THE CALL TO REACH OUT TO INSIGNIFICANT, DIFFICULT AND LOWLY PEOPLE

20161030 THE CALL TO REACH OUT TO INSIGNIFICANT, DIFFICULT AND LOWLY PEOPLE

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Wisdom 11:22-12:2 ©

In your sight, Lord, the whole world is like a grain of dust that tips the scales,

like a drop of morning dew falling on the ground.

Yet you are merciful to all, because you can do all things

and overlook men’s sins so that they can repent.

Yes, you love all that exists, you hold nothing of what you have made in abhorrence,

for had you hated anything, you would not have formed it.

And how, had you not willed it, could a thing persist,

how be conserved if not called forth by you?

You spare all things because all things are yours, Lord, lover of life,

you whose imperishable spirit is in all.

Little by little, therefore, you correct those who offend,

you admonish and remind them of how they have sinned,

so that they may abstain from evil and trust in you, Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 144(145):1-2,8-11,13b-14 ©

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

I will give you glory, O God my king,

  I will bless your name for ever.

I will bless you day after day

  and praise your name for ever.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

  slow to anger, abounding in love.

How good is the Lord to all,

  compassionate to all his creatures.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,

  and your friends shall repeat their blessing.

They shall speak of the glory of your reign

  and declare your might, O God.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

The Lord is faithful in all his words

  and loving in all his deeds.

The Lord supports all who fall

  and raises all who are bowed down.

I will bless your name for ever, O God my King.

Second reading

2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2 ©

We pray continually that our God will make you worthy of his call, and by his power fulfil all your desires for goodness and complete all that you have been doing through faith; because in this way the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you and you in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

  To turn now, brothers, to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered round him: please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumour or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Lk19:38,2:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessings on the King who comes,

in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven

and glory in the highest heavens!

Alleluia!

Or

Jn3:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:

everyone who believes in him has eternal life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 19:1-10 ©

Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the town when a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance: he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him: ‘Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.’ And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They all complained when they saw what was happening. ‘He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house’ they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, ‘Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost.’

THE CALL TO REACH OUT TO INSIGNIFICANT, DIFFICULT AND LOWLY PEOPLE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [  WIS 11:22 – 12:2; 2 THESS 1:11 – 2:2; LK 19:1-10 ]

It is only natural to favour a good child over a naughty one, a good student over a poor one, and a well-behaved man over an uncouth man.  Yes, we prefer not to mix with insignificant and troublesome people.  We want to be seen with respectable and great people.  Some of us are even ashamed of our own parents because they are not so well dressed or educated.  When we behave in this manner, then we are no better than the Pharisees in today’s gospel.  They too avoided associating with sinners and people with low reputation for fear that they might be identified with them and compromise themselves.

This kind of love is at most a pagan love.  It cannot be called Christian love since we only care for those who are good, healthy, rich and upright.  In reality, we do not love them since we love them only because they are good to us and they can offer us happiness.  We love them for our sake rather than for theirs, since they do not cause us much trouble and do not inconvenience us.

Regrettably, the problematic ones are those who really need us but we drive them further away from us.  We consider them a nuisance in our lives since they give us nothing but trouble. We must realize that if there are some people who seem so unlovable; it is because they have been rejected in love in the first place.  Thus, we often find people who are jilted in love acting in a resentful, bitter and skeptical manner.  This is equally true of us who are sinners and living sinful lives.  Some hate themselves because they cannot overcome their sins. Yes, we hate ourselves for being powerless in this situation.

But it is to such people who feel unworthy that today’s liturgy seeks to assure them that they are loved and accepted. The first reading reminds us that although we are insignificant, “like a grain of dust that tips the scales, like a drop of morning dew falling on the ground”, yet God counts us important. It is because we are important in His eyes that we continue to exist. The author of Wisdom says that God holds nothing of what He has made in abhorrence, for had He hated anything; He would not have formed it.

This was certainly the way of Jesus too. Even though Zacchaeus was a sinner and short and insignificant, yet He singled him out of the crowd. He did not ignore him simply because he was not living a good and holy life. He did not try to dissociate Himself from him even though others were cynical when they saw Him reaching out to him.  Jesus did not care what they thought since for Him, Zacchaeus too was a son of Abraham and He “has come to seek out and save what was lost.”  So we can imagine how happy and honoured Zacchaeus must have been to be recognized.  He was so touched when Jesus noticed him.  Like God, Jesus came for the outcast and those ostracized by society.   Everyone was important to Him and He regarded everyone personally.

Secondly, the scriptures proclaim that God loves all, including sinners.  Even in our sinfulness, grace is present.  He is merciful to all, because He can do all things and overlook man’s sins.  God is patient with us and wants us all to share in His life.  The Lord wants us to repent and be converted.  He does not want us to die or live an aimless and meaningless life.  He helps us at times by allowing us to go through the trials in life so that we can learn from our sorrows, recognize the power of God and the consequences of sins.  But this must not be mistaken as God’s punishment.  He does not punish us because we have sinned.  Rather, our suffering is the result and consequence of our foolish actions.  God loves us too much to want to see us suffer, just as parents would not want to see their children suffer as well.

But even if we suffer because of our sins, we must realize that it is also the grace of God working in us.  Sufferings are not meant to make us bitter but better.  They are meant to awaken us to our consciousness since many of us cannot understand unless we suffer.  More often than not, through sufferings in life, broken relationships, and mistakes made, we come to know ourselves better and see our foolishness and blindness.  This too was also the case of Zacchaeus.  The gospel said he was a rich man.  But he was poor in love, in friendships and meaning in life.  It was his isolation and rejection that awakened him to his misery, emptiness, loneliness and selfishness.  It took suffering to help him come to realize his own sinfulness.

Thirdly, we are told that God takes the initiative to reach out to us even in our sinfulness and unworthiness.  As if this was not already a great surprise for Jesus to notice Zacchaeus, Jesus went further and called out to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.’ That must have been the happiest day of his life for, “he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully.”   Of course, the people around him grumbled, “He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house.”  But aren’t we the same too because at every mass before communion we say, “Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof”. In the second reading St Paul too exhorted the primacy of God’s grace.  He knew that it was the grace of God that saved him.

The result was conversion.  Yes, it was Jesus’ graciousness and goodness that eventually converted him. He was overwhelmed by His love, concern and acceptance in spite of his unworthiness. The love of Jesus restored his self-esteem.  He began to love himself again.   And when he did, he lived a dignified life by making a decision to live an honest and upright life.  Hence, he said to Jesus, “Look, Sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody, I will pay him back four times the amount.”  Yes, to be saved means to be restored to our original dignity of being God’s children whom He loves because He created us.

What are the implications for us?  Firstly, for those of us supposedly good and righteous Catholics, instead of feeling envious like the Pharisees “who complained when they saw what happened”, we must be kind to such people and feel happy for them when they return home.  Hence, instead of feeling smug, complimenting and praising ourselves like the self-righteous Pharisees, we must be humble to realize that everything is but the grace of God. If God treats us thus, then we too are called to reach out to the difficult people, the criminals and drug addicts, since they too are the sons of Abraham and the children of God, just as Jesus said of Zacchaeus.

Secondly, for those of us who have very low self-esteem or feel that we are unworthy sinners, we must find courage to seek out Jesus.  The path of conversion does not exempt us from co-operating with the grace of God.  God will not force us to welcome Him and be reconciled with Him.  But He will give the opportunity, just as He gave Zacchaeus the occasion.  But like Zacchaeus, we must be sincere in wanting Jesus to come into our lives.  We cannot simply sit at home, paralyzed, bemoaning the fact that we are stupid, useless, unloved or that we are great sinners.  No, we must do something about our situation.

So if we are still staying away from Church, from Jesus, or the sacraments or just feeling rejected and unloved, then the gospel is addressed to us in a special way to us.  We must make some effort to pray the scriptures, receive the sacraments, and make contact with those who can help and enlighten us.  In other words, we must be open to the grace of God.  Zacchaeus did not simply sit in his house and wait for Jesus to knock at his door.  Grace requires that we must also cooperate with God at least by receiving it.

Yes, let those of us who are blessed with the grace of God, those of us who are sinners or feel insignificant, beg for the grace of conversion and the experience of His overpowering and unconditional love.  Only God can make us worthy of His call, and only by His power can our desire for goodness be fulfilled.  Indeed, it is through faith in Him and in His love that we will have the power to live out the good news in our lives.  Without this fundamental faith that God loves us unconditionally, even if we are sinners, no real conversion is possible.

Most of all, we must begin now.  We must respond to the grace of God whilst we have the opportunity before it is too late.  We cannot delay any longer and wait until our deathbed.  It might be too late.  It would be foolish to think that that day would not come until the end of the world.  This was the warning given by St Paul when he said, “please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumour or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived.”   No, we cannot afford to wait for the last day because any day can be our last day.  Let us grasp the opportunity and start living the good life now and share this good life with others.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved