Nov. 3, 2019: 31st Sunday C - To be Jesus’ Instrument

Nov. 3, 2019: 31st Sunday C - To be Jesus’ Instrument
Click: Audio Homily

How good are you at climbing trees? Perhaps you did it as a child, but can you climb now as an adult? I weighed only 55 lbs. as a seven-year old, and it was a no problem climbing then. However, now weighing in at 180 lbs. I can’t even pull myself up the lowest branch. Just imagine, a very well-fed middle-aged man trying to climb a tree just to get a glimpse of Jesus. Not only was the scene funny, but there was no kindness in the laughter that came from people who saw this spectacle. 

The heavy man who was trying to climb the tree was disliked and despised because he was a tax collector who fleeced them of their hard earned money. The crowd viewed him as a cunning and devious man who deserved no sympathy and was unworthy of getting close to a holy man such as Jesus. The crowd in fact became an obstacle to Zaccheus’ encounter with Jesus. In our own lives are there not people whom we are not fond of because of the way they live their lives, or because of what they’ve done to us in the past or perhaps we’re envious of what they have? To the crowd’s surprise and shock, Jesus insisted that he stay at Zaccheus’ home. For Zaccheus, it was a moment of redemption of being called and chosen by Jesus to change his life and serve God. Zaccheus promptly answered the call to conversion and committed to give to the poor and to repay monies he extorted. Our Lord  confirmed to Zaccheus that salvation had come to his household. 

Our Lord did not only come to comfort the poor and suffering; he also came to cause discomfort to those of us who act like the crowd and prevent the growth of the Kingdom of God. Throughout our lives, we will encounter people like Zaccheus. I’m speaking about those souls who hurt others by their behavior, but who sincerely desire to change their lives. At the cemetery blessing at Resthaven Friday morning, a woman told me that her brother came to their mother’s grave and placed a medallion around the tombstone as his gift to his mom. The medallion was commemorating his 25-year sobriety anniversary with Alcoholics Anonymous. I imagined what pain and suffering his mother and family went through because of his addiction. How proud his mother must be for her son to have changed his life and strives for sobriety for 25 years! 

Our Lord has entrusted to each of us the mission to go, to seek, and to save what was lost. Our work is not finished by simply being baptized, confirmed, and belonging to a church. Our Lord asked Ananias to reach out to Saul of Tarsus who persecuted Christians. When Ananias complained to the Lord that he should not choose a dangerous man like Saul of Tarsus, Our Lord replied, “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.” In my own life, I can count many who reached out to me while I was still searching for a direction for my life. For example, while I was floundering spiritually, a couple of Christian co-workers at the chemical plant in East Texas where I worked invited me to study scripture during lunch break. The lunch-time fellowship led me to read and to have a deeper understanding of the scriptures. 

Our Lord has come for all of us, and the Lord desires for all of us to draw close to him. We are here to help one another to follow him, no matter our station in life. We may have labeled a person a murderer — such as Saul of Tarsus — or dishonest — such as Zaccheus, but we are to see the person as a child of God and help to draw him closer to Jesus. Is there a person in our lives whom we are intentionally preventing from growing closer to Jesus?