“was seeking to see who Jesus was” and “received him with joy”
In today’s Gospel Zacchaeus was “seeking to see” and “received with joy”. He sought Jesus and received Jesus.
What occurred in his seeking and receiving the person of Christ? First, Jesus comes to stay with him. This means as Jesus says in the Gospel “salvation has come”. When Jesus comes to stay with us, salvation has come to stay with us. The prophet Simon expresses this when he says, “Lord, now You let Your servant go in peace; Your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which You have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal You to the nations and the glory of Your people Israel.”[i] This Gospel Canticle is prayed each night by the Church at Compline (Night Prayer) so that we too may remind our self of the fact that if we see and receive Christ each day, we have seen and received salvation! Second, Zacchaeus has a conversion. He is willing to give half of his possessions on the spot to Jesus and then four times the amount of anything he has extorted.
“Jesus calls to conversion. This call is an essential part of the proclamation of the kingdom: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.” In the Church’s preaching this call is addressed first to those who do not yet know Christ and his Gospel. Also, Baptism is the principal place for the first and fundamental conversion. It is by faith in the Gospel and by Baptism that one renounces evil and gains salvation, that is, the forgiveness of all sins and the gift of new life.[ii]
The primary proclamation of the Church is Jesus Christ. Holy Father, Pope Francis spoke of the purpose and necessity of this primary proclamation and what flows out of it.
“A beautiful homily, a genuine sermon must begin with the first proclamation, with the proclamation of salvation. There is nothing more solid, deep and sure than this proclamation. Then you have to do catechesis. Then you can draw even a moral consequence. But the proclamation of the saving love of God comes before moral and religious imperatives. Today sometimes it seems that the opposite order is prevailing. The homily is the touchstone to measure the pastor’s proximity and ability to meet his people, because those who preach must recognize the heart of their community and must be able to see where the desire for God is lively and ardent. The message of the Gospel, therefore, is not to be reduced to some aspects that, although relevant, on their own do not show the heart of the message of Jesus Christ.”[iii]
The Holy Father lays out three steps:
Step 1 – Proclamation of Jesus Christ
The Church does not proclaim an idea or philosophy, the Church proclaims a person. What the Church proclaims is solid, deep, and sure. What is this proclamation that is solid, deep, and sure? Jesus Christ, who is God is solid, deep, and sure so therefore the proclamation is solid, deep, and sure as well. This proclamation is in stark contrast to the world, which is often shaky at best, shallow, and unsure or changing. The primary proclamation is a conversation and encounter between shaky, shallow, and changing humanity and a solid, deep, and unchanging God. We fall in love with the person of Christ. We are attracted and long for what is solid, deep, and sure. When we are in love we want to know more.
Step 2 – You have to do Catechesis
If the person (Jesus Christ) whom is proclaimed is solid, deep, and sure, so too are the teachings of this person. The teachings come from the teacher. If we know the teacher, we will desire to know the teachings. If we love the teacher, we will love the teachings. In the Act of Faith we pray, “O my God, I firmly believe that You are one God in three divine persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe that Your divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the holy catholic Church teaches, because in revealing them you can neither deceive nor be deceived.” We believe all the truths of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, because we believe the one teaching those truths – Jesus Christ. The Holy Father uses the words, “you have to do” in reference to Catechesis. Why is it that we “have to do” catechesis or instruction? Why do we have to transmit the teachings of Christ, the doctrines of the Church? What occurs if we only make the primary proclamation of Jesus, isn’t that enough? When we are attracted to a person, we want to “know” more. This “knowing” is important to the relationship. Once we have encountered the person of Christ, we want to know more, and therefore there is the need to catechize – to teach. If we love, we know why we love. For example if I love my wife and someone asks, “Why do you love your wife?” I can begin to tell or teach the person why I love why wife. If we love a sport, we can tell or teach a person the facts, the tangible elements of that sport. If we love Jesus and a person asks why, we should not just say, “because”. We know, what we love. If catechesis is not taught, the person of Christ becomes arbitrary, up to the individual, in other words Jesus because what I want Him to be, rather than what He really is.
Step 3 – You can draw moral consequence
A consequence is by definition something that happens as a result of a particular action or set of conditions. What happens, what is the result, when we fall in love with the person of Jesus and truly know His teachings? There is a moral consequence, a change, and a conversion. The moral consequence of the proclamation of the Gospel and catechesis is that life changes. Hopefully the consequence is a life that rejects evil, and pursues good. The Holy Father uses the words, “you can draw”. In the area of catechesis, the Holy Father says, “you have to do” and in this step he says, “you can draw”. The moral consequence or conversion of life should naturally flow, if the proclamation and catechesis are done well. We see this in the Gospels. Zacchaeus converts he wants to change his ways. We remember the woman caught in adultery. She first encounters the person of Christ. He enters into a conversation with her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”[iv] In this small conversation, this proclamation, the woman is taught about the mercy of God, that Jesus comes not to condemn but to save. Jesus does choose to draw a moral consequence when he says, “Go, and sin no more.” This same pattern of proclamation, catechesis, and moral consequence occurs in every encounter with Christ. When the rich young man encounters Christ, there is first a conversation. The man says, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?”[v] The questions lead to a teaching on the commandments and what is necessary for eternal life. After the proclamation and teachings there is a moral consequence, “sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The moral consequence will not always be positive as it was with Zacchaeus, the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the well, etc. In the case of the Rich Young Ruler all we know is that “when he heard this he became quite sad, for he was very rich.” Was he sad because he need the change he had to make was going to be hard, or was he sad because he would not change? In any case, in every person a moral consequence, positive or negative, follows a true encounter with Christ. “The proposal of the Gospel must be more simple, profound, radiant. It is from this proposition that the moral consequences then flow.”[vi]
Today’s Gospel and the steps proposed by Holy Father Francis mirror what we find in Lectio Divina.
What is Lectio Divina? Lectio Divina simply means divine reading. It is an approach to reading Sacred Scripture. There are four stages: lectio (read), meditatio (meditate), oratio (pray), contemplatio (contemplate). There are many other words that can be used to help us to understand the root of these four steps. We read, reflect, respond, and rest. These for “r’s” are helpful to remember the steps. Lectio Divina has been nicknamed the Monk’s Ladder for it is by these four rungs that the soul aspires toward heaven.
It is good to think of Lectio Divina the way a child would think of exploring. When a child explores in a forest, desert, or creek bed what do they do? They “seek” with the intention of “finding”. When we “go into” scripture, especially the Gospel, we “seek” with the intention of “finding” something or in the case of Jesus, someone.
The first step of lectio, should be done in the spirit of adventure, we expect to find something and will not settle until we do.
The second step of meditatio, is to “find” and what happens when we find something or someone. When we are exploring and find something, we do not simply put it in our pocket without looking and investigating it. We look at every angle with excitement and we even show it with others. We desire to discover to “find out” about what it is we “sought out”. We use our natural reason and find out all we can know. In the case of Lectio Divina we can write down any phrase or word that we find and then ask our self what we can know using our reason about these phrases or words.
The third step of oratio, is to “ask”. When our human reason is exhausted and we have found out all we can find out on our own, we simply ask God to reveal to us what it is that He wishes us to find. This asking can be done in the form of a prayer written down or simply a quite conversation. Using the analogy of the child explorer, we might ask others what they think of our discovering and in asking others we find out something we did not notice. When we ask God in faith, we always find more than we can on our own through reason. In Lectio Divina we use both Faith and Reason.
The fourth step of contemplatio, is to “taste”. We simple want to rest and savor our discovery and what we have learned about that discovery from both reason and faith. To contemplate is to look at, or gaze. In this stage we look at Jesus, we gaze at Him. If Lectio Divina is done in the present of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament we can literally gaze at Him. In this stage the hope is that we can become, what we look at. If we gaze at Christ, we imitate Him and become holy. If we gaze at Heaven, we keep our goal in mind and have the desire to run the race.
How does Lectio Divina fit into the story of Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus seeks, the Gospel says, he “was seeking to see who Jesus was”. When he finds what he was seeking Zacchaeus, “received him with joy”. Zaccheaus opens his doors to having Jesus stay with Him and we can only imagine the conversation the two have in which we can be sure Zacchaeus asked many questions and was giving many answers. Zacchaeus contemplates the conversation and his conversion flows form this contemplation of the conversation with our Lord. Zacchaeus rests in the Lord and responds to his meditations by his willing to have a conversion and give half of his belongs to the poor.
How does Lectio Divina fit into the steps Holy Father Pope Francis proposes? The primary proclamation is the seeking. Catechesis is the finding and asking. The moral consequence is the tasting. We contemplate what are conversion might mean to our life and the life of others. We mentally taste the sweetness of victory over sin, but also the sourness of persecution and the cost of being a disciple. We can even have a taste of heaven, a glimpse of what is to come for those who deny self, pick up their Cross, and follow Jesus.
[i] Luke 2:29-32
[ii] CCC-1427
[iii] Pope Francis in an interview with Antonio Spadaro, S.J. titled A Big Open Heart to God
[iv] John 8:10
[v] John 18:18-19
[vi] Pope Francis in an interview with Antonio Spadaro, S.J. titled A Big Open Heart to God