Jesus and Zacchaeus

 Lk 19:1-10

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. 
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature. 
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.” 
And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” 
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“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.”
And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. 
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.”

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This is the Gospel reading from Mass yesterday. Here are some thoughts that come to my mind. What do you think? 

1. The Lord said to this little man, Zacchaeus, that He wanted to go to his house that day. Jesus knew the man’s reputation. Everyone did. Why would Jesus choose to invite Himself over to Zacchaeus’ home to spend the day with him? Pretty amazing.  

2. Spiritually speaking, He says the same thing to each one of us.  “Today I must stay at your house.” 

3. Put youself into the story. You are the one up in the tree trying to get a glimpse of Jesus. He comes right to you. What is your next move?


4. Revelation 3:20, is one of my favorites. The latch of the door is on the inside. It has to be opened from the inside. Think about it. 


5. Both Luke 19:1-10 and Rev. 3:20 are related to the Eucharist,- Christ’s real presence. “Take. Eat. This is my body...” 
1 Corinthians 11:24.
and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”


Revelation 3:20
 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.

Feast Day of St. Matthew

Yesterday's Bible readings from the USCCB include the story of Jesus’ call of Matthew to follow Him.

Yesterday was his feast day, the day he was remembered and honored  in the Church calendar. 

Here is the Scripture passage that tells us this story of Matthew’s call. He was a tax collector, so his mind was on the things of this world. Money was what occupied his time and attention. 

All of that changed in a moment when he met Jesus. 



Gospel Mt 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
He heard this and said,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Jem Sullivan, PhD, is a fine Bible teacher. In today’s video reflection she makes reference to Caravaggio’s painting of the call of Matthew. She pointed out how the hand of Jesus extended towards Matthew is taken from Michelangelo’s painting of the creation of Adam. 

Notice the hand of Jesus pointing towards Matthew, whose head is down as he counts the money.  It is a life-giving gesture. Jesus says to him, “Follow me.” 


Matthew got up and followed. Now instead of being consumed by worldly goods, he became consumed with following Jesus. 

Contemplate this painting and the words of the Gospel of Matthew. He is telling us a little of his own life and calling. 

Listen to the little video reflection by Dr. Sullivan. She brings in more details and encourages us to think about God’s call on our own lives. How are our lives transformed by our encounter with Jesus, the Son of God? 

Here is the Caravaggio painting. 

Check out the video reflection for September 21, 2016. 

The Narrow Way

This is my second year of following the Daily Readings that come from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  Some of the video reflections are better than others, but almost all of them are good. Some of them are excellent. 

Today’s reflection based on Matthew 7:6, 12-14 was quite moving. In just under two minutes, Fr. Paul D. Seil  was able to capture the essence of this short Gospel passage. He even tied it in with the life of St. Alyoysius Gonzaga, whose feast is today. 

St. Gonzaga was a young man who followed that narrow way. The university in Spokane named in his honor has been familiar to me for a long time. I had never bothered to look him up to see who he was - is, I mean. :-)  He is alive in God’s presence. 

Gonzaga's life was incredibly inspiring, since he gave his life while caring for plague victims and preparing them for death. He was Jesuit, as is the school named for him. 

Listen to this short reflection. It is worth your time. 

Gospel Mt 7:6, 12-14Jesus said to his disciples:“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.This is the Law and the Prophets.
“Enter through the narrow gate;for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,and those who enter through it are many.How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.And those who find it are few.”

Not to condemn the world...

I receive the Daily Readings for Mass that are sent to me from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Along with reading them, I also watch the Daily Reflections Video for that day. All of them are very well done. Some of the commenters are outstanding.

Jem Sullivan is one of the best.

In today’s reflection, she reminded us that as we look at the world, we can get very discouraged. We can become judgmental and condemning. I know I can, Jesus, though, teaches us to love, forgive, and pray for others. He did not come to condemn people, but to save them.

Simple, but clear. In fact, it seems to me that  Protestants would also find these readings and videos to be edifying.

Daily Reflections Video - Jem Sullivan, PhD

Jn 12:44-50

Jesus cried out and said,
“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me
but also in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.
And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,
I do not condemn him,
for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.
Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words
has something to judge him: the word that I spoke,
it will condemn him on the last day,
because I did not speak on my own,
but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak.
And I know that his commandment is eternal life.
So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”

Jesus, the Prophet

Jer 1:4-5, 17-19

The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.

But do you gird your loins;
stand up and tell them
all that I command you.
Be not crushed on their account,
as though I would leave you crushed before them;
for it is I this day
who have made you a fortified city,
a pillar of iron, a wall of brass,
against the whole land:
against Judah’s kings and princes,
against its priests and people.
They will fight against you but not prevail over you,
for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.
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 Lk 4:21-30

Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying:
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say,
‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said, “Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.

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These passages impressed me once again when I read them on Sunday, January 31, 2016. They are from the Daily Readings - the daily readings for Mass. Watch the brief video reflections if you wish.  Fr. Greg Friedman, OFM always gives a good reflection. 

We were in Nazareth in the fall of 2014 and saw the church Fr. Friedman mentions, as well as the hill that is much like the brow of the hill where the townspeople tried to throw Jesus down to His death. 

Fr. asks the question, “What makes a prophet?”   They often provoke people, making them uncomfortable. We can see in the Luke 4 passage that Jesus did, indeed, make people feel uncomfortable. 

Elijah and Elisha were rejected and threatened by their own people and were then sent to Gentiles. The parallels are striking. 

He mentioned a quote from a Christian writer who said,  "There is no evidence to suggest that anyone ever asked a prophet home for supper more than once.”  We can see from the Gospel passage how the people in Jesus' own hometown reacted to His provocative words. He thus established Himself in the office of Prophet. Jesus  is Prophet, Priest, and King.

Fr. Friedman then spoke of how Pope Francis has annoyed and upset many by saying shortly after his election, “How I would like a Church that is poor and for the poor.”  

Fr. Friedman then challenged us to pray for the grace to accept these prophetic words in this Jubilee Year. 

See, the Catholic Church wants us to focus on God’s mercy in this year. Well, not just in this year, but in this year to keep our focus on mercy. 

As I said, this passage impressed me once again, and the reflection shared by Fr. Friedman was spot on. 

If you want to know more about the Catholic Church, then a good way is to sign up for the Daily Readings at the website of the USCCB. That way you can follow her thought the liturgical year as you read and meditate on the Scriptures and listen to the brief reflections videos. 

Some of the reflections are better than others, but most of them are very good.  Some are outstanding. Fr. Friedman is always great. He can pack a lot of information and exhortation into just a couple of minutes.