October 30, 2022

My dear family of God,

Today we celebrate the 31st Sunday in ordinary time Year C and the readings for this Sunday focus on conversion and repentance. In the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, the author reminds us of God’s mercy and His patience towards sinners. God is patient with us because He loves us and wants us to repent of our sins. “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…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!”

Today’s Gospel reading from Luke 19:1-10, is the story of Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus. His encounter with Jesus led to his conversion and transformation. Luke tells us that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and a worthy man. It is important to note that Zacchaeus was not just an ordinary tax collector. He was the chief of tax collectors in Jericho. Jericho was a big business center and Zacchaeus had made a lot of money and acquired a lot of wealth through dishonest means. Interestingly, the name ‘Zacchaeus’ means righteous but here he was defrauding his own people. 

Tax collectors were despised and hated by the society because of their collaboration with the Romans who were occupying their land. Even though they made a lot of money, society had rejected them. Money and material wealth became their source of comfort. Our Gospel reading, however, indicates that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. He did all he could to see Jesus. He ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a tree to see Jesus. His desire to see Jesus is fulfilled when Jesus sees him and invites him to come down the tree and proposes a dinner meeting with him. This powerful encounter with Jesus opens his eyes to see the plight of the poor. 

His encounter with Jesus brings about a conversion and a transformation that will make him give half of his money to the poor and the other half to make a restitution to those he had defrauded in the past. By the example of Zacchaeus, Jesus shows how nobody is beyond transformation and salvation. Zacchaeus was transformed because Jesus showed him love. Let us learn from Jesus not to be judgmental and not to be afraid to encounter people rejected by society with the Good News that they are loved by God. 

Do have a grace-filled week.  Shalom!

Fr. James Ahenkora