Scripture Reflections for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Who is it that we choose to see or not to see along our ways in these times? Who is wrongly pre-judged? What expectations do we hold? Into whose environment would we refuse to go? Who do we fear and to whom are we a source of fear?”

“Our faith is not just that Jesus tells us what to do or how to live, but that in seeing him we pass beyond the old way of seeing, in which we are the centre of all things, to the real world where God is the true centre, the alpha and the omega”

“the extraordinary thing is that Zacchaeus repented without any word of rebuke from Jesus. All Jesus asked was that Zacchaeus come down from the tree so that he could get things ready for him to stay. It was not that Zacchaeus was looking at Jesus: it was that Jesus was looking at Zacchaeus.”

“Jesus is not sharing his stature, he's giving it away. He is losing stature by associating himself with Zacchaeus. He gives away his own stature and it gives Zacchaeus a chance to show himself to be someone people didn't think he was capable of being.”

“Jesus' gaze goes beyond sins and prejudices. He sees the person through the eyes of God who does not stop at past faults but sees the future good.”

“All Jesus needs is the smallest move on our part. He always respects our freedom. This is never a game of coercion but, but he is ready to pounce the minute we are ready to open ourselves to him.”

“Salvation from sin never comes from our own efforts. Oh, grace can prompt it, sure, it takes some steps to get close to Christ but salvation never comes through our efforts.”

“What moments of mutuality there must have been between Jesus and Zacchaeus in that pause! Seeing and being seen invites relationally, response and responsibility.”

“if we are going to speak to others of the forgiveness of God, let us first do what Zachaeus did, and ensure that we have made all things right with those we have wronged”

“A convert is someone who has had an experience of God that brings him/her closer to matching his/her own thoughts, feelings, desires, and life choices with who God is and what God says. Conversion is mostly a daily process.”

“The salvation Jesus proclaims is the coming of God’s Kingdom: the Kingdom in which we share in God’s merciful love for the world. The more we grow in God’s love the greater our love and concern for the world becomes.”

“Jesus will not return back to ‘Jericho’ to meet Zacchaeus again. He got the chance and he used it. Let us not postpone our own hour of meeting with the Lord. It could be our last opportunity.”

“Zacchaeus is saved not by his wealth, nor by any earthly commodity, but through being loved by Christ and by his love for others. These bring a peace and lasting joy that no earthly fortune can obtain.”

“God reveals Himself to us, and reveals who we are, little by little. He shapes us, and transforms us, just as he transforms rock, patiently, sometimes with consistent pressure, other times with abrupt movements, or intense heat – all over a period of time...If we let Him, He can shape us in our lifetime.”

“The visit of the Lord to the house of Zacchaeus is a vignette, a little picture, that illustrates for us the will of God to enter into the flaws of his creation and transform them from within”

“Zacchaeus’ instinct to climb a tree in order to see Jesus was a good purpose. We cannot, after all, orientate our lives to Christ unless we can see what we are aiming at. But we must remember, whilst Zacchaeus thought he was seeking Jesus, in fact Jesus was seeking Zacchaeus”

“Perhaps what we need is to escape from the noise and bustle of the crowd, find a quiet spot, perhaps up a tree, and there in the stillness of our heart listen to that call which comes from God: ‘I must stay with you tonight.’ Perhaps then, just perhaps, we too might come to believe it.”

“Zacchaeus climbed a tree seeking a glimpse of Jesus, but all along it was Jesus who was seeking him. He tells the little guy to come down, for it is he, the Lord Jesus, who will climb a tree to save not just Zacchaeus, but all sinners.”

“But all God needs is one little spark of interest and his infinite desire for you is expressed”

“It's not because he was repentant that Jesus loved him, no, Jesus loved him and therefore he became repentant”

“Never in the bible does God impose himself on our freedom, rather from Adam and Eve on, human freedom is always consistently respected. Christ is among us, yes, even in Jericho but he's passing through. Meaning we have an opportunity to give our lives to him and we better take it.”