come down quickly for I must stay at your house today.” So Zaccheus hurried down and received him joyfully. All the people who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to the house of a sinner as a guest.” But Zaccheus spoke to Jesus,“The half of my goods, Lord, I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much.” Looking at him Jesus said, “Salvation has come to this house today, for he is also a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Zaccheus climbed a tree to have a clearer view of the man who had mustered quite a following. It turned out that the tree took him to a much higher level of encounter with Jesus that brought him salvation.
His coming down from the tree was symbolic of his resolve to come down from his lofty but sinful position in society as a tax collector. The symbolic became realistic when he pledged his belongings and committed himself to do restitution for his corruption.
The sycamore tree was one silent witness to the dramatic encounter between a sinner on top of a tree and a savior down on the ground. At Calvary, another tree became one silent witness to the salvific encounter between a savior up there and sinners down there. In the former, Jesus asked a Jew to come down from a tree to challenge his faith. At Calvary, the Jews challenged Jesus to come down from the tree – a dramatic expression of their unbelief.
Zaccheus found his salvation by coming down from the tree; Jesus brought us salvation by refusing to come down from his tree. For every sinner who refuses to come down from his sycamore, there is a God who refuses to come down from his cross.
The diminutive height of Zaccheus best symbolizes how we treat God. We climb the sycamore tree of power and prestige expecting that these procure for us salvation. Jesus is inviting us to come down. As in the case of Zaccheus, our commitment to the work of charity and restitution will open our eyes to where the real source of salvation lies. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.

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