GOSPEL – according to Saint Luke 19, 1-10
During that time,
1 entered the city of Jericho, Jesus passed through it.
2 Now there was a man named Zacchaeus;
he was the leader of the tax collectors,
and he was a rich person.
3 He was trying to find out who Jesus was,
but he couldn’t because of the crowd,
because he was short.
4 So he ran ahead
and climbed a sycamore tree
to see Jesus who was going to pass by.
5 Arrived at this place,
Jesus looked up and said to him:
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly:
today I must go and stay at your house. »
6 Quickly he came down,
and received Jesus with joy.
7 Seeing this, all complained:
“He went to stay with a man who is a sinner. »
8 Zacchaeus stood up and spoke to the Lord:
“Behold, Lord:
I donate half of my wealth to the poor,
and if I have wronged someone,
I will pay him four times as much. »
9 Then Jesus said of him:
“Today salvation has come to this house,
for he too is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of man came to seek and to save
what was lost. »
ZACHEUS, THE PUBLICAN
A few lines before, Jesus had this terrible sentence: “Yes, it is easier for a camel to enter through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. (Lk 18:25). So his listeners immediately asked him the question that comes spontaneously to our lips: “But then, who can be saved? And Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” The story of Zacchaeus comes to bring us the proof of this.
Jericho is, it seems, the lowest city in the world, at less than three hundred meters above sea level: in the Jordan Valley, a little north of the Dead Sea; from there to Jerusalem, there are thirty-five kilometers of ascent in a superb desert landscape. That day, Jericho was noisy, people were in the street to watch the Prophet and the little band of disciples who followed him; so there was the crowd, Jesus … and this Zacchaeus perched in the sycamore; Zacchaeus the publican, responsible for taxes, which meant for everyone that he was both a collaborator with the enemy, the Roman occupier, and suspected of happily stealing from his compatriots. It is precisely to him, Zacchaeus, that Jesus invites himself; Luke tells us that the crowd is horrified that Jesus is going to eat with a sinner; but these people are logical: according to Jewish law, one must not consort with the impure, yet Zacchaeus is rendered impure by the sole fact of his contact with the Romans who are pagans. If Jesus was really the Prophet it is claimed, he would respect the Law. But it is the logic of men and once again Scripture shows us that God’s logic is not ours.
Zacchaeus, therefore, receives Jesus with joy, Luke tells us, and things could have ended there; but then something happens: “Zacchaeus, standing up, spoke to the Lord: Behold, Lord…” Let’s stop there: Zacchaeus has just recognized Jesus as the Lord… and that is being saved. The change in behavior of Zacchaeus will only come afterwards, it will be the logical, obvious consequence. Salvation is first of all Jesus recognized and welcomed as the presence of God… A Presence offered to all, but it is the little ones, those who recognize themselves in precarious situations who welcome him.
“Today salvation has come to this house”: there are two words “today” in this passage; first time, Jesus says “Today I must go and stay in your house”; Jesus takes the first step, but Zacchaeus is still quite free: he is certainly not going to refuse to receive the Prophetsince he climbed the sycamore tree to see it…
But this unexpected encounter with Jesus could have remained a simple encounter, which over time would have become a good memory. Zacchaeus could leave it at that. He was free to receive Jesus very politely as a distinguished guest, without committing himself in depth, without it changing anything in his life.
ZACHAEUS, THE SON OF THE PROMISE
He was also free to do something completely different with it, to grasp Jesus’ proposal and make it the day of salvation for him. And, it will have been noticed, it is only when, freely, Zacchaeus announced his decision to change his life that Jesus speaks of salvation; Let’s go back to the text: “Zacchaeus, standing up, spoke to the Lord: Behold, Lord, I am giving to the poor half of my goods, and if I have wronged anyone, I will return them four times more. Then, and only then, Jesus said of him: “Today salvation has come to this house, for he too is a son of Abraham. »
Basically, the lesson is the same as in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector of last Sunday, or in the story of the good thief: Zacchaeus, like the good thief, like the tax collector, is “justified” (according to the word of Jesus about the tax collector), because he has opened his eyes, he told the truth.
When he adds “Zacchaeus is also a son of Abraham”, Jesus is certainly not trying to give us a precision of civil status! He only recalls the promise that binds God forever to the descendants of Abraham: one could translate “son of the promise”: “Today Salvation has come to Zacchaeus, for he too is a son of the promise”. The honest people who were there, scandalized that Jesus frequents this collaborator of Zacchaeus, this dishonest, this sellout… these honest people must not forget that salvation is always offered to everyone because God, he is always faithful to his promise. As Saint Paul says, “If we lack faith, (God,) he remains faithful, for he cannot reject himself.” (2 Tim 2.13). It is the same Luke, moreover, who brings us the Magnificat: “He remembers the promise made to our fathers in favor of Abraham and his race forever” (Lk 1,55).
We find here the double accent that we had already noted in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican: salvation is a “gift”, the publican “is justified” (implying he does not justify himself). But he is not passive for all that: he “is justified” because he accepts the salvation given by God; It’s the same thing here. Salvation is a gift from God, a gift from God; it is not Zacchaeus who is the cause of his salvation, and yet his welcoming attitude is essential for salvation to come “today” for him.
How not to make the connection with the very name of the city of Zacchaeus, Jericho, the first city of the Promised Land conquered by the tribes of Israel; they have always considered this conquest as a gift from God and not as a victory due to their own strength. Definitely, Saint Luke tells us, salvation is always a gift. Jericho is also for Jesus (whose name means God save) the last stage of the ascent to Jerusalem where the salvation of all humanity will be accomplished. Certainly, by choosing to invite himself to Zacchaeus, Jesus is not trying to teach a lesson: he simply reveals who God is, irresistibly attracted by those who are losing themselves.