17th NOVEMBER. TUESDAY OF WEEK 33

1st Reading: 2Maccabees 6:18-31

Eleazar's refusal to be disloyal to Yahweh gives an example of virtue for the whole nation

Eleazar, one of the scribes in high position, a man now advanced in age and of noble presence, was being forced to open his mouth to eat swine's flesh. But he, welcoming death with honor rather than life with pollution, went up to the rack of his own accord, spitting out the flesh, as all out to go who have the courage to refuse things that is not right to taste, even for the natural love of life.

Those who were in charge of that unlawful sacrifice took the man aside because of their long acquaintance with him, and privately urged him to bring meat of his own providing, proper for him to use, and to pretend that he was eating the flesh of the sacrificial meal that had been commanded by the king, so that by doing this he might be saved from death, and be treated kindly on account of his old friendship with them. But making a high resolve, worthy of his years and the dignity of his old age and the gray hairs that he had reached with distinction and his excellent life even from childhood, and moreover according to the holy God-given law, he declared himself quickly, telling them to send him to Hades.

"Such pretense is not worthy of our time of life, He said, " for many of the  young might suppose that Eleazer in his ninetieth year had gone over to an alien religion, and through my pretense, for the sake of living a brief moment longer, they would be led astray because of me, while I defile  and disgrace my old age. Even if for the present I would avoid the punishment of mortals, yet whether I live or die I will show myself worthy of my old age and leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws."

When he had said this, he went at once to the rack. Those who  a little before had acted toward him with goodwill now changed to ill will, because the words he had uttered were in their opinion sheer madness. 

When he was about to die under the blows, he groaned aloud and said: " It is clear to the Lord in his holy knowledge that, though I might have been saved from death, I am enduring terrible sufferings in my body under this beating, but in my soul I am glad death an example of nobility and a memorial of courage, not only to the young but to the great body of his nation.

Gospel: Luke 19:1-10

Jesus dines with the tax collector, Zacchaeus, for he has come to search out and save what was lost

He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, " Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for  I must stay at your house today. " So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said; " He has gone to be the guest one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, " Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, " Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.

REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS ON THE READINGS

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

From the gospel reading today we are all invited to learn three things from Zacchaeus' story.

First, we must be very careful not to judge others because of their  appearance. We are told that those who accompanied Jesus began togramble when he chose to a guest of Zaccheaus. They could not believe that He chooses to stay with a sinner, when in fact there are so many " holy" people in town. Yes in the eyes of the people Zacchaeaus was a sinner, but in the eyes of Jesus he was just. It is because he undergoes a profound conversion and his announcement that he would give half of his possessions to the poor and would pay back four times the amount if anyone had been defrauded, prove it. In this sense only God knows what is in the hearts and minds of the people we know, so we have to be very careful not to pass harsh judgements on them.

Second, like Zacchaeus, we must desire to see Jesus passing by. Zacchaeus left the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus. For us, what is our own tree to climb in order to see Jesus? It is easy for us to see Jesus in the morning when we wake up and at night when we sleep precisely because at these times we are not busy with our schedules, works and concerns. But we must find a tree to climb from time to time so as not to lose sight of God's presence in ordinary moments of our ordinary daily life. A simple moment of prayer helps us to rise beyond and above our busy schedules and moments.

Third, seek forgiveness with genuine humility and sincere sorrow. All of us know that Zacchaeus had committed a serious mistake. He had enriched himself  materially by using his position of power to defraud the people. I'm sure his greed gave him a troubled conscience. But he sought Jesus with genuine humility and sincere sorrow by climbing a sycamore tree, a thing that was done by children and slaves. Despite the fact that he was a prominent official in the city and Jesus forgives him. For us sinners we are forgiven by God because: 1) We admit our sins and wrongdoings ; 2) We amend ourselves or avoid repeating the same offence; 3) we repair or restitute the damage caused by our sins like what Zacchaeus did.

Looking for Jesus

Whatever else bout Zacchaeus, he certainly  was a seeker, a searcher. The text tells us that " he was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was."In his search to know Jesus, he was prepared, quite literally, to go out on a limb, the limb of a tree. This would have been considered a rather undignified place to be for a man of his status. Zachaeus who was searching discovered that he was the object of a greater search. When he offered Jesus hospitality, he also discovered that a greater hospitality was being offered to him, the hospitality of God through Jesus. " Today, salvation  has come to his house, because  this man too is a son of Abraham." Jesus declared that this man belonged to God's people;  there was a room for him at God's table, in spite of murmuring  of the crowd. Finally the story we have just heard reminds us all that our movement towards God is always overshadowed by God's movement towards us. When we take a small step towards the Lord, we discover that he has already taken a giant step towards us.