Coffee With God

Reflection : Luke 19: 1-10

“Publicans and prostitutes will overtake you in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 21:31). Did Jesus say this as a warning to the so called righteous of the community? Perhaps, we who are Christians and who boast of our rich traditions and faith, have something to learn from the story of Zacchaeus. Today’s Gospel takes us to meet Zacchaeus, the chief of the tax collectors in Jericho. Although a rich man, he is despised by the people because he was collecting taxes on behalf of the Romans and moreover, his riches may not have come from honest earnings, but from bribes. Tax collectors were regarded as traitors to the homeland, as they collaborated with the occupying power; they were “impure”, since they were in constant contact with pagans. This is how Luke paints the picture of this publican for us: He was rich in wealth, but short in stature and disliked by the public. The shortness of Zacchaeus was more from his feelings of inferiority which prevents him from moving with the rest of the people. He is aware that the people of his community does not appreciate him or even hates him. That makes him feel short. But Jesus does not make Zacchaeus the slightest reproach. Zacchaeus does not feel “short” anymore! Zacchaeus’ experience was unspeakable: the “prophet” had not avoided him, but had become guest in his home; his table companion. In that society in which sharing food meant sharing life. For Zacchaeus it was an overwhelming and transforming experience of grace. He began to re-plan his life. The evangelist Luke wants to make it clear to his community that the excluded and despised in the society are recovered by the path of grace and understanding. And when one is “touched” by the closeness of Jesus, one becomes conscious of the injustices of one’s own life. Zacchaeus’ new behaviour is the demonstration of having acquired that new meaning, that new sensibility. God condemns sin, but saves the sinner; He goes looking for him to bring him back. Those who have never felt they are sought by God’s mercy, find it difficult to grasp the extraordinary greatness of the gestures and words with which Jesus approaches Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus discovers from Jesus that it is possible to love gratuitously. By encountering Love, by discovering that he is loved despite his sins, he becomes capable of loving others, making money a sign of solidarity and communion. May the Virgin May obtain for us the grace always to feel Jesus’ merciful gaze upon us, to go with mercy towards those who have erred.