Brian’s Reflection: The Weekend, Sat, Oct 31, 2010

A man was there named Zacchaeus;
he was a chief tax collector and was rich.
He was trying to see who Jesus was.

Luke 19 [ the Gospel for Proper 26, Year C RCL
October 31, 2010 ]


Here is where you find the full Gospel reading for Sunday, Oct 31: http://www.io.com/~kellywp/YearC_RCL/Pentecost/CProp26_RCL.html

Aren’t we all, aren’t we all! In some form or other, certainly every Christian and I think in a fundamental way all human beings are “trying to see” Who the Christ is. There is a Zacchaeus in every one of us.

We are all often alienated from our true Selves – hence we are all “chief tax collector” and “rich”. In Jesus’ public rhetoric, you couldn’t get further from God. But of course we know that Jesus thought no one any “worse” than anyone else in God’s heart. Though, most of us have real work to do in moving from alienation to intimacy with the Mystery of God. Or, to put it another way, a long way to go to become our True Selves.

I’ve spent my Life trying to see “who Jesus was” ….. and therefore who I was!

Before he met and became a friend of Jesus, Zacchaeus had no compassion, no empathy, no sense of connection with those who were the victim of his alienation from his fellow human beings and therefore from his greed and from the cold avarice that flowed from it. After he met Jesus – Who of course knew Zacchaeus to the core, as we surmise God does us all – Zacchaeus became “as Christ”: grateful, just, generous, self-aware. And he was liberated from a withered Humanity. {Republicans take note.}

We need to climb that tree every day, my sisters and brothers!

Brian+