ZACCHAUES is a gospel character whose beautiful story
endears him to
many of us. He actually typifies us who like him also have our own
defects and sins, and yet in spite of those, continue to hold a deep
admiration and love for God.
He is described as a wealthy man, the chief tax collector of his
time. It’s not difficult to imagine that he must have committed some
injustice, given the many imperfections of our systems. That much he
himself hinted. In fact, practically everyone considered him as a
sinner.
But all these negative things did not prevent him from getting close
to Christ. When he heard that Christ was passing by, he made such
great effort to see him that he climbed up a tree, because of the big
crowd and also because he was small in stature.
That’s when Christ saw him and told him that he, Christ, would like
to go to his house as guest. The good Zacchaeus marveled at this idea
and readily welcomed Christ to his house.
That’s when Zacchaeus was profuse in explaining his predicament to
Christ. “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.” (Lk 19,9)
Here we see a man with great faith and a big heart. He was aware of
his many shortcomings and sins, and in a way, these negative things
enlivened rather than deadened his eagerness to be with Christ.
That is the attitude we have to develop, given the fact that we all
also have our share of sins and many other shortcomings. Let’s have
the faith and trust of Zacchaeus in Christ who, after all, also
reassured us that he came “to seek and to save what was lost.” (Lk
19,10)
Let’s have the simplicity and transparency of Zacchaeus. This is the
way to be happy and to be at peace with everyone—with God and with
everybody else. After all, the mercy of God is eternal and universal.
There is nothing that God cannot forgive, unless we ourselves refuse
to be forgiven.
Much of the complications we see in life is due to our stubbornness,
to our mistaken belief that God is unforgiving, who takes delight in
punishing us. While God is obviously concerned about justice, we have
to remember that his justice is always at the instance of charity and
mercy.
His justice is not like our sense of justice that is often tainted
with self-interest and undueness often because of insufficiency of
valid grounds. If divine justice involves some punitive aspects, we
can be sure that the penalties are to correct what is wrong, to heal
what is wounded, to repair what is damaged.
It’s a punitive justice that constructs and edifies. In any case, as
dramatized many times in the gospel, Christ often glosses over the
punitive aspect. This is the case of the repentant thief who did not
explicitly ask for forgiveness. He simply wanted to be with Christ in
Paradise. Christ understood such request as repentance enough.
This is also the case of the woman caught in adultery. The harshest
words he told her before dismissing her was simply, “Sin no more.” And
of course, one of the seven last words he uttered while hanging on the
cross was to ask forgiveness for those who crucified him, “for they
know not what they are doing.”
But like Zacchaeus, let’s also be generous in atoning for our sins.
Atonement, reparation, restitution and other forms of penance should
be a happy act for us. They are a very meaningful act that unites us
very intimately with the redemptive passion and death of Christ.
This is how we should view the many forms of penance for our sins. It
cannot be any other, otherwise our penance would rightly become
inhuman and unattractive. It’s only when our penance is a sharing of
Christ’s suffering that it becomes very meaningful and beautiful.
Let’s make an effort to cultivate the many virtues and the underlying
attitude that made Zacchaeus a man of great faith and trust in God, in
divine mercy, and a man of deep simplicity and transparency.
This may not be easy, since we have to contend with a culture and
environment that is averse to the religious meaning of suffering and
penance. But we can always start in a small way now. In time for sure,
the Zacchaeus in us will just appear, the recipient of the greatest
gift of God, his mercy!
defects and sins, and yet in spite of those, continue to hold a deep
admiration and love for God.
He is described as a wealthy man, the chief tax collector of his
time. It’s not difficult to imagine that he must have committed some
injustice, given the many imperfections of our systems. That much he
himself hinted. In fact, practically everyone considered him as a
sinner.
But all these negative things did not prevent him from getting close
to Christ. When he heard that Christ was passing by, he made such
great effort to see him that he climbed up a tree, because of the big
crowd and also because he was small in stature.
That’s when Christ saw him and told him that he, Christ, would like
to go to his house as guest. The good Zacchaeus marveled at this idea
and readily welcomed Christ to his house.
That’s when Zacchaeus was profuse in explaining his predicament to
Christ. “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.” (Lk 19,9)
Here we see a man with great faith and a big heart. He was aware of
his many shortcomings and sins, and in a way, these negative things
enlivened rather than deadened his eagerness to be with Christ.
That is the attitude we have to develop, given the fact that we all
also have our share of sins and many other shortcomings. Let’s have
the faith and trust of Zacchaeus in Christ who, after all, also
reassured us that he came “to seek and to save what was lost.” (Lk
19,10)
Let’s have the simplicity and transparency of Zacchaeus. This is the
way to be happy and to be at peace with everyone—with God and with
everybody else. After all, the mercy of God is eternal and universal.
There is nothing that God cannot forgive, unless we ourselves refuse
to be forgiven.
Much of the complications we see in life is due to our stubbornness,
to our mistaken belief that God is unforgiving, who takes delight in
punishing us. While God is obviously concerned about justice, we have
to remember that his justice is always at the instance of charity and
mercy.
His justice is not like our sense of justice that is often tainted
with self-interest and undueness often because of insufficiency of
valid grounds. If divine justice involves some punitive aspects, we
can be sure that the penalties are to correct what is wrong, to heal
what is wounded, to repair what is damaged.
It’s a punitive justice that constructs and edifies. In any case, as
dramatized many times in the gospel, Christ often glosses over the
punitive aspect. This is the case of the repentant thief who did not
explicitly ask for forgiveness. He simply wanted to be with Christ in
Paradise. Christ understood such request as repentance enough.
This is also the case of the woman caught in adultery. The harshest
words he told her before dismissing her was simply, “Sin no more.” And
of course, one of the seven last words he uttered while hanging on the
cross was to ask forgiveness for those who crucified him, “for they
know not what they are doing.”
But like Zacchaeus, let’s also be generous in atoning for our sins.
Atonement, reparation, restitution and other forms of penance should
be a happy act for us. They are a very meaningful act that unites us
very intimately with the redemptive passion and death of Christ.
This is how we should view the many forms of penance for our sins. It
cannot be any other, otherwise our penance would rightly become
inhuman and unattractive. It’s only when our penance is a sharing of
Christ’s suffering that it becomes very meaningful and beautiful.
Let’s make an effort to cultivate the many virtues and the underlying
attitude that made Zacchaeus a man of great faith and trust in God, in
divine mercy, and a man of deep simplicity and transparency.
This may not be easy, since we have to contend with a culture and
environment that is averse to the religious meaning of suffering and
penance. But we can always start in a small way now. In time for sure,
the Zacchaeus in us will just appear, the recipient of the greatest
gift of God, his mercy!
No comments:
Post a Comment