How to be or become a follower of Jesus Christ in the world and in your situation«Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.»
Reading this Gospel passage, from my personal point of view, I notice that Jesus always responds to those who seek him and firmly desire to meet him, in addition to the fact that Our Lord makes no difference in persons.
I am also very surprised by the fact that Jesus never gives "political" judgments, as we can also read in the case of the Centurion, a man whom he even admires, and in this episode of Zacchaeus too.
Jews despise those who work for the Romans, for example the Samaritans who enlist as auxiliaries in the imperial army, and even more those of their own people who survey the population and collect taxes on behalf of the state - today we would say "the Revenue Agency '.
The Gospel says: Seeing this, everyone murmured: "He went to lodge with a sinner!"
I also noticed that Jesus does not pronounce for Zacchaeus the sentence of absolution that at other times he addressed to the repentant prostitute or the adulteress, and not even to the healed lepers: "Your sins are forgiven" but exclaims "Today salvation has entered this House . .. "
It therefore seems evident that Zacchaeus did not rob and defraud anyone, at least he did not do so intentionally, as indeed neither did Matthew the Publican, who was also judged very badly by his fellow citizens to whom Jesus only said "come and follow me" (Matthew 9.9-13).
Another lesson we learn concerns aspects of our behavior towards others:
- the first is solidarity, especially with the most unfortunate.
Zacchaeus lacks nothing, indeed he is really very rich, and therefore for him this act of generosity is proportionate to the fact that all in all he always remains very rich. Even we who probably live instead a life that is not as rich as that of Zacchaeus, on the contrary, almost always full of financial problems and concerns for family needs, are bound to solidarity according to our means.
Our contribution, which will be such as not to damage our family, which we must not lack anything necessary, and perhaps will be modest, will have the same value as that of Zacchaeus. - the second is honesty. "If I ever defrauded someone ... I'll give back ..."
- the third one id repentance and daily conversion, since we are sinners and liable to make mistakes.
In my personal case when in the morning at breakfast I see the picture of Jesus and Our Lady of Fatima hanging in my dining room - even if I have already thought of them immediately as soon as I wake up - I renew my thanks and the offer of the shares of the day that I am about to take and to face. And during the day's activities I try, like Matthew and Zacchaeus, to put the utmost care into everything I do, to do it well and behave as promised, because I know that He is always with me, He is close to me. I certainly know I can be wrong, and if I realize I have, I do not refuse to acknowledge it, and I apologize to him, promising him that I will do everything possible to make up for it. Just like Zacchaeus.
End of the comment
HISTORICAL NOTE Because on the occasion of a homily on this episode, the preacher concluded, I don't know why, with a mention on the ancient Romans and slavery. In the Gospels the parable of the master and the servants (the slaves) often occurs. For example we find the merciful master who forgives the debt to the cruel servant who instead demands the restitution of money from one of his subordinates (the slaves could own their own goods and also other slaves under the responsibility of the master); and also for example the parable of the talents, where we find situations concerning the servants (the slaves).
I take this opportunity and here I report the translation of a letter from Seneca on the subject (click). This letter contains 21 paragraphs. For those who do not want to read it all, here is the subject of some significant paragraphs:
1 - "Slaves are men, humble friends, fellow slaves"
17- "Make sure you are respected, not feared"
18- "If someone is respected, he is also loved"
21- "Righteousness pleases itself and is steadfast"
IMPORTANT LITERARY REFERENCES INVOLVING SLAVES
Anyone like me, and like the preacher I mentioned above, has read the novel 'Quo vadis', a literary work by the Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz, knows well that due to the scarcity of historical research of the time (1894), it was written some exaggerations on the treatment of slaves.
I also remember The so-called “Dinner of Trimalchione”, a richest freedman, in which some slaves, friends and other freedmen took part. This is the longest surviving episode of the Satyricon (literally "satirical tales"), a novel of Latin literature, written by Petronius Arbiter around the middle of the 1st century AD, during the reign of Emperor Nero (54-68 AD).
Petronius Arbiter, sometimes referred to as Titus Petronius Nigro (in Latin: Gaius Petronius Arbiter; Massilia, 27 - Cuma, 66) had a slave who he loved as a wife and who committed suicide together him by order of the emperor Nero. Nero also had a woman slave named "Atte" whom he was fond of and who it seems he ordered to help him kill himself.
Don't worry ! the mercy of Jesus
is INFINITE
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 19,1-10.
At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."
