20221030 A CONVERSION EXPERIENCE AS A COMING HOME
30 October, 2022, Sunday, 31st Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Wisdom 11:22-12:2 © |
You are merciful to all, because you love all that exists
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 © |
The name of Christ will be glorified in you, and you in him
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 © |
Salvation comes to the house of Zacchaeus
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.’
A CONVERSION EXPERIENCE AS A COMING HOME
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [WIS 11:22-12:2; 2 THESS 1:11-2:2; LK 19:1-10]
What is a home? Isn’t it where we find a sense of belonging, acceptance, love, forgiveness, and mutual acceptance? A home is where we find rest, peace and joy. It is where we can be our true selves. In that sense, even though some of us may be living in beautiful houses, yet we do not have a home, because these are not places where warmth, love and acceptance prevail.
This yearning to find a home is encapsulated in the person of Zacchaeus. Although he had a beautiful house, it was not a home. He was living a lonely life, without love, peace, joy or fulfilment. There was a deep vacuum in his life, and he knew it.
So we can imagine the joy of Zacchaeus when Jesus said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.” Of all peoples, it would seem that he was most unworthy to have Jesus enter his house. Indeed, Zacchaeus was not just a tax collector hated by all peoples but the chief tax collector!
So what prevented him from reaching out to others and to Jesus? What prevented him from seeking the real thing and filling the void in his life? He had many obstacles.
Firstly, over the years, he had lost his identity as the son of Abraham and the child of God. He forgot who he was. So, when Jesus called him by name, for the first time in his life, he was recognized as a person, not as a tax-collector. He was seen as a child of God, the son of Abraham, as Jesus affirmed. All this while, Zacchaeus was captivated by his office. This accounted for his timidity in meeting Jesus on the road and hence his resorting to climbing a sycamore tree just to have a glimpse of Jesus. That he was a short person underscores his lack of confidence and his rejection by others. Thus, it was such a great surprise to him that Jesus would even notice him. Isn’t this the way many of us lacking self-confidence would act as well? We need to rely on our titles such as CEO, Senior Office, President, Executive Director, etc to feel important. Stripped of our office and titles, we become insecure. A person who identifies himself only with his office will lose his personhood when it is taken away from him, or when he retires.
Secondly, his pride and greed prevented him from letting go of his so-called securities in life. Perhaps his being up on the tree was not so much an attempt to hide as was his desire to avoid mixing with the lowly in the crowd. So on one hand, he was a lonely person, but on the other hand he was not ready to come down from his throne to reach out to others. Yet, in his heart, he knew that he needed peace. He was anxious to see Jesus because he knew that somehow Jesus would be able to satisfy the hunger in his heart. Like him, many of us are afraid to let others know of our faith in Christ publicly. We hide our identity as Christians. And like him too, we are not capable of reaching out in love for others.
It was precisely for people like Zacchaeus that Jesus has come. He came to free us from our bondages, to show us the mercy of God and to lead us back to the Promised Land, our Home. In inviting Himself to the house of Zacchaeus, He demonstrated Himself to be the Saviour, for salvation is always the initiative of God, not the work of man. He knew that Zacchaeus needed God’s mercy and love more than anyone else. By choosing to stay in the most unworthy dwelling place on earth, Jesus again showed Himself to be the incarnated Word that has taken His humble dwelling in man.
Indeed, Jesus truly exemplified God’s love and mercy in the first reading. As the author tells us, God is magnanimous to His creatures. He loves us all, regardless of our status and our sinfulness. His love for us is proven in the fact that without His love, we cannot exist. Indeed, “you hold nothing of what you have made in abhorrence, for had you hated anything, you would not have formed it.” Truly, without love, even if we could exist, we would not want to, as life without love is meaningless. That is why God not only wants us to exist but also to live. How can we live if not by sharing in His Spirit of love? “You spare all things because all things are yours, Lord, lover of life, you whose imperishable spirit is in all.”
God not only loves us but demonstrates His unconditional love by showing that He is the merciful and compassionate one. He understands our struggles against sin. The author of the book of Wisdom wrote, “Yet you are merciful to all, because you can do all things and overlook men’s sins so that they can repent.”
Consequently, the dignity of a Christian comes from the fact that he is loved and accepted by God in Christ, not because of his own doing. Like Zacchaeus we are nobody. With Jesus, we recover our identity and our self-worth. With Jesus in our hearts, love, joy and peace prevail. The experience of such an unconditional love of God in Christ is what we call a Conversion Experience. When we meet God’s humble and unselfish love in Christ, everything is changed. Our lives cannot remain the same again. To think that we are worthy of such a love is overwhelming. To be loved with such a love is transforming and healing. This is what a Conversion Experience does.
Such a Conversion Experience will surely impact our lives as it did for Zacchaeus. A radical change of lifestyle is the sign of an authentic conversion experience especially in moral living. In the presence of God’s love in Jesus, Zacchaeus showed the sincerity of his repentance by deciding to give half of his property to the poor. He resolved, “if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.” What could have transformed a mean and selfish person to one who could empty himself for others if not for the fact that he had recovered his identity as a child of God in Christ? By making room for Christ in his house, he was making room for Christ in his heart. That was what made Jesus declare, “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.”
However, such a Conversion Experience is only the beginning of the recovery of our identity. We need to live out this identity as the son or daughter of God every day. St Paul exhorts us to “pray continually that our God will make you worthy of his call …. because in this way the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you and you in him.” Truly, we must live up to our dignity as God’s children by being faithful to our vocation and to the gospel life. We are called to glorify God in and by our lives. This is where many of us who have had the Conversion Experience failed to observe and as a result, have drifted back to our old way of life. Instead of continuing the process of deepening our love for the Lord and striving to grow in grace, virtue and holiness, we have allowed the Old Adam to resurrect.
Of course, growth in holiness is not dependent on our will and strength alone. St Paul makes it clear that just as salvation is primarily the work of God, so, too, is our growth in holiness. Only God can make us worthy of His call. Only “by his power” can He “fulfill all your desires for goodness and complete all that you have been doing through faith.” But we must cooperate with His grace at work in us by a deepening prayer life and ongoing formation in the faith. Without a life of discipleship, we cannot glorify Him. Unless He lives in us, He cannot work in and through us.
For those who have not yet returned to the Lord, or allowed the Lord to come to our hearts, we must follow the determination of Zacchaeus in making room for Christ to enter, and not allow any obstacles to prevent us from meeting the Lord. Open your heart to the Lord and He will come to dine with you. The “today” that Jesus said to Zacchaeus, when “salvation has come to this house” is still valid for us. Salvation is ours if we too will quickly come down from the tree of pride and receive Jesus into our hearts. If we receive Him with delight and enthusiasm, He will make His home in us with the Father in the Holy Spirit, especially when we receive Him at the table of the Lord in the Eucharist. This is the coming which will take place today; not the vain speculation about His Final coming that St Paul warned the Thessalonians “not to get excited too soon or alarmed.” That He is here with us in our hearts now, gives us a foretaste of eternity with Him.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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