Gospel (Lk 19:1-10)

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way.

And 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.” So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Commentary

“He entered Jericho and was passing through.” Jesus passes by, with a very clear goal. He is looking for souls, one by one. For He has come to earth to enable men and women to encounter God.

That day he was seeking an encounter with Zacchaeus. And Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus and did everything possible to meet Him. “He sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature.” So Zacchaeus decides to climb up a sycamore tree. He sets aside any human respects, what people will say, because of his eagerness to see the Master. He does what he can on his part. And Jesus will do the rest.

Jesus, who because he is God reads people's hearts, knows everything Zacchaeus is doing. “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.’”

Jesus looks at Zacchaeus. His look is not superficial, but goes right to the heart. Jesus also looks at each one of us and wants us to seek Him like Zacchaeus. He wants to come close to us, but He respects our freedom. Zacchaeus opens the door of his heart wide to Jesus: “he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully.”

Zacchaeus is filled with joy when Jesus addresses him and calls him by name. That is what happens to everyone who lets Jesus enter their life: they are filled with joy. For to meet Jesus is to meet God, the One our heart longs for. As Saint Augustine so eloquently said: “You made us, Lord, for yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”^[1]

Zacchaeus' encounter with Jesus not only fills him with joy, but completely changes his life. “Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold.’” Zacchaeus undergoes a true transformation of his heart that makes him realize the needs of others and want to remedy any harm he may have caused them.

This radical change in Zacchaeus’s life can help us question the sincerity of our own encounter with Jesus. If we truly draw close to Him, concern for others will grow in our heart. As Benedict XVI wrote in his first encyclical: “The Christian's program – the program of the Good Samaritan, the program of Jesus—is ‘a heart which sees.’ This heart sees where love is needed and acts accordingly.”^[2]

^[1] Saint Augustíne, Confessions I, 1, 1.

^[2] Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est, 31.