Readings or Sunday October 31, 2010

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Summary of the Gospel

Ever struggle with thinking you never make mistakes? A look at this reading and you'll find that God calls us to not hide anything from Him. In this Gospel, Jesus finds Himself passing through Jericho. Somehow the townspeople knew He was coming through, and one of them, Zacchaeus, wanted to see Jesus. Zacchaeus was having a conversion of heart, for his job as a tax collector had made him an enemy of many: Zacchaeus had become famous for taking money from others, to the point where he had profited greatly from it. All we know is that Zacchaeus just wanted to see Jesus, but Jesus made an effort to find Zacchaeus and call him by name. What Jesus does here with Zacchaeus, He does with each of us - call us by name. We do not know how Jesus knew Zacchaeus' name, but He did, and He asked to stay at Zacchaeus' house. This of course caused scandal with those who knew Zacchaeus, for staying in someone's house meant that you put yourself in league with that person, that you associated yourself with that person and their beliefs. Jesus was making a conscious decision to put Himself on the level of a sinner so that person would rise to holiness. When he came face-to-face with Jesus, Zacchaeus had a complete change of heart, and wanted to reconcile and make up for the wrong he had done in the past. Zacchaeus' desire not only to seek forgiveness, but to do penance to make up for the effects of his sin, showed Jesus that he was truly sorry for his sin. This act of righteousness on Zacchaeus' part is what prompted Jesus to say that salvation has come to Zacchaeus' house: To be a true descendant of Abraham is not a physical reality, but a spiritual one, a reality in which we put our faith in God and trust that He will bring the best out of everything, including our sins. Zacchaeus is a model to us of the importance of tying up lose ends. If we have wronged others, or sinned against God in any way, Jesus invites us to make up completely for the wrong we do. Better that we take care of our sin in this life than God takes care of it for us in the next! Many times we choose not to admit our mistakes because of pride. This pride can be spiritually deadly, because God cannot work if we don't admit our need for Him. The best way you and I can handle our sin is to admit it, confess it, and make up for it. Jesus gives us this opportunity in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. If you have been away from the Sacrament for a while, make it a point to visit Jesus there. He wants you to be completely free from sin, but the only way that happens is if you take Him up on His offer. May we have the grace to be completely humble before God, admitting our need for His help in all things, especially overcoming our sin.



Reading 1 Wisdom 11:22-12:2

Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people's sins that they may repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!

Reading 2 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2

Brothers and sisters: We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.
We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a "spirit," or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.

Gospel Luke 19:1-10

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think that the crowd was grumbling about Jesus wanting to stay with Zacchaeus? What kinds of people are looked down upon today, in our culture, as 'sinners'? How do you think Jesus would reach out to them? How can you reach out to them as Jesus?

2. Describe an experience of reconciliation in your life: What kind of joy and peace did it bring?

3. Describe how Jesus has sought you out in your life. List three ways from your life in which Jesus has touched you and called you by name.