Gospel

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In our state Tamil Nadu welcoming guests is an ancient virtue. They always wait for guests. They consider the day a lucky one if some guest visits their house. Indians deify guests. But nowadays, in most of the cases, no one is pleased to receive guests who arrive uninvited and overstay.

Jesus, the guest invited and uninvited

We find Jesus coolly entering people’s homes, invited or otherwise. When invited, he enjoys meals cooked by Peter’s mother-in-law or Martha of Bethany. Pharisee Simon invited him to his house to show his pride. The simple people of the Samaritan village Sychar invited Jesus to stay with them for a few days and he stayed with them for two days. However, when Jesus enters into a house uninvited, things change drastically. This is what happened when Jesus told Zaccheus, “Come down! Hurry, because I must stay in your house today!”

A sudden surprise to a tax collector

Jericho was a big city and there was a lot of money floating around. Zaccheus, being Jericho’s ‘senior tax collector and a wealthy man,’ was all the more hated because that money was not his. Everyone knew that tax collectors sucked taxes in excess of what the Roman authorities demanded. And all excess money was pocketed as profit. In short, Zaccheus was a cheat and a robber who no sane Jew would befriend.

Being short, Zaccheus was searching for means to look at Jesus closely. He was so curious that he did not mind about his stature. What did he expect from Jesus? But something in him may be his one tiny spark of goodness, pushed him towards Jesus. There was a flash in him! Immediately he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree. There should have been a commotion in the heart of the Good Shepherd. He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, come down quickly for I must stay at your house today.” So Zaccheus hurried down and received him joyfully. (Luke 19: 4-6)

A sudden rejoice of heaven

Jesus should have been more joyful to embrace this lost sheep. At the conversion of Zaccheus, “there should have been great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents!”(Luke 15:7)

A drama of divine salvation

By entering Zaccheus’ house, Jesus dramatizes the coming of divine salvation. “Today, salvation has come to this house!” It means the conversion of the whole family. Jesus entered his house and transformed him and all the members of the family. He enabled the whole family to taste the love of God.

Jesus knocking at our doors

Jesus says, “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come into you and eat with you, and you with me.”(Rev. 3:20) Jesus comes to us in many ways (1) through the word in the Bible, (2) through the Holy Eucharist in the form of bread and (3) through the neighbor in the ‘least’ of society. He is ready to come in. But the choice is ours-to let him in or reject him!

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