The Saviour of Sinners and Saints: a reflection for Day 35 of Lent

“Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” (Luke 19.9-10)

     Jesus and the disciples continue to journey towards Jerusalem.[1]  The number of people thronging around Jesus is increasing (Lk. 11.14, 29; 12.1; 13.22; 14.25; 19.1-3), and so is the tension between Jesus and the obstinate members of “his generation”.  Besides announcing imminent judgment, Jesus is feasting and telling stories.  Jesus’ “gospel” is bad news for the self-sufficient, smug and vengeful and good news for the poor, desperate and trusting.

     The second episode showcasing the reactions of rich men to the challenge of the kingdom is found in Luke 19.  This chapter resonates with chapter 15, as Jesus once again dines with a (chief) tax collector, a notorious sinner from Jericho (Lk. 19.2, 7).  Also, the “punchline” of the Zaccheus episode (seeking and saving the lost) echoes the refrain of Jesus’ parables in chapter 15 (Lk. 19.10; cf. 15.6, 9, 24, 32).  Throughout Luke’s narrative, Jesus has been feasting (cf. Lk. 7.34), whether with “sinners” (Lk. 5.29-32; 15.1-2) or “saints” (7.36; 11.37; 14.1).  Whenever Jesus shares a table with sinners, the Pharisees are quick to condemn his breaching of the purity taboos.  Jesus has come “to seek and to save the lost”; as far as Luke is concerned, that means the “tax collectors and sinners” (cf. Lk. 7.36-39).  Jesus has come primarily for the most hated and despised members of the people of God (cf. Lk. 4.16-19); it is to them that he announces the forgiveness of their sins (Lk. 5.20; 7.44-48).  By forgiving “sinners”, Jesus is restoring the people of God; to that effect, Jesus calls Zaccheus “a son of Abraham” (Lk. 19.9; cf. 3.7-8; 13.16).  All the Pharisees can offer the people are legalistic burdens, and in the end, hypocrisy (cf. Lk. 11.39-48).  Jesus has come to liberate Israel (cf. Lk. 2.25, 38), by removing peoples’ burden of guilt and by welcoming estranged members back into the people of Yahweh.

     The Zaccheus story echoes that of the call of Levi (cf. Lk. 5.27-32).  In this case, Jesus invites himself to dine at Zaccheus’ home (Lk. 19.5-6).  Like the blind beggar outside the city (Lk. 18.35-43), Zaccheus has been “waiting for” Jesus (19.1-4).  Luke the physician (cf. Col. 4.14) notes Zaccheus’ short stature, and his improvised solution to overcome the obstacle in his line of sight provides comic relief to the story.  As Zaccheus straddles a tree-branch, Jesus gazes up at him and beckons him to clamber down and make preparations to host him for dinner.  In Luke’s narrative, a bold act of faith often results in sins being forgiven (cf. Lk. 5.17-20; 7.36-50).  Jesus has no patience for the ponderous juridical deliberations of the Pharisees and scribes; the Saviour responds to those who throw caution to the wind and make holes in roofs, pour perfume over his feet, cry unashamedly for mercy and even climb trees to “make sure” that Jesus does not pass them by. 

     Jesus deploys God’s mercy in the midst of the rough-and-tumble of village life.  In the opening chapter of Luke’s Gospel, God’s saving action in favour of his people is describing simply as “mercy” (cf. 1.50, 54, 58, 72, 78).  Zaccheus responds to God’s mercy in Jesus by promising to make amends and restore/compensate all those whom he had defrauded (Lk. 19.8).  This avaricious bureaucrat had been converted by the mercy of God and had been filled with compassion for the poor.  Zaccheus had embraced the call to enter the kingdom of God.  “Salvation had come to his house”.  May it come to ours also.  Amen.


[1] Liturgically speaking, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem yesterday (Palm Sunday).  For the purposes of this reflection (and according to our progress in Luke’s narrative), Jesus is still on the way to Jerusalem.

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