"TO SEEK AND TO SAVE WHAT WAS LOST".

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR C.
November 4, 2007.
(First Reading: Wisdom 11:22-12:1) (Psalm 145:1-2, 8-11, 13-14)
(Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2) (Gospel Reading: Luke 19:1-10)


"TO SEEK AND TO SAVE
WHAT WAS LOST".

Jesus tells us why he has come to live among human beings: He "has come to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10).

What have human beings lost? They have lost the unity and justice in their relations between themselves and in their relations with God.

God's design for unity and justice.
The Book of Wisdom reminds us that the "imperishable spirit [of God] is in all things" (Wisdom 12:1), that even in a world where human beings live in division and injustice, the Lord "overlooks the sins of men that they may repent. For [the Lord] loves all things that are and loathes nothing that [he has] made" (WIsdom 11:23-24).

Then the Book of Wisdom goes on to address God as follows: "Therefore [Lord, you] rebuke offenders little by little, warn them, and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord!" (Wisdom 12:2).

The sacred writer thus is expressing how much God wants human beings to restore their lost justice and unity.

When unity and justice are lost, Jesus comes to call us back to unity and justice. He can "powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose [of unity and justice] and every effort of faith" (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

Then Paul urges us to heed the call of Jesus so "that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him" (2 Thessalonians 1:12). The restoration of unity and justice, therefore, begins the moment we adherence to Jesus.

A world where unity and justice are lost.
The gospel shows that both Zacchaeus and Jesus' detractors (the Pharisees, the leaders of the people, the powerful rulers and their followers)(1) are equally lacking in unity and justice, living in a world of division and injustice. Both Zacchaeus and Jesus' detractors are the lost ones whom Jesus has come to seek and save.

Zacchaeus' approach to Jesus is radically different from that of the powerful rulers.
- Zacchaeus' approach.
Being a tax collector, Zacchaeus is aware of his double role as an oppressor of the people, and as a person who himself is oppressed by the rulers; he is an allied of the Roman oppressor and he is despised by the society in which he lives.

Therefore, Zacchaeus wants to seek Jesus, he wants to seek liberation, to restore justice and unity. "He ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way" (Luke 19:4).

But Zacchaeus got more than what he bargained for: He struck a friendship with Jesus! He learned that Jesus was equally interested in seeking him. "Today I must stay in your house" (Luke 19:5) said Jesus to Zacchaeus.

Little did Zacchaeus know that that was the reason why Jesus had come to the world : "I must stay in the house of mankind", "I must restore unity and justice for all mankind", I have "come to seek and to save what was lost".

And the response from Zacchaeus was a response of restoration: "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" (Luke 19:8). Justice and vindication had come to Zacchaeus' house! "Salvation has come to this house" Jesus said. This is God's design of justice and unity intended for all human beings.

- The powerful ruler's approach.
The powerful rulers of the world, the oppressors have already established their own "order" (of division, injustice and oppression), they do not have any need to seek the unity and justice and salvation Jesus brings.

All the powerful ruler is interested in is the imposition of his power upon other human beings; and in order to do so he is compelled to create a state of deception and lies(2) to control the minds and hearts of the oppressed.

The powerful ruler has no need to seek Jesus, for in doing so, he, the powerful ruler, would be seeking the destruction of his own system of injustice and division. The powerful ruler, therefore, must stay away from Jesus, lest Jesus may invite him to share in the unity and justice and equality of all human beings. The powerful does not want to give Jesus the opportunity to say: "Today I must stay in your house". The powerful ruler of the world is certainly not willing to give, like Zacchaeus, a response of restoration, of justice and unity.

In a world where the powerful ruler grows ever more powerful, Jesus' call for unity and justice is discarded and replaced by wars of aggression and policies of oppression(3).

In spite of being rejected by the world's powerful rulers, Jesus will always remain committed to seeking those who are lost in the midst of deception, to saving those who are lost in the midst of oppression. For Jesus "has come to seek and to save what was lost".
_____________________________________________________________
FOOTNOTES.
(1) Jesus' detractors are those who would follow him so that they may eventually entrap him. They are the ones who "began to grumble, saying, 'He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner'" (Luke 19:7).
(2) The superiority of his power allows the oppressor to distort with impunity the most essential tenants of human life, namely: unity and justice. The oppressor refuses to believe that whenever any human being is made a victim of division, injustice or oppression, God is also victimized.
(3) In order to impose their superior power upon weaker human beings, the oppressor is more prone to resort to war, violence and aggression because human unity and justice can only be suppressed by force. The use of peaceful means in the resolution of conflicts requires respect for human unity and justice.