Luke 19: 1-10
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Overwhelmed by Jesus
When the Los Angeles Dodgers played in Chicago earlier this year, I knew I had to see Shohei Ohtani, arguably the greatest player ever. I saved up and bought a good seat to see him up close. Retelling this story, a student exclaimed, "You were like Zaccheus!" She was right, I was fascinated and star-struck, knowing I had to see him in person. Now imagine my utter shock if at this game Ohtani saw me in the stands of thousands and said, "Ben, I want to play catch with you today.” But this is precisely what Jesus does in today's Gospel with Zaccaeus!
Zacchaeus was a flawed person, like we all are, but nothing in our lives can diminish the joy on Jesus’ face when he gazes at us. What it must have been like for Zacchaeus to see his desire to simply see Jesus be overwhelmed a hundredfold by Jesus’ desire to be with him at his house! This is the reality on offer to us all: that our small, even imperfect, desire to glimpse Jesus would be met with his overwhelming desire to know and transform us.
—Benjamin Rogers, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.
Prayer
Jesus today I desire to see you. Like Zaccheus I have things in my past I wish could be erased and forgotten. Please give me the grace to know that you delight in me, faults and all, and that you smile and abound with joy whenever my gaze shifts toward you. Today, Jesus, please come into my home. Eat with me. Share a conversation with me. Let us revel in the friendship you desire to have with me. Reveal to me the desires of your heart for me and my life and I will reveal to you the deepest longings of my heart. Amen.
—Benjamin Rogers, SJ
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