Homily

I hope you can sense it in Luke's Gospel story, that enthusiasm, that joy, that sense of urgent happiness and freedom when Zacchaeus detaches himself from the bondage of his own style of salvation, from his handcuffs that chained him to what he thought would save his life and bring him peace. In a moment of great clarity, he finds his freedom by putting his faith in Christ. He no longer fears that he has to save himself and his family. His saving freedom has come to stay in his house today.

To his credit, Zacchaeus was very excited when he heard Jesus was coming to town, so excited he didn't care if anyone made fun of him, he was going to climb up a tree so he could see Him. Then, there was a sense of great joy when Jesus says he will stay in his house and dine with him, right there in front of all Zacchaeus’s critics and enemies. And Jesus’s invitation seems to cause this tax collector to have a conversion experience. What a great day for Zacchaeus! But what about after that? What about the next day after Jesus has gone? And what about all the days following that one? Did Zacchaeus' new-found faith stay with him? Did he eventually lose it and drift back to his old ways, or did he continue to grow in the love of the Lord?

When you think of relationships between people, it is easier to pick out some big, important days and events that mark the growth of that relationship. For example, in marriage there is the day of proposal, the wedding day, the buying of a house, the birth or adoption of children, special anniversaries or other times or occasions that can give a boost to the relationship and bring husband and wife closer together. While those days and events can be very important in married life, the real glue of love that binds husband and wife closer and closer to one another is what they choose to do to, and for one another on all the other, regular, ordinary days. It's the love, sacrifice, care and attention that they offer one another after the wedding day, and in between all the other special and important days that follow – that is what builds up matrimonial love, or, if it is not there, its absence can break a marriage apart.

It's the love that husbands and wives are willing to give to each other on all the regular, ordinary, even boring, normal, or even depressing days that they share with each other which create an ever-stronger bond between them.

Great events, special days, happy occasions for celebration are all helpful and useful in supporting a marriage, but it is really what a couple does, and how a couple loves each other on all the other days that will bring them closer together, or not. It is the regular faithfulness to love that truly matters.

The same principle holds true in our relationship with Christ. We may have had conversion experiences, or special times in our lives when we felt very close to the Lord. There are certain special holy days like Easter or Christmas that might touch us with a sense of God's grace. There might be sacramental moments, in confession, or at a baptism, or being anointed in the hospital where we find the presence of Christ to be ever closer to us, or maybe at certain times when we are praying. And all those times are good and important, and helpful to us. But just as in marriage, our relationship with Jesus grows, or weakens, with what we do, and how we act on all those other, regular, ordinary days that build up our union with Him or weaken it. How faithful are we in talking to Him, listening to Him, paying attention to Him, living in His truth, asking for His grace and putting ourselves into His care as we continue to strip off our self-centeredness so that He might fill that place within our lives?

There are countless numbers of couples living together today who want to enjoy some of the benefits of married life without the blessing of marriage. And as long as they remain in that state, they are setting a limit on how much they are willing to sacrifice and give of themselves to each other. We can also set our limits with the Savior in a similar way, choosing how much we are willing to give of ourselves to Him, because, as Zacchaeus did, we are in the business of trying to save ourselves, protect ourselves, find our own path to happiness without the Lord. And how foolish is that way of thinking when we know He will never abandon us or do us harm, but only save us? Yet, so many times there we are. Jesus wants to come to our house and stay with us, but we are too busy saving ourselves, too busy looking for peace and contentment to spend that time with Him, to listen to Him, to do as He asks, and we are afraid of what will happen if we totally trust Him. He wants to bring us freedom and peace, but we are often afraid to trust Him.

We don't know how Zacchaeus lived after that one blessed day we read about in the Gospel. He was so excited that Jesus had called him by name, but did he continue to follow the Lord? I’m thinking he did. In any case, we do know that Jesus has also called us to have Him as a guest in this, our house. And it's on the ordinary, average, typical days like today when we choose how close we wish Him to be with us and how faithfully we choose to love and serve Him. Let us call on the Lord today.