Encounter with Got- so that He may endow us

Who would count how many people he has met in his life? About one meeting writes St. Luke. Jesus then says to him, “Today salvation has come to this house. … The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost “(Luke 19:10). Jesus takes on sinners when he declares,” I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners “(Mt 9:13). St. Matthew, who was also a customs officer – like Zacchaeus in Jericho, when Jesus said likewise, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). That when he hears that Jesus is coming to Jericho, that he wants to see him at least, and that later behavior shows that was not only led by curiosity, he must have sympathy for the prophet – which Jesus, as God who knows everything, knew. That Zacchaeus climbs a tree because he was a small figure, he is a means to satisfy his curiosity; in fact, he did what was necessary on his part as a human being, and Jesus could have addressed Zacchaeus even if he had not climbed a tree. It is a challenge for us to do what God asks of us. Those who have come to faith in God in similar circumstances say to Christ that what they did, God actually wanted them to do, and gave God consent to address them; there is no chance with God often does not end with one encounter. Jesus knew the customs officers’ view, who they were, their behavior, and why they were hated.

Customs officers were a symbol of dishonesty, arbitrariness, greed, and vengeance. They were people who could get-rich-quick, standing in the service of the enemies of the homeland, who betrayed the nation, the land, and the faith. Whoever wanted to become a customs officer had to know that he was consciously separating himself from God, the country and the homeland, that he would continuously sin against God, the nation and the land, that he had to take on the contempt of all good people, that in Jewish opinion he had to expect eternal hell. The custom’s officer was placed on an equal footing with a usurer, a robber, a murderer, a plunderer, a thief on the road, or a slut. They were people cursed (cf. Johan 7:49). And Jesus calls one of these damned to himself. It was a surprise to the righteous. Jesus knew that even Zacchaeus did not understand. That’s why she wants to spend some time with him. Jesus goes to the house of Zacchaeus.

Director Zeffirelli, in his film “Jesus of Nazareth,” portrayed this scene in a way that he notices the apostle Peter, how much he fights inside; he does not want to enter the house of a public sinner. When Jesus came to the door, he took Peter’s hand in one hand and Zacchaeus’ hand in the other and joined them. Jesus is God, who is “Love.” Zacchaeus matures in his love for God.

How many important days in our lives. How did we work together and respond to the graces they conveyed to us? God also wants our cooperation. We each have our salvation in our hands.