Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jan 06 2025

Scripture Study for

The universal love and providence of the Creator are celebrated in this most unusual reading. Unlike earlier traditions that envision creation as a kind of reordering of cosmic debris after the primordial battle, this passage depicts a Creator who is personally involved with every dimension of the natural world. We find here the same cosmic power, but it is coupled with love and mercy. Just as the power of the Creator is matched by the love of the Creator, so is this love manifested through mercy. God is merciful precisely because God is powerful. Finally, the author claims that the imperishable spirit of God is in all things.

Paul assures his people that though he has been the minister of the word, it is God who called them, and it is Paul’s prayer that they remain worthy of that calling. He states that though they are obliged to live ethical lives, it is the prior grace of God and not the ethical behavior that saves them. He further teaches an “already-but-not-yet” form of eschatology (teachings about the end-times). Though the eschatological day of the Lord is imminent, it is not yet present. Believers must continue to live their lives in patient anticipation of Christ’s coming, realizing that they do so in his presence, for he has already come. The story of Zacchaeus demonstrates Jesus’ mission to seek and to save what is lost. Not only did Zacchaeus belong to the hated class of tax collectors, he was chief among them. This means that he probably benefitted both from the taxes paid and from the fees that tax collectors themselves exacted from the people. The narrative draws bold lines of contrast between Jesus’ attitude toward this man and the scorn of some of the bystanders. Jesus insisted that only those who are lost can be found; only those who are perishing can be saved. Those who revere themselves as righteous seldom understand this, and as a result, miss opportunities for their own salvation.

Dec 12 2024

Seeing Past the Presumptions

Zacchaeus is the only grown man in the New Testament who is described as little in stature. Otherwise, that particular Greek word is used for children. What was it that stunted his growth? Disease? Genetics? Malnutrition? Whatever it was, he was the size of a child.

At first glance, this looks like another of Luke’s “scoundrel conversion” stories. We expect that a chief tax collector is a cheat and a liar. The crowd assumes so, too. Zacchaeus is the rascal who needs conversion.

But that presumption may not be accurate. Look carefully. Jesus never asks Zacchaeus to repent. The little man does not beg for mercy. It is the crowd who calls him “a sinner.” Zacchaeus’s response to their judgment is not in the future tense of “I will repay.” What he actually says is, “I do repay.” This is his continual and customary action. If he finds someone who has been defrauded, he pays them back four times.

As the chief tax collector, could he quietly be rendering justice to the poor when his underlings cheat them? Might Jesus know something about this little man that the crowd does not?

Interestingly, in this cycle of Lectionary readings, we just skipped Luke’s passage about Jesus and the children. The disciples rebuke the people and tell them not to bother Jesus. The Son of Man says, “Let the children come to me.” Jesus likes little people. He loathes nothing that God has made.

This is not a scoundrel story. Jesus doesn’t see a big splotch of sin high above the people. He sees rather a smudge on a face that has been crying. Up in a tree.

The crowd sees a little man who (they believe) is a great sinner. Jesus sees a great man who is a little (bit of a) sinner. Who is being called to conversion here?

Consider/Discuss

We live in a culture that passes judgement by group identity: those “others” are bad people. But sometimes we are wrong. Sometimes we exclude or demean or disrespect others because of assumptions that we have made. What can you and I do to get past that? Whom could we listen to anew, and in charity hear who they really are and what they have to say?
Zacchaeus is pretty bold in wanting to see Jesus. A grown man running? Climbing a tree? Enduring the ridicule of the crowd? That was pretty out of-the-box for a chief tax collector! What could we do this week to be more bold about looking for Jesus?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord, forgive me for the little things that I do. I may excuse myself or laugh them off or pretend that they aren’t important, and be pleased that I am not one of those big sinners like a chief tax collector. But even if I am hiding among a righteous-looking crowd, you see me. You know. In little ways, you nudge me to clean up the smudges in my life. Which of my habits and behaviors do you want me to be converted from? In your mercy, show me. You are so good and gracious. You raise up all those who are small. Please, Jesus, clean up my life, for I want you to come home with me, too.

Dec 12 2024

Scripture Study for

The reading from Wisdom comes from a larger section that rehearses God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt as a demonstration of God’s power and providence (11:2 — 12:27). The notable feature of that deliverance is God’s control of natural forces, which is not surprising considering that God’s “almighty hand . . . had fashioned the universe from formless matter” (11:17). God is indeed master of the entire created world, which is almost nothing when compared to its Creator. Yet this same omnipotent God looks with mercy on all that has been created, giving them time to repent of their sins. Since God is the source of all that is, and nothing exists without God’s constant consent, it stands to reason that there is nothing and no one who exists unless God desires their existence. From this we can see that God hates no creature, in the sense of desiring or being indifferent to their destruction.

In his Second Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul urges them to stand fast in the face of deep social disapproval. The Christian faith does not bring prestige, but mockery, and this can lead to a sense of “unworthiness.” Paul assures his audience that in their steadfast adherence to the faith, they are proving themselves worthy of the call they received from God. This is what they must keep foremost in mind as they struggle to live out their faith. In doing so, the “name of Jesus” is glorified, in the sense that they publicly acknowledge him through words and deeds. They in turn are “glorified” in the truest sense, acknowledged and rewarded by Christ, whose estimation matters infinitely more than society’s. The second part of the reading alludes to some disturbance and confusion in the community that has been caused by a prophetic utterance or perhaps a forged letter from Paul that claims that the parousia has already occurred.

As a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus stood to make a lot of money by contracting with the Romans to collect a certain amount in taxes. He then employed many others to collect the taxes, keeping for himself whatever he received beyond what he owed the Romans. The system was tailor-made for corruption and abuse. This is the main reason tax collectors were “sinners”: they abused others economically and gained whatever wealth they had unjustly. His encounter with Jesus exemplifies why Jesus “welcomes sinners and eats with them,” not because he condoned their behavior but as a way to offer them the opportunity to repent and “be found” (15:1–7). Indeed he does seek and find Zacchaeus, and his self-invitation to stay with him—once again the cause of grumbling—leads precisely to the happy outcome of another sinner no longer lost but found.