Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious—Memorial Gospel: Luke 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 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.”
Reflection:
Conversion of Our Hearts
Zacchaeus was a tax collector and, therefore, was not respected by the people. There is little doubt that this would have affected Zacchaeus and been a temptation for him to see himself as unworthy of Jesus’ compassion. But Jesus came precisely for the sinner. Therefore, truth be told, Zacchaeus was the perfect “candidate” for the mercy and compassion of Jesus. The forgiveness and acceptance of Zacchaeus by Jesus brought him to conversion.
We are all like Zacchaeus who is a sinner and yet God’s compassion is far more powerful than we could imagine. Lord, help us to conquer our sins through your mercy and compassion. Through your loving presence, may we attain our conversion for your Kingdom.
