Personal Effort is Also Needed

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

October 30, 2016

Jesus was on a journey which must take him through Jericho. Jericho was a wealthy and important city. It had a great palm forest and gardens of roses that were known far and wide then. Products from the city were taken to world-wide trade. It was a great city of commerce; so these made Jericho one of the greatest taxation centers in Palestine. Tax-collectors usually over-taxed the people, and after submitting the actual amount demanded by the Roman government, they shared the rest. This practice made them rich. Zacchaeus was one of them. But he wasn’t an ordinary tax-collector; he was a chief tax-collector who had reached the top of his profession. He was at the peak of his career. He had made lots of money and had become rich and wealthy. But despite his wealth, he was the most hated in the district. Why? Because he and many other tax-collectors were working for the Roman government- the Jews most hated enemy, and were also making illegal money from it. The people knew what they were doing. The system of checks and balances were not in place then. In the district and in the neighborhood, Zacchaeus and his households were hated, avoided, abused and cursed by people. He was the saddest man! 

One day, Zacchaeus heard about Jesus. He heard that Jesus does not discriminate against anyone. He heard that Jesus welcomes sinners, tax-collectors and even prostitutes. He also heard that Jesus was passing his way. He decided to cease the moment. Unloved by all, Zacchaeus decided to reach out to the Lover of all and to the love of God. When he got to the street, he was confronted by two obstacles: one, the crowd people who were following Jesus, and two, his height. He was a short man and if he throws himself in the crowd, he could be crushed. Many of his haters, no doubt, were there. But instead of being discouraged, he quickly sought for a solution. There was something much more important than the pain and suffering of the present age. What he did was remarkable. Sighting a sycamore tree along the path that Jesus would most certainly pass by, he ran ahead and climbed the tree. Things were not easy for him but the little man was determined to make it. He made a vigorous effort to see Jesus. He wanted to demonstrate both to Jesus and his community that he was a changed man. When Jesus came to the spot, he looked up and said to him: “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” Put differently, Jesus was saying to him: “Zacchaeus, I have seen your effort to be saved. You can now come down! What you are looking for from the top of that tree will be your guest tonight. What you longed for will not be given to you in bits and pieces, but in abundance.”

Scripture tells us that “In his riches man lacks wisdom (Psalm 49:20)” but not Zacchaeus. He was able to set aside his wealth and riches and sought after the REAL THING. Imagine a wealthy man climb a road-side tree just to see a carpenter’s son. But then, the carpenter’s son, Jesus, had something which all our education, money, good position, political connection, fancy looks, comfortable lifestyle cannot offer. He is Life and the Giver of the Real Life. 

The Christian Faith disturbs us! It demands something from us. It asks us do good and avoid evil. The Christian Faith asks us to forsake our evil and corrupt ways and to accept and embrace Jesus’ way of love, compassion, righteousness and goodness. The earliest call and invitation of Jesus was, “Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15b). To repent is to turn the page of the past littered by sin, wrongdoing and wickedness and to accept the way of Jesus Christ. To do that successfully will require not only the grace of God, but also our willingness to cooperate with the grace of God. God’s grace has already been released to us. It’s now on us to cooperate and to use it. This is where our personal effort and discipline come in. To make heaven, we must make effort. Zacchaeus made effort to see the Lord and his effort was handsomely rewarded. If we make effort to look for the Lord, we will find him. We will see him in our lives and in the lives of others. In the house Zacchaeus Jesus declares “The Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost.” He came for the weak, and not the strong. He came for the sick, not the healthy. He came to call sinners, and not the righteous. He came to seek for me, you and all of us. Like me, I believe you are weak too. Like me, I believe you are not completely healthy. Like me, I believe you are a sinner too. He wants to find us, not some days, but every day. But to be found by the Lord is on us. He cannot force us to save us. He requires our willingness to be saved. If we let him, salvation too, will come into our house