Nov. 4th, 2007: 31st Sunday Ordinary (C)

Imagine a husband and wife driving on I-10 toward Florida. They’re trying to get to a hotel they reserved over the phone. They have the address and a direction that an employee gave over the phone. The wife says to the husband, “Honey, I think we missed the exit. Turn around on next exit.” But, the husband insists that they haven’t reached it yet. After three more exits, the wife says, “Honey, I really think we missed the exit. Let’s ask at the gas station on the next exit.” But, the husband is certain that after few more exits, he’ll be there.

How many of you wives here had this happen to you? It’s a phenomenon so common that if you googled on internet “Why men don’t ask directions,” you’ll get a lot of explanations. One article that I found on Google says that for men, they are NEVER “lost.” Men have complete faith and trust in their own ability to be in control. Being lost, implies for men, that they are helpless, vulnerable, and without control. It’s bad enough that men feel lost, then on top of that, their wives are asking them to turn around and ask someone for direction. The article says that men only put their lives in the hands of people who have proven themselves trustworthy. To ask someone in the gas station, to ask someone who has not proved themselves trustworthy, is asking men to reliquish their control. Turning around means casting aside our innate instinct to be in control. That is very difficult for both men and women alike.

Who of us in the church here would not like to be on the drivers seat? It’s natural for us to trust our own ability to find our own way to destination. But are we certain that we have the right directions? Have we missed the exit and need to turn around? There is another word for “turning around.” It’s called conversion. And in the Gospel, we see a “turing around” or conversion of a short man named Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus is not that different from any of us. He worked hard at what he did, and he achieved the top position in his profession. But the way he achieved this top position must have been noticeable by others and himself. When Jesus offered to stay in Zacchaeus’ house, others grumbled that Jesus was going to stay at a house of a sinner. Zacchaeus’ conscience must have been pricked. Because he showed a dramatic turnaround. Zacchaeus offered half of his possessions to the poor and to redress anyone he has extorted. And Jesus remarked, “Today salvation has come to this house…” Zacchaeus didn’t take long to heed Our Lord’s prompting that he needed to take the next exit and turn around. Isn’t God asking us to do the same, today.

This coming Thursday, 4pm at our school’s library, I will be giving a talk on living the messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje. You are more than welcome to come and hear me talk. But I can give you the gist of Our Lady’s messages right now. Remember the image of a husband and wife driving to Florida at the beginning of the homily? Now imagine, us in the driving seat. And sitting next to us in the passenger side is Blessed Mother. She has the map and the direction. We might ask, “Where are we going?” She says, “To my Son, Jesus.” And we ask, “How are we getting there?” And she says, “Do whatever He tells you.” And we ask her, “How do we know that we are doing what Jesus is asking us to do?” And this is where the core message of Our Lady of Medjugorje comes in. She said, “Dear Children, today I invite you to conversion. This is the most important message that I have given you here.” (2/25/1996) And she gives us five signs that we need to take the next exit and turn around.

First sign. Am I praying daily? Our Lady encourages especially rosary to be prayed daily. She says, “Today I call you to begin praying the rosary with a living faith. That way I will be able to help you. Dear children, you wish to obtain graces, but you are not praying. I cannot help you because you do not want to get started. Dear children, I call you to pray the rosary, and that your rosary be an obligation which you fulfill with joy.” (6/12/1986)

Second sign. Am I going to confession once a month? Our Lady said, “Jesus desires to fill your hearts with peace and joy. Little children, you cannot realize peace if you are not at peace with Jesus. Therefore, I invite you to Confession so that Jesus may be your truth and peace.” (1/25/1995)

Third sign. Am I reading the scripture daily? Our Lady said, “Little children, you do not know how to live in the grace of God; that is why I call you all anew to carry the word of God in your heart and in your thoughts. Little children, put Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your family, and read and live it.” (8/25/1996)

Fourth sign. Am I fasting when I can? Our Lady said, “Today I call you to renew prayer and fasting with even greater enthusiasm until prayer becomes a joy for you. Little children, the one who prays is not afraid of the future and the one who fasts is not afraid of evil.” (1/25/2001)

Fifth sign. Am I participating in the Holy Mass with joy? Our Lady said, “There are many of you who have sensed the beauty of Holy Mass, but there are also those who come reluctantly. I have chosen you, dear children, but Jesus gives you his grace at Mass. Therefore, live Holy Mass consciously, and let your coming to it be joyful. Come to it with love, and make Holy Mass your own.” (4/3/1986)

Does any one of the five signs apply to us? Have we missed our exit? If we have, shouldn’t we take the nearest next exit and turn around as Our Lady suggests?