The conversion of Zaccheus

Sunday, October 30, 2016 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Wis 11:22—12:2 2nd Reading: 2 Thes 1:11—2:2 Gospel: Lk 19:1-10

When Jesus entered Jericho and was go ing 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 a sycamore 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)

This lampoon of Judas was written on the front seat of a tricycle in Cebu: “God knows “HUDAS” not pay”. The mockery brought together in one phrase God who requires honesty and Judas who lent his name to all traitors of all generations. The passenger seated beside me in that tricycle ride was reading a Cebuano tabloid. I could read from the corner of my eyes the word “sakiyo”, and the news item was about theft. “Sakiyo” is obviously derived from the name of Zaccheus, the dishonest tax collector who lent his name to all thieves of every generation.

When we think of Judas we think of traitors and thieves. But when we think of Zaccheus we think of restitution – a mark of genuine conversion, for Zaccheus promised to Jesus in public to pay back four times those he had defrauded. Both climbed a tree. But while Judas did it to commit suicide in hopelessness, Zaccheus did so in the hope of seeing the Lord. His hope was rewarded, for he did not only see the Lord but also had him in his house as guest. He shared this blessing to his fellow sinners. It was thus that his short encounter with the Lord turned him into an instant Apostle, bringing sinners back to God. Judas had been with the Lord a longer time but in the end he could not even bring himself back to God.

Hope spells the difference between Judas and Zaccheus. Later Jesus climbed a tree too in order to confirm everything that people hope for. Let us keep hope alive in our hearts. God knows “HUDAS” not hope. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM, MMExM, MAPM, REB. Email: [email protected].

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