Life Changing Encounter

This is a computer-generated transcription that has been included to make the homily searchable.  It has not been verified by the author.

“Today, salvation has come to this house.” This Gospel shows us the whole trajectory of the Life of Zacchaeus as the whole eternal trajectory of his life changing in this one moment in which he encounters Jesus. And so, it shows us how powerful that encounter with Jesus can be for life. And St. John Paul wrote a document which reflects on this, meditate on this passage that we heard today of Zacchaeus. And it sheds a lot of light on God’s mercy, and on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It was originally written to priests, this was for Holy Thursday of 2002, Pope John Paul II had the habit of writing every Holy Thursday, a letter to priests. And so, this was the one for 2002. But I think it’s worth sharing with all of us. And so, I want to follow his letter. And I want to read you some of his own words.  And it’s, as often with his words, some of it is a little bit dense and challenging. But I think it’s good that you can hear directly from him. And so, it’s, a message, even though it’s especially for priests, but it’s also for all of us, both, as sinners who need God’s mercy, and also that we can also be apostles of God’s mercy. So, he starts out looking at the situation in which this Gospel begins.  Zacchaeus is a wealthy tax collector. So, he’s not a model citizen, he’s a man whose life has a lot of corruption, greed, he’s exploited people, a lot of injustice and even cruelty probably. And so, this is, as I said, is nowhere near as saint. This is a very man living, in many ways, a very bad life. And so, then there’s this meeting, which seems to happen just by chance. But as St. John Paul II points out, nothing that God does happens by chance. So, Zacchaeus added to that the beginning is pretty superficial. It seems like Zacchaeus is just curious to see who this Jesus is.  St. John Paul says, Zacchaeus seems prompted by curiosity alone. And then he addresses this to the priest, he says, “We can sometimes lose heart and motivation, because so many Christians pay too little attention to the Sacramental life. And even when they do approach the sacraments, they often do it in a superficial way, without even a clear idea of what they want.”  So, speaking of the discouragement that priests can feel about the way people come to the sacraments, and he gives several examples here. And I think he’s thinking especially of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. “He says some come only because they feel the need to be listened to.”  Some people come to confession just because they want to talk to somebody. And sometimes they talk and talk and talk. And it’s important to have someone we can talk to. But that’s not the primary role of the Sacrament. “Others come because they want advice about something.” And that’s good, it’s good. We need advice. And the confessional can be a place for receiving advice. But that’s not the primary purpose. “Others have a psychological need to be released from burdens and feelings of guilt.” A psychological need to be relieved of guilty feelings. “Many, on the other hand, feel a real need to restore the relationship with God. But they confess without really, without being really aware of the obligations, which this entails. They may make a poor examination of conscience, because they have little knowledge of the implications of a moral life inspired by the Gospel.” So, in this case, the intentions are good, but they’re rather superficial. And so, he’s comparing Zacchaeus’s superficial attitude with the superficial attitude that people often approach the Sacraments with. So that’s the way the situation starts, the superficial attitude of Zacchaeus. But then he points out, “God takes a surprising initiative. The initiative of God,” he says, “mercy always precedes.” Even Zacchaeus says curiosity is inspired by God’s mercy. God has placed that curiosity in him. And then there’s the surprising encounter. “When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, For I must stay at your house today.” And St. Paul, Paul says, “If there had not been the surprise of Christ looking up at him, perhaps he would have remained a silent spectator of the Lord, moving through the streets of Jericho, Jesus would have passed by, but not into his life.” That happened for a lot of people, Jesus passed by them, but not into their lives. And so, this is the critical moment, which will decide whether Jesus’ passage through this town is simply an interesting curiosity that for a few moments, and then Zacchaeus goes back to his normal life, which is going in a very bad direction, or whether everything begins to change in his life. St. John Paul continues, “for Zacchaeus, it must have in a stunning experience to hear himself called by his name.” He didn’t know that Jesus knew him. He had never really met Jesus, and so therefore Jesus to know his name. And out of all this crowd of people, to single him out, to look at him and call his name. And St. John Paul says, “a name which many of his townsmen spoke with contempt.”  Now he hears it spoken in a tone, it will now use it spoken like he’s never heard it before. “No one has said his name, the way Jesus does, spoken in a tone of tenderness, expressing not just trust, but familiarity, insistent friendship. Jesus speaks to Zacchaeus like an old friend, forgotten maybe, but a friend who has nonetheless remained faithful, and who enters with the gentle force of affection into the life and into the home of his rediscovered friend.  Make haste and come down for me to stay at your house today.”  So, Jesus speaks to him as a friend, Zacchaeus thought he was a stranger. And Jesus calls him as a friend. And that can be a life changing moment, in our own lives, to realize that Jesus is looking at you, personally, calling your name like no one else has ever called your name, to you personally. And the Mass is an opportunity for us to do this, to discover that for each one, to discover Jesus looking at you, personally, and calling your name, not as a face in a crowd. That’s exactly what Zacchaeus thought he was, just a face in a crowd, anonymous face in a crowd. And Jesus stops and looks at him and calls him and wants to come to his house. Jesus is using this example, to show you what he wants to do in your life, asking to come and be welcomed by you. And so, one of the things we see with Jesus is He, even though He’s God, He’s making Himself, He wants to come to Zacchaeus’ house, but it’s still Zacchaeus’ house, Zacchaeus has to welcome Him. So, Zacchaeus has to respond. But it’s God’s mercy which takes this first step, and St. John Paul says, “We must not think that it is the sinner through his own independent journey of conversion, who earns mercy.  On the contrary, it is mercy that impels him upon the path of conversion. Left to himself, man can do nothing, and he deserves nothing.” Left to himself man can do nothing and deserves nothing. “Before beginning man’s journey to God, Confession is God’s arrival at a person’s home. God is mercifully reaching down to them, stretching out his hand, not to strike, but to save.” So even though we feel that we’re the ones taking the initiative, for instance of going to confession, he’s saying that actually, God has taken the initiative, of even placing that urge to go, in us, reaching out to us as he says, not to strike, but to save. “In the sacrament the penitent first meets,” this is a beautiful phrase of St. John Paul, “the penitent first meets not the commandments of God, but in Jesus, the God of the commandments.” That is, he first meets not commandments, even as good and important as they are, not first rules or laws, but a person, God himself. We come to confession, not to encounter a list, a checklist of what we have or haven’t done, but to encounter a person, of the person of Jesus.  Jesus says that to Saint Faustina, “know this, that when a soul comes to the confessional,” He says,” I myself am waiting there for the soul. The priest is only a screen. But I, Myself am there, so make your confession as you would, to Me.” Think how different it seems, then you’re not if you realize that you’re going to encounter Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It’s Jesus Himself, who is waiting for you in the sacrament the priest is there, the priest, but as the Pope says, “The priest is like the screen.”  That’s why again, we had the image of Divine Mercy in our confessionals to remind us that it’s Jesus that you’re coming to encounter. He says, “to Zacchaeus, Jesus offers himself. I must stay at your house.” So, God takes the initiative of offering mercy. It reaches its fulfillment when there’s a response from the person, God takes the initiative, but each person is free to respond. He says, “in fact, the forgiveness granted in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not some external action, or kind of legal remission of the penalty, but a real encounter of the penitent with God, who restores the bond of friendship shattered by sin.” Sin has broken our relationship with the Lord and this is an opportunity to renew that relationship. But that also requires our response. God takes initiative, but he leaves us free to respond. “The truth of this relationship requires that we welcome God’s merciful embrace, overcoming all the resistance caused by sin.” So, God makes the offer, but we’re free. He gives us the freedom to welcome or not, His call. And so how does Zacchaeus respond? It says, “Zacchaeus made haste and came down and received him joyfully. This is what happens in the case of Zacchaeus. Aware that he is now being treated as a son, he begins to think and act like a son. And this is shows in a way he rediscovers his brothers and sisters. Beneath the loving gaze of Christ, the heart of Zacchaeus warms to love of neighbor.  From a feeling of isolation, which had led him to enrich himself without caring about what others had to suffer, he moves to an attitude of sharing. This is expressed in a genuine division of his wealth.”  “I will give half of my good to the poor.” “And the injustice done to others by his fraudulent behavior is atoned for by a fourfold restitution.” “If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will restore it fourfold.” So, Zacchaeus is realizing that this invitation to receive Jesus’ welcome is also a call to repair. But he does two things. So, he gives half of what he has to the poor, an act of generosity. But he also senses the need to repair the injustices that he has done. And so, he doesn’t just say, well, geez, I’m going to change my life from now on.  He realizes that he has a whole history of ways that he has hurt people. And so, he feels the need to begin to repair that. And I’ll read a passage from the Catechism talking about the importance of reparation for sin.  It says this is from paragraph four. 1459 in the Catechism, “many sins wrong our neighbor. So we must do what is possible in order to repair the harm, such as return stolen goods.” If I’ve stolen something, you try to return it. “Restore the reputation of someone who has been slandered or pay compensation for injuries. Simple justice requires as much.” So, if I hurt someone, I need to try to do what I can to repair that damage. But the Catechism says, “But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationship with God and neighbor.” And so, this is important about the absolution of confession, absolution takes away sin. But it does not remedy all the disorders that sin has caused. I’ll say that again, absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders that sin has caused.  “Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin. He must make satisfaction for or expiate his sins.” The satisfaction is also called penance. And that’s why confession is also a penance, given to help us repair the damage that our sins have caused. “And it is only at this point that the love of God achieves its purpose. And salvation is accomplished.” So that is as Jesus says, “Today salvation has come to this house.” Jesus doesn’t say that at the beginning, He reaches out to Zacchaeus.  He says, “I want to come to your house.” But it’s when Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus, and that welcoming, also trying to repair the damage that he has done, that’s when Jesus says, “Today salvation has come to this house,” because that’s when the mercy of God is welcomed and received and responded to by Zacchaeus. And so, then the Pope speaks about the council that the priest is called to give in confession. And he says “it’s important that there be a balance between severity and extreme of severity and an extreme of laxity being too severe or being too lax. He says “severity and fails to take into account the early part of the story of Zacchaeus, God’s mercy comes first encouraging conversion, and valuing even the slightest progress and love. Because the Father wants to do the impossible to save the son who was lost, the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” So, severity that really doesn’t see that first part where God reaches out in mercy. And that’s, you know, that’s the whole revelation of Divine Mercy that God has revealed, especially in our times and that is what this little Mission is for, because of the special efforts that God is making it in our time of mercy, that multiplying the opportunities and the graces of mercy. So that’s one extreme is severity. The other extreme is laxity. “The salvation which truly heals and restores, involves a genuine conversion to the demands of God’s love. If Zacchaeus had welcomed the Lord into his home, but without coming to an attitude of openness to love and reparation for the harm done, without a firm commitment to living a new life, he would not have received in the depths of his heart, the forgiveness to which the Lord had offered him.” And so, the Pope calls us to avoid these two extremes, the word severity, which crushes people and drives them away, and laxity which is misleading and deceptive. It would be like if a doctor received the sick person and instead of giving them the treatment that they need to heal them simply said, “Oh, you’re not really sick, just go, leave and don’t worry about that.” So that might make the person feel good at the moment, but the result is going to be much worse because they haven’t been healed.  “To discern whether he or she is ready for sacramental absolution, the priest needs to make that discernment.” Saint John Paul says “clearly when there is no sorrow and amendment, if the person is not sorry, and decided to amend their sins, the confessor is obliged to tell the penitent that he or she is not yet ready for absolution. If absolution were given to those who actually say that they have no intention of making amends, the right would become a mere fiction. Indeed, it would look almost like magic, capable, perhaps, of creating the semblance of peace, but certainly not that deep peace of conscience, which God’s embrace guarantees.” And so that’s important that confession is not some magic confession, which reveals all its power, when the person accepts God’s mercy, and makes a firm attempt to amend their lives and repair, make reparation for their sins. And speaking of the priests’ council, the Pope says” it’s important that this the priest gives the truth and not just his personal opinions. He’s not called to express in the confessional personal opinions that do not correspond to what the Church teaches and professes.  The priest is not there to give his own ideas, but to teach that as a as a minister of the Church, our task is to be God’s witnesses, to be spokesmen of a mercy that saved, even when it shows itself as a judgment on man.”  “Since not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.” And then the pope ends with this as citing a passage of canon law, it’s actually in the very end of the canon. So, there’s over 1000 Canons in the law of the Church. But the very last one says that “the supreme law of the Church is the salvation of souls.” That’s a very important passage, the supreme law of the Church, the law, above all the other laws, is the salvation of souls. And this passage we heard today from the Book of Wisdom, spoke of the Lord. It says, “oh, Lord, and lover of souls.” God who is the Lord and lover of souls, that who desires to save the souls, and for that gives us the Sacraments. Because “the Son of Man has come to seek and save what was lost.” “Zacchaeus come down quickly. For today, I must stay in your house.” And think of those words being said to you, with your name. Hear Your name the Lord looking at you and saying, “Today I must come and stay at your house.” In this Holy Communion, that’s what is happening. Jesus is calling your name and wanting to come to you personally. Who wants to be welcomed into your life. And that’s why we say right before Holy Communion, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, under my roof.” At this moment in your life today, Jesus knowing all your struggles, all your sins, all the weight that you’re carrying, wants to come into your life. The God of mercy, and the Sacrament is wanting to come to you. So, we can welcome Him. You can decide, because it’s a personal decision if you choose to welcome Him who is saying to you right now, “today, I must come to your house.”  Amen

KEYWORDS / PHRASES:
Luke 19:1-10
Wisdom 11:22-12:2
Zacchaeus
Sacrament of Reconciliation