31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Notice the determination of Zacchaeus in the Sunday's Gospel reading. His view of Jesus was obstructed, but that didn't stop him from seeing Jesus. He had an obstacle (the crowd) and a handicap (his short stature), but he refused to allow any of this to prevent him from reaching his goal of getting a clear view of Jesus.

In fact, Zacchaeus was so eager to experience Jesus that he did something drastic: He climbed a tree! Maybe he felt embarrassed hanging onto a tree limb; maybe onlookers thought he was odd. Maybe someone tried to talk him down. Maybe the tree was rough and tore his clothes and scratched his skin. None of that stopped him.

The Christian life isn't easy. We all have handicaps — prejudices, misconceptions, bad training, spiritual laziness, fears and doubts, and so on — which obstruct our view of Jesus. We pray for God's help and when our prayers aren't answered quickly enough, we assume that God has abandoned us. Or we fail to love others unconditionally and forgivingly when they repeatedly bring trouble to our lives, and so we assume that Jesus is just as unforgiving toward us.

And when following Jesus means walking through hardships and getting nailed to the cross of someone's rejection or false accusations, we assume that Jesus isn't really there; he's beckoning us to run from the trial and find peace in the easy route.

Instead, we should be like Zacchaeus. We should want to see Jesus fully, as he really is, and we should do everything possible to find a way around the obstacles that interfere with our ability to understand what he's really doing.

Notice that once Zacchaeus climbed the tree, Jesus zeroed in on him and gave him personal attention and affirmation. How did Zacchaeus respond? He QUICKLY descended from the tree and welcomed Jesus with DELIGHT. He had so much enthusiasm that he wanted to quadruple the penance for his sins!

If that kind of reaction to Christ's presence isn't our reaction, we need to climb even higher; our view is still partly obstructed.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

What are you "short" on? What in your faith life is too small? What is crowding your life and obstructing an enthusiastic relationship with Jesus? And how can you overcome this handicap so that you can see Jesus and recognize his nearness and hear his affirmation?

Questions for Family & Community Faith Sharing:

Name some signs of spiritual determination that you've seen in others. Why are we able to see Jesus better when we pray more fervently, sing in Mass more enthusiastically, serve others more eagerly, immerse ourselves in scripture more hungrily, care about others more cheerfully, or donate our treasures more generously?