Link to today's readings - 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time [Cycle C]
Sunday, November 3, 2013
This reflection originally appeared October 30, 2010 as part of the Small Church Community program at the University of Michigan.
Reflection
“I should really [insert behavior modification here].” Pray more. Get to the gym more. Eat more leafy green vegetables. Get more sleep. Call my parents more. Find time for community service. Stop smoking. Stop getting so drunk on Saturday nights that I spend half of Sunday recovering. Stop letting my significant other/roommate/best friend take for granted that I will always be there for him/her. The first step in the conversion experience is recognition—explicit acknowledgment that a certain activity or part of our life is problematic. And while, for many people, this recognition is a very challenging first step, for most, it is not the hardest. Actually doing something about it is.
In today’s readings, the central theme is that of Metanoia—a Greek word that conveys a whole-self conversion from a certain type of sinful activity towards a more healthy way of being. It is not enough simply to say, “I am sorry, I should not have done that.” Rather, we are called by Jesus to “Go and sin no more.” The first reading reassures us that God’s love for us is “imperishable” and unrelenting. God’s grace never wears down, God’s energies never tire. Our ability to keep screwing up is nothing compared to God’s persistence in trying to help us get back on track. (Pretty amazing, when you think about it.)
The Gospel, too, demonstrates to us that we can never truly put ourselves outside the reach of God’s mercy. Zacchaeus recognizes a problematic behavior in his life—exploiting his powerful political position to help make himself more wealthy at the expense of the local citizens—and he tries to figure out how he might be able to change. He climbs a tree to hear the message of this person Jesus—in this case, climbing the tree is figurative as well as literal. Zacchaeus’s diminutive stature can be seen as a metaphor for inadequacy, that is… he cannot encounter Jesus on his own. His shortness requires that he take steps to have this conversion experience.
In some way, we are each of us “too short” to encounter Jesus on our own. But the moment we recognize some aspect of our life that needs work, we should find the closest tree and climb it, whatever that means for us. Perhaps it means showing up to Mass after we have been away for many months, and really listening to the words of Scripture. Maybe it means setting up a one-on-one conversation with a spiritual advisor like a nun, priest, or pastoral counselor. Perhaps it means reading a book by C.S. Lewis, starting a daily journal of our struggles and accomplishments, or simply making ten minutes a day to sit in silence and be still—unplugged from the internet, unbothered by our smartphones, uninterrupted by our iPod. Once we “climb the tree,” we can be assured that Jesus will respond with immediacy and enthusiasm—inviting us to a deeper, more intimate encounter, just as he quickly told Zacchaeus, “Come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house!” Quickly! Today! Now! Right now!
Once we’ve had this deeper conversation with Jesus, we begin to be equipped to tackle the challenge of metanoia. Zacchaeus exclaims to Jesus that he will give half of his possessions to the poor and repay anyone he may have swindled. For us, once we have climbed the tree, admitted our problematic behavior, and sought Jesus’ help, it is a matter of taking the necessary steps to ensure that we will be able to follow through. If our recognition is: “I should really eat healthier,” but the next time we are at the grocery store, we stroll right past the baby carrots and head straight for the potato chips, it is going to make it awfully hard to live up to that conversion experience in the week that follows. If we know that we should probably delve deeper in our faith but never call the front office to set up a conversation with a spiritual guide or make time to unplug from our electronic devices, again, it will be challenging to integrate metanoia.
Knowing we should work out more means going and getting a gym membership or buying a pair of running shoes, and acknowledging that we have some area of our live that needs work requires doing the same sort of thing. The more we reinforce a problematic activity, the less we will be bothered by its presence in our life and the more difficult it will be to correct. If you’ve been going to Mass every Sunday your whole life, and you miss once, it will likely feel like a very big deal. But if you simply stop going, a few months later, you probably will not feel nearly that acute a sense of angst on Sunday night when you realize you haven’t gone. Many Catholics who grow up believing that sex should wait till marriage are incredibly anguished over their first time, but after they’ve been having sex regularly for six months, it often doesn’t seem like a big deal at all.
The Gospel writer does not tell us what prompted Zacchaeus to recognize the problematic nature of his behavior; all we know is that, having come to that recognition, he climbed the tree to make it possible for him to get Jesus “in” on his conversion efforts. Oftentimes, in our own lives, it takes some negative experience to shake us from our complacency—coming down with a sickness because we haven’t slept enough; failing an exam because we haven’t been focused on our schoolwork; having our heart ache because we haven’t been pursuing the right kinds of romantic encounters. Whatever it is, the next step is always: So what are we going to do about it?
Reflection Questions
1) Are there any areas of your life that you struggle with, or even explicitly acknowledge as being problematic? Have you ever found yourself saying, “I know I should [X]” but struggling to follow through?
2) How do you think you might “climb the tree” to encounter Jesus in a deeper way and enlist His help in addressing this part of your life?
3) Do you know of any people in your life—siblings, friends, others—who are struggling to address some challenge? How might you be a support to those people?
