As we heard, Jesus was passing through Jericho, never intending to stay there but something prompted him to stop. Zacchaeus, the little man hated by everyone for being the head tax collector, had climbed a tree to see Jesus. Imagine his surprise when Jesus stopped under the tree, looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly for today I must stay at your house.” Realizing that Jesus cared about him, Zacchaeus promised on the spot to give half his possessions to the poor and repay four times over all he had extorted. Seeing the change of heart in him, Jesus stated, “Today salvation has come to this house.”
Have you ever felt like Zacchaeus, small in the sight of God? I think we have at times felt that our sins separated us from God and others, leaving us feeling unloved and rejected. For some people, the experience can be quite painful and devastating. When that happens, we forget the good news we heard in the Book of Wisdom, which reminds us that God loves us unconditionally. “You love things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.” A priest shared a story of a young woman who felt unloved and was unable to grasp that God loved her unconditionally. The phone call came in the middle of the night. Kathy needed to talk to me because she had attempted suicide again and wanted someone to convince her to stop the actual bleeding of her wrist and assuage the desperate psychological hurt she felt. For two hours, I listened to her self-loathing and to the psychological abuse her friends had inflicted on her. For months before this night she had poured out her story to me over many sessions, in person or on the phone. She had been an adopted child; her adoptive parents felt that her real mother was a tramp, so she herself could not be any good.
Her recent husband was really a bigamist and a wife abuser. Though they were separated, he still managed to disrupt her life. Her little girl was autistic and could not respond to her in any positive way. Her acquaintances were either on drugs or were all mixed up themselves. They were often rotten to her; it seemed that every couple of weeks, one of them would take advantage of her in some way. One of them had raped her recently. No wonder she had tried to commit suicide three times. She put no value on her life. She had no self-respect and received very little human love from others. Her painful tale finally wore herself down emotionally.
Then I had a chance to remind her that so much of this unspeakable life was not her doing but was done to her. I tried to assure her of her essential goodness and value. By the end of our conversation, she was only minimally comforted. In the next three years, we talked for more than 400 hours! Slowly, she began to be convinced of her worth as a human being. After she moved away from her companions, she was slowly able to believe in herself and in God’s love for her. Eventually she married a decent man and was able to begin a new life in another state.
At the end of the gospel, Jesus told us, “…The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Scandalizing the crowds, he proceeds to do what they see as unthinkable and invites himself to Zacchaeus’ home. Once he saw that Jesus loved him, Zacchaeus became a different person. So did Kathy in the story I just shared and many others who have come to realize that no matter how they have been treated by others, God loves them unconditionally. They can see that Jesus is indeed seeking them, which prompts them to change their lives and follow him. Only we can destroy our relationship with Jesus by giving up on our faith and not trusting in God’s love for us.
Hopefully you haven’t been victimized as Kathy was, but have you ever destroyed someone’s life by being abusive in some way? Speaking ill of that person with malicious gossip? Being overtly critical of someone for not meeting your expectations? Not seeing the good in that person because of their ethnicity, religion, sex, values or ancestry? If you confess to treating anyone in a non-Christ like manner, then the odds are you yourself are not in touch with God’s unconditional love for you.
Throughout this year of mercy, we have been mindful of the corporal works of mercy. How Jesus treated Zacchaeus reminds me of the Spiritual works of mercy. For starters, Jesus counseled the doubtful. To do that, we are urged to follow Christ so that others may see God’s love revealed in our actions. That priest was open to listening to Kathy. Even if we are not sure of what to say, our presence can make a difference. Hear from them their hunger to be loved. Forgive injuries. To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable in others, because Christ has forgiven the inexcusable in us; and we do so by letting go of grudges and apologizing when the need arises. Forgiveness transforms hearts and lives. Kathy carried out another work of mercy: bearing wrongs patiently. Do not be bitter about wrongs done against you. When you are frustrated with someone, step away from the situation, take a deep breath and say the Lord’s Prayer.
If we depend only on human love for our self-love and esteem, we are likely to be let down but if we truly appreciate who Jesus is and his message, then, like Zacchaeus, we are apt to be merciful to others like the Father is to us.