October 30, 2016

 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time C Wisdom 11:22-12:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Luke 19: 1-10 How do I view the world today? Does there seem to be just too much hurt, violence and selfishness? Am I seeing the good that is counteracting this hurt? How do I view my own country today? With elections nine days away am I worried or am I hopeful? How do I view my family and friends? Do I see their gifts and their love inspiring me to continue on my journey to the Lord? How do I view my role in the world…in our country…among my family and friends? In my Church? Now take a moment , sit back and try to picture God viewing everything that I am. Often we don’t even picture that God is present, but He is. Sometimes the thoughts come that God isn’t doing anything…or isn’t doing what I want Him to do…or even that God is too busy…or God doesn’t care. He is present, always. God cares always. God is helping each and everyone, always. Am I aware of this? The focus of the readings today help each of us in putting on our God glasses. How can I see the world with God’s vision of love, mercy and forgiveness? The Book of Wisdom was written about a hundred years before Jesus. We don’t know whois the author. Most Scholars feel that the author was a member of the Jewish community at Alexandria in Egypt. He wrote in Greek. At times he speaks in the person of Solomon, the ‘wise king’. Why did he write? His community had experienced suffering and oppression many times at the hands of apostate Jews who had renounced their religion. He starts out by including a long list of people who strove to be wise in the ways of God, headed by Moses. The author shows God presence in the wonderful miracles associated with the Exodus especially the miraculous way God fed the Israelites with quail in the Desert. God saved the Israelites on the run and God saves each person. God is always helping. Look how the author describes God’s action: - God has mercy on all, because He can do all things - God loves all He has made - God reminds us of our sinful ways so that we many turn back and believe - God’s power is seen in His acts of mercy. Why is this so? Because God fashioned all the world out of love. - A new title is introduced for God: lover of souls. So often we say, ‘that’s nice’ but I still do things I shouldn’t. I’m just not good enough for God… I’m just not worthy. The bottom line is that no one is worthy. But God created out of love so that each of us can see that we are loved. Imagine that, God loves me right now! Maybe I’m not loving me…maybe the most important person to me isn’t loving me or I’m not noticing it…BUT God is loving me. I remember growing up seeing that all the pictures of God and Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and the innumerable saints had haloes that encircled their heads. The artists said this is their celestial glow, the aura of the glorious presence of God with them, so all could see they were virtuous people. They were holy. They worked hard on their holiness in horrible excruciating times. NOW the same grace God gave them, He gives each of us. Have we ever asked God for the grace to see ourselves as He sees us? He sees our good, He observes our love, He watches us care for those in need, He is so proud of what we do for Him. He is…He is the one who is giving each of us the help that we need to get out of ourselves and give and care. Many days it is a total uphill battle. He’s with us. We can see what God’s help does in today’s Gospel. It is interesting in his Gospel that Luke contrasts someone normally viewed as ‘good’ with one so many would view as ‘bad.’ And even more interesting is the times that Luke switches this around by showing that someone who is ‘bad’ gives a better example than the ‘good’ one: the ‘good’ thief next to Jesus on the cross contrasted with the chief priests and pharisees; the prodigal son came back and is ‘better’ that the ‘good son’ who stayed. Today we have the tax collector, Zacchaeus, who was absolved and redeemed by his encounter with Jesus. Jesus sees him…Jesus sees through him…Jesus sees what is in his heart and that Zacchaeus was so open to put aside his former ways. Jesus does not see us as we see ourselves and He loves us. We need to stay with this reflection! Luke, A Devotional Commentary, Meditations on the Gospel According to Luke states: “As a tax-collecting puppet of the Roman government, and as one who regularly defrauded honest, sincere children of Abraham, Zacchaeus was branded by his fellow Jews as a sinner for whom there was no hope. Imagine how surprised Jesus followers would have been to see Jesus not only talk with Zacchaeus, but invite Himself to this tax collector’s home for dinner. No wonder many of the Pharisees were scandalized. There seemed to be no limit to the kinds of people Jesus would consort with! This is one of the most important points Luke made throughout his gospel. Jesus looks beyond the external appearance, into the heart of every man and woman. There, He sees each person’s need for the love of God. Deep in his heart, Zacchaeus must have cried out: ‘There must be more to life than this!’ He was rich in material goods, but he was lonely and empty of the love that only God could give. How thrilled he must have been to be able to welcome Jesus into his home: He responded by giving half of his belongings to the poor and promising to pay back fourfold anyone whom he had defrauded. Such extravagance went far beyond the requirements of Jewish law. It simply flowed out of a grateful heart. Jesus knows our hearts. He knows our sorrows—for He weeps with us. He knows our joys—for He rejoices with us. God knows everything about us, even our weaknesses. In fact, He uses these weaknesses to draw us to Him. He knows that when we are needy we are more open to accepting God’s love. It is inner weakness that we realize that no matter what we have done, God still loves us, still wants to speak to us. He is always standing at the door of our heart, asking us to let Him in. When we answer Jesus’ invitation and welcome Him into our hearts, we are filled with joy, because only Jesus can fill that deepest part of our being. It is often the very situation that has caused us pain that most opens us up to Jesus: Like Zacchaeus, our desire for Him becomes a desperation to be freed from anything that cuts us off from His presence. ‘Lord Jesus, we invite You into our hearts. Come and fill us with the joy of Your salvation. Grant us the freedom to lay at Your feet every possession or desire that we have considered more precious than You.’” So I reflect on: • Halloween kids hide behind masks…we do that too. God sees us exactly as we are and most importantly who we can be with His help. Do we allow God in? • Through Baptism and Reconciliation our sins are forgiven. How are we changed? • What resolutions do we make to sin no more? What patterns of behavior do we need to address? How can we improve our prayer lives, our spending habits, our words and our actions to live more in harmony with the Gospels and to be found worthy of His calling? • Since God forgives us, are we now more forgiving? Are we more tolerant of another’s mistakes? Do we reach out with mercy toward those who have hurt us?