As we listen to or watch the news, we may become very disenchanted and negative in our view of the world. It is not uncommon to hear people say, "The world is going to hell in a hand basket," or "God must be getting very angry with us when He sees all that is going on." Our Scripture readings today give us an insight into how God views His creation, as imperfect as we are.
Our first reading from the Book of Wisdom may surprise us when the author writes speaking to God: "You love all things and loathe nothing that you have made, for what you hated, you would not have fashioned." In other words, "God don't make no junk," to quote some unknown but profound armchair theologian. The author of the Book of Wisdom must have been thinking of the story of creation in which God looked at His creation and "saw that it was good." God creates only what is good; it is man or woman that creates what is bad. That's what Adam and Eve did when they used their gift of free will to go against God. And yet God did not condemn His creation. He immediately promised to redeem it one day.
But how does God deal with the junk Adam and Eve created and that that we continue to create in our lives by our own sinfulness? The author of Wisdom tells us, ""But you spare all things, because they are yours, O Lord, lover of souls." You see, God loves His creation and all that is in it. He is patient and merciful—"Therefore, you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord." This is our God—loving, compassionate, forgiving and merciful! A God of unconditional love.
Zacchaeus is a wonderful example of what the author of Wisdom is talking about today. Zacchaeus is a tax collector and we all know about how they operated and how their Jewish brothers and sisters regarded them. Zacchaeus was not only a tax collector; he was a chief tax collector which allowed him to cheat twice over. Lots of junk in this guy's life. Yet something about Jesus attracted him to go and see Him. But he had one one problem—he was short and he couldn't see Jesus because of the large crowd. So he climbed a tree to see Jesus better and low and behold doesn't Jesus look up at him and very pointedly invites himself to Zacchaeus's hose for dinner.
You see, God created Zacchaeus and knew that in his heart he was searching for the truth and for integrity. Did you notice how the others grumbled and passed judgment on Zacchaeus when they heard Jesus invite himself to dinner with a sinner? As the first reading stated, "You have mercy on all...and you overlook people's sins that they may repent." And indeed did Zacchaeus repent—he offered to repay restitution to those he cheated well over the required amount. Ironically, it appeared Jesus was inviting Himself into the home of Zacchaeus but in reality, He was inviting Zacchaeus into His own Sacred Heart, the heart of love, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy.
And that, my good people, is the message of today's Scriptures. Jesus loves each and every one of us personally, not as a group ,but uniquely as individuals. He is willing to forgive us for whatever junk we have created in our lives because we are not junk ourselves. We have been created in the image of God. We are very sacred to Him. He simply asks us to repent and accept His love: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has planned for those who love Him."
Zacchaeus was drawn to Jesus by God's grace and he responded with love and repentance because he trusted in what Jesus could offer him. That is all God asks of us as well.
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has spoken and written much on the mercy of God since his election as pope. I would like to read a short section of one of the homilies he gave last March. His remarks echo the meaning of today's Scripture readings.:
"It is not easy to entrust oneself to God's mercy, because it is an abyss beyond our comprehension. But we must! ... "Oh, I am a great sinner!" "All the better! Go to Jesus: he likes you to tell him these things!" He forgets, he has a very special capacity for forgetting. He forgets, he kisses you, he embraces you and he simply says to you: "Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more" (Jn 8:11). — Homily on March 17, 2013
That is exactly what Jesus did for Zacchaeus in today's Gospel; Zacchaeus trusted himself to the mercy of Jesus and salvation came to him. Jesus will do the same for us. He extends his mercy to us explicitly in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
My good people, today and at every Eucharist, we meet the loving, compassionate and merciful Jesus, as we become one with Him in Holy Communion. We don't have to climb a tree to see Him. We are in HIS house and He will come into our hearts in just a few moments. I would leave us with this question to think about, then. What do WE have to say to him today when He comes?
Comments
ClairePosted on 10/13/14
Will I have to work on Saturdays? http://www.justicanostrilhos.org/online-pharmacy-uk-proscar buy generic proscar online The mob's pervasive influence is even complicating one of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic-revitalization plans to legalise casinos in a legalizebid to ramp up tourism revenue. The plan includes creating a Las Vegas-style regulator to try to shut out the mob, according to a draft reviewed by Reuters last week.
freemanPosted on 10/13/14
Could you tell me my balance, please? http://www.justicanostrilhos.org/online-pharmacy-uk-proscar purchase finasteride The violence in the rugged region about 665 km (410 miles) from the commercial capital, Yangon, shows how far anti-Muslim anger has spread in the Buddhist-dominated country following spasms of unrest in northeastern Lashio in May, central Meikhtila in March and western Rakhine State last year.
ColinPosted on 10/13/14
How many days will it take for the cheque to clear? http://www.justicanostrilhos.org/buy-cheap-suhagra buy suhagra In a statement, Mr Poots said: "This couple have my deepest sympathy. This is an extremely traumatic time for them and I want to be assured that they are receiving all the support and care that they need.
AutumnPosted on 10/13/14
How long have you lived here? http://dubaioto.com/?page_id=doxycycline-100 doxycycline order Since then the sisters have opened a children’s store, Petit Aimé, next to the original shop, and this year they opened a second branch of Aimé, in Shoreditch. The style of these shops – soft grey hues, washed linens, monochromatic encaustic tiles – is echoed in the semi-detached Victorian home that Margulies shares with her husband, Edward Margulies (who is currently taking a sabbatical from his family’s watch business) and their two children, Samuel, six, and Inès, eight months.
AutumnPosted on 10/13/14
What do you study? http://cgperformance.co.uk/?page_id=fosamax-70-mg-daily alendronate cost His copy was graded as 6.5 on a scale of 10. A mint-condition copy would have sold for much more. But heâÂÂs happy, and says the sale will help cover the catering costs for daughter JaneâÂÂs reception.
SarahPosted on 10/13/14
Excellent work, Nice Design http://www.justicanostrilhos.org/buy-valtrex-500mg order valtrex Other research has shown that dogs yawn along with their owners, but it wasn't clear if this behaviour was to reduce stress or if the dogs were really emphatic with humans. The study showed that the heartbeat of the dogs didn't change when they yawned in response to their owners' yawns, which shows it wasn't a distress response.
kidrockPosted on 10/13/14
I'm not interested in football http://cgperformance.co.uk/?page_id=fosamax-70-mg-daily cheap fosamax Confidenti@l broke the news last week that celebrity writer Leza Ghorbani admitted she hooked up with the mop-top mod after interviewing him in 2010 and continued a relationship that ended after their love child was born earlier this year.
AndreaPosted on 10/13/14
Get a job http://cgperformance.co.uk/?page_id=fosamax-70-mg-daily fosamax alendronate Nursing leaders said the rising number of complaints was "worrying" and called on the Government to find new ways of delivering healthcare which would better suit the public, such as a strengthening of out-of-hours care.
AshleyPosted on 10/13/14
I'm interested in http://www.thegreenhouse.co.uk/suhagra-100/ cheap suhagra The 2008 Republican presidential nominee, the man Obama beat, is now engaged in talks with a half-dozen fellow Senate Republicans and the White House aimed at trying to craft a bargain on critical fiscal issues to avoid a nasty standoff in the fall that could lead to a government shutdown or a government default, or both.
ZacharyPosted on 10/13/14
I'm a member of a gym http://www.justicanostrilhos.org/buy-valtrex-500mg 500 mg valtrex "Our research shows that the majority of people still want to jot things down in an analog form.," Singh added. But they're obviously using lots of devices as well, and we think this bridges the gap."
SydneyPosted on 10/13/14
What part of do you come from? http://cgperformance.co.uk/?page_id=what-is-prilosec-used-for prilosec otc 20.6 mg The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) revealed in its annual report yesterday that it had been fiddled out of £1.446 million through what it said was “the diversion of a supplier payment”.
WyattPosted on 10/13/14
Until August http://www.thegreenhouse.co.uk/suhagra-100/ suhagra 100 cipla He said that the speed would be important for cutting journey times by an hour to Manchester and Leeds, “but 20 minutes off the journey to Birmingham is almost irrelevant”. He said in an interview that the argument “should always have been about capacity”.
JulianPosted on 10/13/14
Could you please repeat that? http://cgperformance.co.uk/?page_id=what-is-prilosec-used-for omeprazole online pharmacy On Sunday night, authorities found the body of Hannah's mother â 44-year-old Christina Anderson â when they extinguished flames at DiMaggio's rural home. A child's body also was discovered as they sifted through rubble in Boulevard, a tiny town 65 miles east of San Diego.
SavannahPosted on 10/13/14
I'm a member of a gym http://www.justicanostrilhos.org/micardis-alternatives buy micardis hct Having recently resigned from the front bench, I cannot be accused of trying to curry favour with the man I voted against in 2010. I say all this for one reason only: it's true. The kind of steel within Ed Miliband is what the Tories needed nearly 40 years ago and it's what our party needed in 2010. We still need it today. And by 2015 we’ll need it more than ever.
AbigailPosted on 10/13/14
Gloomy tales http://www.justicanostrilhos.org/buy-bimatoprost-ophthalmic-solution buy cheap bimatoprost On October 17, 1973, OPEC announced an oil embargo against the United States and any other country that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War. That use of oil as a diplomatic weapon has driven an American yearning for disengagement from the Middle East and its problems ever since.
MariaPosted on 10/13/14
Will I have to work on Saturdays? http://www.thegreenhouse.co.uk/order-elimite/ buy permethrin spray “This has been a strong month overall,” said Don Williams, national head of retail and wholesale at BDO. “This time last year, the feel-good factor came from the Olympics. This year it is being prompted by the change in tone in the media and consumers being less fearful of imminent restructurings and redundancy. There is no doubt confidence is returning slowly.”
getjoyPosted on 10/13/14
Another service? http://bridgesventures.com/silagra-tablets/ buy silagra So I’m with Levine on this one: so far at least, Basel III seems to be working in an almost optimal manner. We’re used to a world where the only way you can achieve growth is through leverage — and we learned, with extreme pain, that leverage is a very dangerous thing. This recovery, by contrast, is not being driven by leverage. And that is surely a good thing.
ValeriaPosted on 10/13/14
Sorry, I ran out of credit http://cgperformance.co.uk/?page_id=buy-atrovent purchase atrovent "We may be able to go less than 2 seconds. I don't see zeroin the offing at the moment," he said, adding that the data isreleased in the USDA lockup in Washington, D.C., but posted byservers in Kansas City.
EthanPosted on 10/13/14
I'd like some euros http://bridgesventures.com/purchase-femara-online/ femara online Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Duff McDonald, author of âÂÂThe Firm,â examines the state of Microsoft as it searches for a new CEO, the role of consultants in business and whether Ford CEO Alan Mulally would be the best choice to lead Microsoft. He speaks on Bloomberg TelevisionâÂÂs âÂÂBloomberg Surveillance.âÂÂ
CameronPosted on 10/13/14
Please call back later http://cgperformance.co.uk/?page_id=buy-atrovent order atrovent She said that these two drugs "could potentially anchor a totally new drug combination regimen to treat all forms of active TB disease". Dr Nacy added that "we will pursue development of sutezolid under its own New Drug Application, and also plan for combination studies in subsequent clinical trials".
Comments are closed for this post.