In the New Testament, tax
collectors are lumped together with prostitutes and other sinners. Why? Why did Jesus and all the Jews consider tax collectors
sinners? They were considered sinners because they collaborated with Rome. They used the power of Rome to steal
from their own people. They became
rich without doing anything more than sitting behind a table imposing taxes on
their fellow Hebrews. The way taxes worked in the Roman Empire was that the
Romans enlisted the help of locals offering them a lucrative living for
collaboration. Their salaries actually came from their own people. Today, we
have Tax Collector Part II. This tax collector is not a person from a parable
but a real life man named Zacchaeus. He was curious, but he was also short. He couldn’t see Jesus, so he climbed that sycamore tree to
get a better look. He must have
been shocked that Jesus would call him out of the tree and tell him that he
would eat at his house that evening. Having a meal with someone is a gesture of
friendship, even more, it is a gesture of intimacy. The Lord wanted to be part of Zacchaeus’ life. Many people
grumbled at that, but Zacchaeus, the little man, stood his ground and gave half
of what he had to the poor, promising to repay fourfold those he had cheated. Zacchaeus
responded to the mercy he had received.
How have we responded to the mercy of God we have received in our lives?
Do we take it for granted and go on with our lives continuing to sin, or do we
really try to change our lives?
Saying, “I’m sorry,” and seeking mercy is good, but only if we intend to
respond to the mercy we receive. It is not enough to say that we are sorry and
receive forgiveness. We have to do
all we can to change our actions.
When we say the act of contrition, we express our determination to amend
or change our lives. Sometimes,
when I say to the Lord, “I’m trying,” I hear Him say to me, “Well, try harder.”
There are times that we treat the sacrament of Penance like a car wash. Get in,
get washed, get out and don’t worry about getting dirty again. Pope Francis said that there are no
limits to God’s mercy. The only
limits are the ones that we put on his mercy. Sometimes those limits are
refusing to ask for mercy.
Sometimes those limits are refusing to respond to mercy. There are times
that all of us are upset with ourselves for our own refusal to respond to the
Lord’s mercy. Instead of changing
our lives, we transfer our upset onto others. We use our view of their foibles and their sins as a way of
hiding our own sins. That is why
that instead of responding to the mercy we have received by being merciful to
others, we behave like the man in another parable who had a huge debt forgiven
but who refused to forgive the small amount another man owed him. That man would have been more merciful
if only he had worked hard to fight sin in his own life. We all would be more understanding of
others, if only we would put up a serious fight against sin in our own lives. When
the Lord entered Zacchaeus’ home, Zacchaeus said, “Things have got to
change.” That’s the reaction we
have to have when we realize the “all-surpassing good we have been granted in
Jesus Christ,” to paraphrase St. Paul.
Things have go to be different. We have to fight sin. We
have to embrace the Lord. Our
avoidance of immorality, our decision to bring prayer into our homes, and our
determination to make choices that may not be popular with others are all part
of our decision to be different, our decision to be holy. Tax Collector, Part
2, the story of Zacchaeus, challenges us to respond to the Lord’s mercy by
waging war against sin in our own lives • AE
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