Repentance Follows Presence
THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:1-2, 8-11, 13-14
Second Reading: 2 Thes 1:11-2:2
Once Jesus visits you, you can't say no because you have found the one who can satisfy your longing. This is what Zacchaeus did in the Gospel this Sunday on the 31st week in Ordinary Time. Jesus journeys to Jericho and intends to pass through a town to meet Zacchaeus, and Zacchaeus, in turn, seeks Jesus. Let us reflect on the movement of the Gospel: Jesus passes through, Zacchaeus seeks Jesus, and Jesus stays at his home.
Jesus passed through the town to seek out Zacchaeus. Our Lord changed his itinerary when he saw Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax collector whom a lot of people hated at that time because of their attitude towards the people. Jesus knows that Zacchaeus is present in that town, and so he passes through to see him. It is the same with us. He wants to pass through you and have a moment with you to find and seek you because He is yours and we are His as if Jesus is saying to us, "I am yours, I want to be with you, and I desire what is best for you." The passing through of Jesus leads us to the second movement of the gospel.
Zacchaeus seeks Jesus to learn more about him. When he hears that Jesus welcomes tax collectors and sinners, he immediately comes to see Jesus. A short-statured tax collector seeks the presence of Jesus after knowing what he had said to the people. Knowing his sin, corruption, and misgivings and knowing the invitation of Jesus to forgiveness, truly opens the heart of Zacchaeus to accept his invitation. This comes from the conversion of Zacchaeus. He knows that he needs mercy from someone who can forgive all his sins. The Gospel is trying to say to us that we need mercy, we need love, and we need to be forgiven, and it is only found in the person of Jesus, who passes through the doors of our hearts and makes His dwelling there. We need Jesus as well because we have also fallen. His conversion brings the full presence of God and conquers all evil.
Jesus wants to stay in his house. Our Lord wants to encounter us the way you are at the present moment. If only we allow the Lord to enter into our souls, he will cleanse and forgive all of our sins and flood them with grace. And that encounter gives him an openness to receive that grace, just as he then received Christ into his home and gave away his wealth. You will not reject Jesus when he comes because you have a true invitation to freedom. When he encounters the presence of Jesus as he enters his house, he can make restitution for all the corruption he has committed by repaying those he has extorted four times over. As if it says to us, we can love our neighbor if we receive the love of God. Repentance follows presence. Once you see Christ, your life will change. Finally, this encounter with Jesus stays with us throughout our lives.
The passing, seeking, and staying of Jesus for us can be summarized in three words: God is love. Once Jesus passes through your life, you can’t help but seek him and just stay with him, for you have already found the real presence of peace that gives us joy and rest in our souls. The conversion of Zacchaeus tells us that repentance follows presence, and true repentance brings the real presence of Christ. And now we have the joy to say to the Lord through all eternity: "I will praise your name forever, my king and my God."
