THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
November
3, 2013
GOSPEL READING: Luke 19:1-10
At that
time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
"He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
"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."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost."
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
"He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
"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."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost."
FIRST READING: Wisdom 11:22-12:2
Before the
LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance
or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people's sins that they may repent.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore 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!
or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people's sins that they may repent.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore 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!
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9,
10-11, 13, 14
R.
I will praise your name for ever, my king and my
God.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
The LORD
is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R.
I will praise your name for ever, my king and my
God.
Let all
your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R.
I will praise your name for ever, my king and my
God.
The LORD
is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
R.
I will praise your name for ever, my king and my
God.
SECOND READING: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2
Brothers and sisters:
We always pray for you,
that our God may make you worthy of his calling
and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose
and every effort of faith,
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him,
in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.
We ask you, brothers and sisters,
with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our assembling with him,
not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed
either by a "spirit," or by an oral statement,
or by a letter allegedly from us
to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.
We always pray for you,
that our God may make you worthy of his calling
and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose
and every effort of faith,
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him,
in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.
We ask you, brothers and sisters,
with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our assembling with him,
not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed
either by a "spirit," or by an oral statement,
or by a letter allegedly from us
to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.
A Gospel
Reflection
from Fr. Eugene Lobo S.J., Mangalore, India
The entire story is one
of hope, teaching us that it is never late for us to change. Salvation happens
not when we see Jesus but when Jesus actually sees us.
There
is a message for us from the gospel passage of today. Very often we are not
able to see Jesus in our lives because we are crowded out by other people and
the way they think. To see Jesus clearly we often have to get away from the
crowd and risk being different, risk losing our dignity. The word “holy” in
Greek actually means someone who is different, someone set apart. We can
imagine Zacchaeus’ surprise when Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry
and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” He would have been shocked
to hear such warm words from the Master. He looked for Jesus and now Jesus was
ready to build a personal relationship with him. In the Book of Revelation we
have the beautiful words of Jesus: “I
stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I
will come into his house and eat with him and he will eat with me”. He
expects the doors of our heart always to remain open and ready to offer him hospitality.
In fact Zacchaeus showed no hesitation. He climbed down quickly, delighted to
welcome Jesus into his house. He never bothered about the crowd and he was
aware their reactions would be bad. But for him it was the discovery of a new
treasure. The entire story is one of hope, teaching us that it is never late
for us to change. Salvation happens not when we see Jesus but when Jesus
actually sees us…
A
nurse on the pediatric ward, before listening to the little ones’ chests, would
plug the stethoscope into their ears and let them listen to their own heart.
Their eyes would always light up with awe, but she never got a response equal
to four-year old David’s comment. Gently she tucked the stethoscope into his
ears and placed the disk over his heart. ‘Listen’, she said…’What do you
suppose that is?’ He drew his eyebrows together in a puzzled line and looked up
as if lost in the mystery of the strange tap – tap – tapping deep in his chest.
Then his face broke out in a wondrous grin and he asked, ‘is that Jesus
knocking?’
READ
MORE HERE: THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY REFLECTION
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