33rd Week in Ordinary Time
Elizabeth of Hungary

1st Reading: 2 Mac 6:18–31
Gospel: Lk 19:1–10
When Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the city, a man named Zaccheus was there. He was a tax collector and a wealthy man. He wanted to see what Jesus was like, but he was a short man and could not see because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree. From there he would be able to see Jesus who had to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, come down quickly for I must stay at your house today.” So Zaccheus hurried down and received him joyfully.
All the people who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to the house of a sinner as a guest.” But Zaccheus spoke to Jesus, “The half of my goods, Lord, I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much.” Looking at him Jesus said, “Salvation has come to this house today, for he is also a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

Commentary
Jesus compromised his beliefs for no one. He couldn’t lie, he couldn’t even keep his mouth shut when people around him were judged and condemned. He aligned himself with the downtrodden and stood against tyranny. Would Jesus have made a good soldier? It would be difficult to get anyone in your cross hairs, when you’re turning the other cheek. A pre-emptive strike was the antithesis of Jesus’ foreign policy. There is no proof that Jesus came to start a new religion called “Christianity.” He showed no desire to organize or control others. He displayed no capacity for sending other mother’s sons to die for a power lust. He blessed the meek and the peacemakers. He supported only that which had vitality, not expediency. They could take his life and liberty; but they could not own his soul. He was not afraid of powerful men; this made them afraid of him. He frightened the self-righteous, because he knew the truth about the deceitfulness of power and he refused to kowtow to it. How odd that, today, he is heralded as the icon of the religious right: his manner of living was diametrically opposed to everything the religious right espouses.

________
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc., 8 Mayumi St., U.P. Village, Diliman, Quezon City, U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City; Tel. No. (02) 921-39-84; Fax No.: (02) 921-62-05 E-mail: cci@claret.org; Websites: http://www.claretianbpublication.com (Claretian Publications) & http://www.claretphilippines.org (Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines) Claretian HOPE CENTER: Aurora Milestone Tower, 1045 Aurora Blvd., Loyola Heights, Quezon City  E-mail: hopecenter07@yahoo.com/hopecenter07@gmail.com