"Zacchaeus, come down immediately.”
Zacchaeus – Sinner and Saint
October 31, 2010, 31th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Wisdom 11:22-12:2 II Thessalonians 1:11-2:2 Luke 19:1-10
Zacchaeus – Sinner and Saint
October 31, 2010, 31th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Wisdom 11:22-12:2 II Thessalonians 1:11-2:2 Luke 19:1-10
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke.
Glory to you, Lord.
At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was the chief tax-collector in Jericho and a very wealthy man, was trying to get a glimpse of Jesus, but he couldn’t because of the crowds, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus passing by. Drawing near, Jesus called up to him, saying, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I am going to stay at your house today.” He came down quickly and received Jesus into his house with great joy. When the crowds saw this, they were displeased and began to complain, saying, “This man Jesus hobnobs with sinners.”
Meanwhile, Zacchaeus defending himself said to Jesus, “Lord, I promise to give half my property to the poor, and to pay back four times over anyone whom I have overcharged.” Jesus said to him, “I tell you, today salvation has come to this house, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. I, the Son of Man, have come to search for and save such souls as his."
Meanwhile, Zacchaeus defending himself said to Jesus, “Lord, I promise to give half my property to the poor, and to pay back four times over anyone whom I have overcharged.” Jesus said to him, “I tell you, today salvation has come to this house, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. I, the Son of Man, have come to search for and save such souls as his."
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
The Eve of All Saints
Introduction
The Eve of All Saints
Today October 31 is the last day of October, and tomorrow November 1 is the feast of All Saints. Tonight is the eve of All Saints – the eve of all the `hallowed ones’ -- thus Hallow-een. All Saints is a harvest feast: we’ve gathered all the apples and pumpkins into bins against the long winter night; now we gather in all the saints. Throughout the year we celebrate a list of Catholic saints, like Francis of Assisi and Mother Theresa of Calcutta. On all Saints we celebrate a `catholic[1] list of saints.’ On All Saints we “rejoice in all the holy men and women of every time and place.[2]” That’s “a great multitude which no one can count.” (Rev 7:9) That’s a multitude which not even the Church can adequately count with her official list of canonized saints, for the best of the saints have not and never will be canonized. Sooner or later All Saints was a feast-day waiting to be instituted.[3] It’s a feast-day particularly dear to us who have deceased loved ones, whom the Church will never canonize but who, we know, are saints.
Zacchaeus – Jericho’s chief tax-collector & sinner
Last Sunday’s gospel related Jesus’ parable about a proud Pharisee and a humble tax-collector who went up to the Temple to pray. (Lk 18:9-14) This Sunday’s gospel is not a parable but an account of a real experience which Jesus had with a tax-collector. His name was Zacchaeus. He was not just a tax-collector; he was the chief tax-collector in Jericho, and therefore `chief sinner’ in Jericho. Short in stature he climbed a sycamore tree to get a glimpse of Jesus passing by. Jesus called him to come down, and informed him that He was going to be guest at his house. This angered some in the crowd who complained, “Look at this fellow Jesus! He hobnobs with sinners!” (Lk 19:7)
Zacchaeus -- a rich man perched in a tree
By his own admission Zacchaeus was a sinner. He overcharged some of his fellow-Jews, and the money went straight into his pocket. But there was also a good side to Zacchaeus. As Jesus was passing through Jericho, a very enthusiastic crowd ran after Him, and Zacchaeus standing in their midst was caught up in the enthusiasm. He too wanted very much to get a glimpse of this famous preacher. He wondered whether He was really the one whom the prophet Isaiah was referring to when he cried out, “Oh you heavens, rain down the just one!” (Is 45:8) But Zacchaeus was short of stature. Wealthy man and important officer of the Roman Empire though he was, he put aside all decorum and dignity, and climbed the sycamore tree to get a good view of Jesus passing. It’s a funny picture to imagine: a rich man perched in a tree to see an itinerant preacher passing by.
Zacchaeus – saint in the Eastern Church
When Jesus saw Zacchaeus in the tree, He called up to the rich but despised tax-collector, and informed him that He was inviting Himself to be a guest in his house. When the crowds heard about that, they grumbled that Jesus was going to hobnob with a sinner. Meanwhile, Zacchaeus has promised Jesus to reform his life by giving half his property to the poor and by making fourfold restitution to anyone he had cheated. Zacchaeus’ goodwill and good resolve made Jesus exclaim, “I tell you, today salvation has come to this house, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham.” Jesus called Zacchaeus "a true son of Abraham,” and as a true son he could look forward to be at Abraham's side in the banquet of eternal life.
Zacchaeus is there now at Abraham’s side. Tradition tells us that after having accompanied St. Peter on his travels, he became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine where he died in peace. The Eastern Church has declared him a saint, and celebrates his feast-day on April 20. In addition to that, it celebrates a `Zacchaeus Sunday.’ In the Eastern Church Lent is preceded with a series of Sundays, and the first of those Sundays is called `Zacchaeus Sunday.’ On that Sunday the Zacchaeus gospel is read, because the desire and effort to see Jesus (like Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore) and to follow Him (like Zacchaeus promising to reform his life) is the underlining message of the Lenten season.
Zacchaeus is there now at Abraham’s side. Tradition tells us that after having accompanied St. Peter on his travels, he became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine where he died in peace. The Eastern Church has declared him a saint, and celebrates his feast-day on April 20. In addition to that, it celebrates a `Zacchaeus Sunday.’ In the Eastern Church Lent is preceded with a series of Sundays, and the first of those Sundays is called `Zacchaeus Sunday.’ On that Sunday the Zacchaeus gospel is read, because the desire and effort to see Jesus (like Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore) and to follow Him (like Zacchaeus promising to reform his life) is the underlining message of the Lenten season.
A priest who hobnobbed with sinners
Franciscan Fr. Mychal Judge was a chaplain for the New York Fire Department. His death in the line of duty was one of the first to come out of the horrific tragedy of 9/11. Fr. Judge, a chaste and celibate gay man and a recovering alcoholic, made a great effort to see and follow Jesus passing by in the crowded streets of New York. At this he was remarkably successful.
He saw Jesus passing by in the drunkards he came upon on in the streets of that great metropolis. He’d tell them, “Look, you’re not a bad person; you have a disease that makes you think you’re bad, and that’s going to foul you up.” Fr. Judge saw Jesus passing by in the gay community of that immense city. He opened the doors of St. Francis of Assisi Church on 31st Street in Manhattan to Dignity, an organization for gay Catholics. Then to top it off he marched in the first gay-inclusive St. Patrick’s Day parade. Some modern-day Pharisees and teachers of the Law watching the parade go by complained, “This Fr. Judge hobnobs with sinners.” And no doubt about it, the Archdiocese of New York was equally disturbed with Fr. Judge.
He did such a magnificent job of hobnobbing with sinners on the busy streets of New York that at the Mass of Christian Burial for him (held on saturday, September 15, 2001 and presideded over by Cardinal Edward Eagan) more than 2,800 people attended. And when on October 11, 2001, a Month's Mind Memorial was held for Fr. Judge, an endless flow of priests, nuns, lawyers, cops, firefighters, homeless people, rock-and-rollers, recovering alcoholics, local politicians and middle-age couples from the suburbs streamed into Good Shepherd Chapel on Ninth Ave in Manhattan, an Anglican church, to memorialize a Roman Catholic priest. No Pharisees or teachers of the Law were these devotees of Fr. Judge, who had converged from many and diverse directions, to celebrate the life and death of a man whose greatest achievement was that he had hobnobbed with sinners.
He saw Jesus passing by in the drunkards he came upon on in the streets of that great metropolis. He’d tell them, “Look, you’re not a bad person; you have a disease that makes you think you’re bad, and that’s going to foul you up.” Fr. Judge saw Jesus passing by in the gay community of that immense city. He opened the doors of St. Francis of Assisi Church on 31st Street in Manhattan to Dignity, an organization for gay Catholics. Then to top it off he marched in the first gay-inclusive St. Patrick’s Day parade. Some modern-day Pharisees and teachers of the Law watching the parade go by complained, “This Fr. Judge hobnobs with sinners.” And no doubt about it, the Archdiocese of New York was equally disturbed with Fr. Judge.
He did such a magnificent job of hobnobbing with sinners on the busy streets of New York that at the Mass of Christian Burial for him (held on saturday, September 15, 2001 and presideded over by Cardinal Edward Eagan) more than 2,800 people attended. And when on October 11, 2001, a Month's Mind Memorial was held for Fr. Judge, an endless flow of priests, nuns, lawyers, cops, firefighters, homeless people, rock-and-rollers, recovering alcoholics, local politicians and middle-age couples from the suburbs streamed into Good Shepherd Chapel on Ninth Ave in Manhattan, an Anglican church, to memorialize a Roman Catholic priest. No Pharisees or teachers of the Law were these devotees of Fr. Judge, who had converged from many and diverse directions, to celebrate the life and death of a man whose greatest achievement was that he had hobnobbed with sinners.
Conclusion
A saint you personally canonize of your own making
Tomorrow, Monday, November 1, 2010 is the feast of All Saints. That feast celebrates “a great multitude which no one can count.” (Rev 7:9) It also celebrates a motley crowd. It celebrates clean-cut saints like Mother Teresa and Padre Pio. It celebrates messy saints like the humble tax-collector who went up to the Temple to pray and bent down to ask God to forgive him, a sinner. Messy saints like Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax-collector who climbed a tree to see Jesus pass by, and then came down to promise he’d never cheat again. Messy saints like Fr. Mychal Judge who marched in the gay section of a St. Patrick’s Day parade, and who hobnobbed with sinners all his life, and who very probably will never be officially enrolled in the Church’s official list of saints. New York City has already canonized him, and with that we are content.
Though tomorrow, All Saints Day, isn’t a holy day of obligation in many places, do not pass up that great feast. Celebrate a liturgy of your own at home. Light a vigil light, and let it burn all day long in memory of someone you love very much, and who, you know, is indeed a saint, even though he or she will never be inscribed in the Church’s official list of hallowed ones. Tomorrow, invoke a saint you yourself personally canonize, and ask him or her to intercede for you at the Throne of Grace.
[1] The word means `universal.’
[2] From the opening prayer of All Saints Day.
[3] Pope Gregory IV (827-844) established November 1 as the Feast of All Saints.
Though tomorrow, All Saints Day, isn’t a holy day of obligation in many places, do not pass up that great feast. Celebrate a liturgy of your own at home. Light a vigil light, and let it burn all day long in memory of someone you love very much, and who, you know, is indeed a saint, even though he or she will never be inscribed in the Church’s official list of hallowed ones. Tomorrow, invoke a saint you yourself personally canonize, and ask him or her to intercede for you at the Throne of Grace.
[1] The word means `universal.’
[2] From the opening prayer of All Saints Day.
[3] Pope Gregory IV (827-844) established November 1 as the Feast of All Saints.
