In the well-known story of "the eaglet", a farmer picked up an eaglet lying on the ground and kept it in his barn with all his chickens. Soon it learned to feed and behave like a chicken. Once it saw an eagle flying in the sky and it wished it could do so. But all the chickens asserted that it could never do so for it was a chicken. And the eaglet believed this until a naturalist did something. He took the eaglet onto the cliff of a mountain and made it face the rays of the rising sun and kept telling it, "You are not a chicken; you are an eaglet, you can fly. You are not meant for the earth". As the eaglet faced the sun, the penetrating light pierced its heart and awakened its soul. It rose from the earth and started flying. The young eagle went faster and higher till, majestically, it reached the inaccessible heights of the heavens. This story brings out the deeper meaning of the story of Zacchaeus, the story of many of us. We find that just like the Zacchaeus & eaglet, we come across many obstacles that prevent us from encountering Jesus.
The first obstacle is that Jesus was PASSING through the city of Jericho. The very word ‘passing’ shows that Jesus had no intention of spending any time at Jericho much less did he intend to dine with someone and least of all the “ Tax collector Zacchaeus.”
The second obstacle is the name Zacchaeus which means “pure” or “righteous.” This ‘pure and a righteous’ Zacchaeus in the course of time had become a kind of under commissioner of the customs, and responsible for the hated Roman tax imposed not only on balsam, a particular oil for which Jericho was famous, but also on the costly imports of goods from Damascus. The people who collected the tax were considered sinners. Zacchaeus as a tax collector too was considered a sinner.
As Jesus passed through Jericho, Zacchaeus wanted to have a glimpse of Jesus, however the crowd must have prevented him because he was a tax collector.
The third obstacle is a physical one. Zacchaeus was a man of small stature. The crowd must have jostled him and would have brushed him aside, thereby preventing him from seeing Jesus.
However, Jesus goes beyond these obstacles to find Zacchaeus and dine with him. In the case of the first obstacle, Jesus who was to pass through Jericho ended up dining in the city and that too with a sinner. In Jesus’ dining with Zacchaeus we see God’s willingness to be with us. The question is, are we willing to be with God? Have we lost His companionship due to our busy schedule? Do we find it to be of no consequence to be with God? We too are sinners but are we yearning to be with God, the same God who has invited us to this Eucharistic meal?
Second, because Zacchaeus is a sinner the people of Jericho obstruct his way to Jesus. But the vigor to meet Jesus is never curtailed by the obstacles that people invent. The point is: Do we have the hunger to encounter God? Just as in the case of Zacchaeus whom the city and the people blocked, similarly are the riches and desires of this world blocking us from encountering God? The people of Jericho not only deprived Zacchaeus, but also themselves from meeting Jesus. Are we like the people of Jericho a stumbling block for people who are longing to meet God?
Third, although we might not be short of stature, like Zacchaeus, it is possible that the riches & the glamour of this world have been so heavy on our shoulders that these have ‘made us short’ by crushing us down!
However, it is important to remember that in spite of the efforts of Zacchaeus it is not Zacchaeus who discovers Jesus but it is Jesus who discovers Zacchaeus. The Gospel very clearly says, “When Jesus came to the place he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus come down quickly for I must stay at your house today.” Therefore it is not we who discover God, but it is God who discovers us. But God discovers us only when we make efforts to encounter Him. For if Zacchaeus had not placed himself up on the tree he would not have been noticed! And that’s precisely the question we need to ask ourselves today: `Are we making enough efforts to encounter Jesus?’ It is also interesting to note that when Jesus finds Zacchaeus he says,” Come down quickly”. Jesus recognizes the efforts of Zacchaeus. That is why Jesus says,” Come QUICKLY”, I know you are longing to be with me”.
Dear friends keeping in mind these thoughts let us ask ourselves, “Are we making enough efforts to encounter God? Is there a deep longing within us for God? Do we feel the need of God?” It is only when we make efforts to know God that God finds us. And the best place to find him is the bible. As we are beginning the year of the bible in our parish from tomorrow/today let us make a sincere effort to read the bible daily, which will in turn lead us to find Him in our neighbour. For truly `where love is God is!’ Amen.
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