Everyone at some time in their life has been “too short to see”.  I don’t know anyone, Jesus included, who was born into this world at 6 foot plus in height.  When you were a child, you probably shuffled your way through the crowd to get to front to see something (e.g. a parade).  Or, maybe you might have had a booster-seat for the dinner table (e.g. phone book or an encyclopedia).  You may even have had to sit upon your Dad’s shoulders to be able to see what was going on around you.  Today our Homily tells us about the ability to see clearly.

As Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem He passes through Jericho.  Zacchaeus, the tax collector, hears that Jesus, the famous healer and teacher, is passing through his town.  He had never seen Jesus before, but he had heard of Him, and was curious to know more about the Rabbi.  As Jesus was passing by on the street, Zaccheus couldn’t see Him.  “He could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.”  For you see he was what we refer to as “vertically challenged.”

He didn’t sit there complaining about how short he was or how many people were in the way of his view.  He was desperately seeking to see the Lord.  The crowd was getting in his way and preventing him from seeing Jesus..  Even though he was an adult, Zaccheus acted like a child and climbed a tree to see Jesus.  He climbed up the tree away from the crowd and he saw Jesus.  What that must have been like for Zaccheus?  Anxiety?  Anticipation?  Excitement!

But, as Jesus was passing by, He looked up, saw Zaccheus sitting in the Sycamore tree and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”  Zaccheus came down quickly and received Him with joy.  When all his neighbors saw this, they began to grumble, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”

“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner!”  These were familiar words to anyone who followed Jesus.  His disciples heard these words all the time.  In fact, by the time Jesus came to Jericho, his disciples had heard the words,  “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner”, so many times– from so many different voices– in so many different towns– that they could just about predict how that crowd would react.

His disciples knew all about the anger, the nudges, and the stares that always seemed to follow the words…“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner”.  And when you think about it, maybe that crowd – that angry grumbling crowd— had a point.  After all, there were other houses, other dinners, other places, and other people Jesus could visit.  Respectful people.  People who didn’t cheat their friends or steal from their neighbors.  But just as he had done so many times before, Jesus went to stay at the house of a sinner.  That’s the person Jesus noticed.  That’s the person Jesus wanted to stay with.

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and was much hated by all the people.  Tax collectors were despised and treated as outcasts, because they worked for the Romans, over-charged people, and accumulated great wealth at the expense of others.  Jesus was aware of the fact Zaccheus had become rich at the expense of others and was hated and rejected by his fellow citizens.  This is why Jesus passed through Jericho, to rescue Zaccheus from his wrongdoing to his fellow man: “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

What did Jesus do?  He came and rested with Zaccheus in his own home; God was in his house.  “God has mercy on all, because He can do all things; and He will overlook people’s sins that they may repent” (Wisdom 11:23).  That’s what God does with us when we desperately seek Him.  He allows us to find Him.  He promises to always come and rest with those that are actively seeking Him.

Here we have Zaccheus, who is a rich man, who has not cared for the victims of poverty and injustice until his encounter with Jesus.  His conversion makes a strong statement about the affluent caring for the needs of the poor.  Jesus unveiled the truth about the man, who in reality was concerned for the welfare of others.  We have to ask ourselves: Why would Jesus single Zaccheus out for the honor of staying at his home?  He needed God’s merciful love and forgiveness.  In his encounter with Jesus he found more than he imagined possible.  He shows the depth of his repentance by deciding to give half of his goods to the poor and to use the other half for making restitution for fraud.

What changed in Zacchaeus?  It was his concern for those whom he had defrauded.  He had always been generous with the poor, but now he cared about all the oppressed.  Zacchaeus’ testimony included more than words.  His change of heart resulted in a change of life.  A change that the whole community could experience as genuine.  In other words, his growth was from charity to justice.

This Gospel appears to be the fulfillment of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (cf. Lk 18:9-14) , from last weekend.   Humbly and sincerely, the tax collector was praying from the bottom of his heart: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

Today, we contemplate how Jesus Christ honors Zaccheus’ repentance by forgiving him.  The divine forgiveness provokes the conversion of Zaccheus.  This is one of the benefits of the Gospel: God’s forgiveness is free!  it is not that God forgives us because of our conversion, but the other way round.  God’s mercy impels us to feel grateful and reciprocate.

So, where does this story leave us?  You know, maybe I’d have grumbled, too.  “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner!”  After all, aren’t people like Zacchaeus the very people we spend our lives trying to avoid?  Don’t we study, pray, and grow so that we can leave Zacchaeus and everything he represents far behind?  We learn– even as babies, that people who cheat, people who steal, people who betray their neighbors are not to be trusted.  We discover, very early, that it’s a lot easier and a lot safer to be with people who look and act a like us.  When we become parents, we try very hard, to protect our families and give the people we love the very best of everything.  And for most of us, that includes Zacchaeus-free dining experiences.  After all, It’s a lot easier to tell a sinner how to fix his life than it is to let that sinner fix us dinner.  It’s a lot easier to pray for sinners,to pity them, or to condemn them than it is to let those sinners minister to us.

Let’s face it, it’s a lot easier to accept Zacchaeus’ change of heart if his change of heart doesn’t have to change us.  When it comes right down to it, we really prefer to keep Zacchaeus up in that tree.  Because when Jesus invites him to come down and share our life as a friend— a companion— as a dinner host, that’s a whole new world isn’t it?  But maybe that’s why Jesus came to Jericho in the first place. To show us a whole new world.

This story reminds us that being called by Jesus doesn’t put us into a special place or give us the keys to a private club.  Being called by Jesus doesn’t separate us from anyone or give us an excuse to say, “Thank God, I’m not Zacchaeus. I don’t have to climb a tree to see Jesus!”  The truth is, being called by Jesus – being forgiven by Jesus – being changed by Jesus – puts us on a journey.  It puts us on a dusty road right smack in the middle of a crowd, looking up at a sycamore tree.  And this is not always an easy place to be.

In fact, this journey will give us the challenge of a lifetime. Because if we answer that call and walk with Jesus, we have to walk with our eyes open.  We have to be willing to see more than just the wonderful friends who stand right beside us. Walking with Jesus means that we can no longer travel through the crowd hoping to find a nice safe place on the other side.  Walking with Jesus means that when we look up to see that sinner in the sycamore tree, we don’t just see Zacchaeus, we see ourselves.  The story of Zacchaeus reminds us that Jesus continues to call, continues to forgive, continues to change the strangest people in the strangest places.  And this story gives us hope that every time Jesus looks up from the crowd, He’ll recognize us, call us each by name, and say, “come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house!”

What would you do if Jesus knocked on your door and said, “I must stay at your home today”?  Would you be excited or embarrassed?  Jesus often “dropped-in” at unexpected times and he often visited the “uninvited” – the poor, the lame, and even public sinners like you and me.