Come, follow me. “Hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” [i] In the last weeks of this year, we have heard the story of the conversion of Zacchaeus and other tax collectors again and again. The message is clear: Repent and return. Jesus is always looking for those who are lost, those who can respond to his call, his touch, asking for repentance. While Saint Bernard reminds us that Jesus “abides willing among the lilies” (the souls of the virtuous), [ii] he also reminds us that Jesus feeds upon our penitence, “my penitence is his food.”[iii] And while he walks and receives, Jesus is on the lookout for those who He will gather to himself: the lost sheep, the prodigal son.
As we approach the end of the Church year, let us remember that it is never too late, for any of us, while it is yet today. The Lord approaches us; he passes closely by and looks at us. He is always looking for our response, which is always a response to his already present love.
Zacchaeus in Jericho, Derek Winterburn
Receive him, for he took upon himself all that belongs to us except sin, to consume what is ours in what is his.
St Andrew of Crete Has this to say:
Receive him with open, outstretched hands, for it was on his own hands that he sketched you. Receive him who laid your foundations on the palms of his hands. Receive him, for he took upon himself all that belongs to us except sin, to consume what is ours in what is his. Be glad, city of Zion, our mother, and fear not. Celebrate your feasts. Glorify him for his mercy, who has come to us in you. Rejoice exceedingly, daughter of Jerusalem, sing and leap for joy. Be enlightened, be enlightened, we cry to you, as holy Isaiah trumpeted, for the light has come to you and the glory of the Lord has risen over you.
He is coming who came to call to repentance not the righteous but sinners
He is coming who is everywhere present and pervades all things; he is coming to achieve in you his work of universal salvation. He is coming who came to call to repentance not the righteous but sinners, coming to recall those who have strayed into sin. Do not be afraid then: God is in the midst of you, and you shall not be shaken.[iv]
This time of the year, and really any time of the year, is a great time to go to Confession. If it has been a while since you have gone to Confession and would like a nice review of what to do, see the Ultimate Catholic Guide to Confession.
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Image Credit:
van Loon, Theodoor. Calling of St. Matthew (Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27-28). 1620s. Painting. National Museum, Warsaw. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Loon_Calling_of_Saint_Matthew.jpg
Photo credit:
Winterburn, Derek. Zacchaeus in Jericho. Photograph. Jericho, ISRAEL, February 16, 2013. Romanian Church, Jericho.
[i] Luke 19:2, NRSV.
[ii] Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. “Sermon LXXI: Of Spiritual Lilies, that is, Good Works” in Life and Works of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux: Volume 4: Cantica Canticorum Eighty-Six Sermons on the Song of Solomon, 434. Internet Archive. London, J. Hodges, January 1, 1889. https://archive.org/details/LifeAndWorksOfSaintBernardV4/page/434/mode/2up.
[iii] Ibid, 435.
[iv] Saint Andrew. “From a Discourse by Saint Andrew of Crete: Behold, Your King Is Coming to You, the Holy One, the Savior.” Week 33 Tuesday – Office of Readings. Accessed November 16, 2022. http://www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/Catholic/loh/week33tuesdayor.htm.
(Orat. 9, in ramos palmarum: PG 97, 1002)
Posted for Jesus Christ the King of the Universe
November 20, 2022
