Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

“Tax Collector” by Marinus van Reymerswaele, 1542

Readings for Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22
 
I, John, heard the Lord saying to me:
“To the angel of the Church in Sardis, write this:
 
“‘The one who has the seven spirits of God
and the seven stars says this: “I know your works,
that you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die,
for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
Remember then how you accepted and heard; keep it, and repent.
If you are not watchful, I will come like a thief,
and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you.
However, you have a few people in Sardis
who have not soiled their garments;
they will walk with me dressed in white,
because they are worthy.
 
“‘The victor will thus be dressed in white,
and I will never erase his name from the book of life
but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father
and of his angels.
 
“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
 
“To the angel of the Church in Laodicea, write this:
 
“‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the source of God’s creation, says this:
“I know your works;
I know that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either cold or hot.
So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,
I will spit you out of my mouth.
For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’
and yet do not realize that you are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich,
and white garments to put on
so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed,
and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see.
Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise.
Be earnest, therefore, and repent.
 
“‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
then I will enter his house and dine with him,
and he with me.
 
I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne,
as I myself first won the victory
and sit with my Father on his throne.
 
“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
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Commentary on Rv 3:1-6, 14-22
 
St. John addresses his vision to two more of the seven churches of Asia (the Asian Province of Rome), Sardis [4] and Laodicea. [5] In the case of Sardis, he reprimands them for backsliding. Apparently, the community had been reduced in numbers to a point where it was in danger of disappearing. The evangelist tells them that the few that remained faithful would be rewarded for their steadfastness.
 
At Laodicea the apostle criticized them for lack of zeal for the faith. He says: “I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot.” He bases this observation upon their works, indicating that while they profess Christ Jesus, their actions are not reflecting that conviction.
 
CCC: Rv 3:14 1065
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5
 
R. (Rev. 3: 21) I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.
 
He who walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.
 
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
By whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.
 
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.
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Commentary on Ps 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5
 
Psalm 15 is a didactic song instructing the faithful to follow God’s precepts and explaining that those who act in accord with Mosaic Law will receive God’s support and grace. It is a Jewish form of examination of conscience. These verses record the response of the temple representative when asked what virtues are appropriate in the eyes of God.  The response lauds the person who follows the “law,” specifically the Hebrew laws that warn against slander or false accusations. In the second strophe it honors the person who does no violence against another. And finally, in the last strophe, we are told that the person who does not charge interest on a loan (usury) is also uplifted.
 
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Gospel: 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 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.”
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Commentary on Lk 19:1-10
 
In this passage, we hear the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, and Jesus. While still on his final journey to Jerusalem, this encounter takes place in Jericho, on the western edge of Jordan Valley, about 6 miles north of the Dead Sea, northeast of Jerusalem. Jesus chooses Zacchaeus’ home for his resting place (an unpopular choice: “they began to grumble, saying, ‘He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner’”).
 
Jesus uses this occasion to give us a clear idea of why he came. When Zacchaeus tells him what he has done with his material possessions, Jesus proclaims: “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” The Lord's mission is salvation.
 
The story of Zacchaeus is another of the stories unique to the Gospel of St. Luke. The tax collector exemplifies the attitude the faithful should take. He detaches himself easily from his wealth. Zacchaeus' offers go beyond what Mosaic Law calls for (assuming some of his dealings were dishonest: Exodus 21:37; Numbers 5:5-7), to give half of his possessions to the poor, and to make amends four times over for any accounts he has wrongly settled. This action, the Lord tells those present, has earned him salvation.
 
CCC: Lk 19:1-10 2712; Lk 19:8 549, 2412; Lk 19:9 1443
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Reflection:
 
We cannot ignore that Jesus came “to seek and save what was lost.”  We also understand that, through the apostles, this mission was passed on to the church, and, through our baptism, to us.  It is an important mission and one of which we should never lose sight.  The message we bring must be Christ’s message, not our own interpretation of another’s moral code.
 
Each day in the news we find another example of conflict between those who uphold the church’s teaching on the sanctity of life and religious liberty and those who view life decisions as belonging to each individual, regardless of the value they place on human life. We are told it does not matter where they work, that the organization and its employees must adhere to government values. We must try to balance our righteous zeal against allowing ourselves to be pulled into the sin of uncharitable thoughts and actions.
 
While the dignity of human life is an important element of church teaching, and certainly needs to be proclaimed to the world, we must always be cautious that we do not lose sight of the Lord’s own example of how to teach and how to reach out.  We can use the story of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus as an example.  Zacchaeus was a tax collector.  In the time of Jesus, that meant he was a representative of the occupying Roman government, despised by most of the region’s native residents.  Those in his profession made a good living, not just collecting the lawful tax imposed by the government, but like collection agencies today, they also received a percentage of what they were able to collect.
 
We could, corrected for time and social evolution, place his image at the same level as an abortion doctor in a strongly pro-life community today.  What would the modern response to such an individual be from those with zeal for this important teaching?  Experience tells us that the tactics used would be to attempt to publicly humiliate this person, to stop him, by whatever means necessary (in some cases this has even taken the form of violence, certainly mental violence if not physical), from doing what he or she clearly thinks is the morally right thing.  We are not defending the pro-abortion cause here, just trying to point out where our zeal may have taken us.
 
If Jesus were here in this community, he would use his prestige and notoriety to go to this doctor’s house and convince the person that his view on the sanctity of life had become twisted and desensitized, and that he has lost sight of the previously taken oath to save lives.  Jesus would reach out in love to this person, not try to heap on public humiliation (we see those bullying tactics routinely used by the LGBT groups against anyone who disagrees with them).
 
We too must be careful not to so vehemently proclaim pro-life or any other cause that we overshadow the most important message that Christ left us: to love God and one another.  In some instances, this feels like the case.  To use the analogy of cooking, so much spice has been added to the recipe that the flavor of the dish has been spoiled.
 
The church has such a huge job to do that we must not be directed to only one issue.  To those who are critical of the clergy who did not speak out forcefully before the elections I would say, rather than trying to divide the church we must unify.  By our united actions great things can be accomplished.  Above all we must hate the sin and love the sinner.  It is Christ’s message, and he is the way, the truth and the life.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture used today is “Tax Collector” by Marinus van Reymerswaele, 1542.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Sardis: this city, located ca. thirty miles southeast of Thyatira, was once the capital of Lydia, known for its wealth at the time of Croesus (6th century B.C.). Its citadel, reputed to be unassailable, was captured by surprise, first by Cyrus and later by Antiochus. The church is therefore warned to be on guard.
[5] Laodicea: ca. forty miles southeast of Philadelphia and ca. eighty miles east of Ephesus, a wealthy industrial and commercial center, with a renowned medical school. It exported fine woolen garments and was famous for its eye salves. It was so wealthy that it was proudly rebuilt without outside aid after the devastating earthquake of A.D. 60/61.