By Melanie Rigney
When he was about to
die under the blows, (Eleazar) groaned and said: “The Lord in his holy
knowledge knows full well that, although I could have escaped death, I am not
only enduring terrible pain in my body from this scourging, but also suffering
it with joy in my soul because of my devotion to him.” (2 Maccabees 6:30)
The
Lord upholds me. (Psalm 3:6b)
When
he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him
with joy. When (the crowd) saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has
gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” (Luke 19:5-7)
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| By William Hole [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. |
Piety
Jesus, I open my home, humble as it may be, and heart and
soul, soiled as they may be, to You.
Study
Imagine it:
Someone you respect greatly, a humanitarian, perhaps, or an esteemed educator
or innovator. Maybe it’s even a politician. And there you are in the crowd,
just trying to catch a glimpse of this person when he or she not only calls you
by name… but invites himself or herself into your home at that very moment.
What do you
do? Demur because you know there are newspapers and magazines scattered about?
Ask if the person can meet you there in a few hours so you can stop at the
store and pick up a few groceries? Offer to take the person to a restaurant
instead?
These options
appear to have never crossed the mind of Zacchaeus. Maybe it was because he was
a chief tax collector and a wealthy man and knew his home would be in order. Or
maybe, just maybe, it was because he knew not of that mattered. He was simply
delighted to have the opportunity to spend time with Jesus. May our response be
the same when the Lord says He must have time with us.
Action
The
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual fall general assembly continues
through Thursday in Baltimore. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to guide their
discernments.
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