Wis 11:22-12:2 / Thes 1:11-2:2 / Lk 19:1-10
How many bureaucrats does it take to change a light bulb? The answer is two: One to assure us that everything possible is being done, while the other screws the bulb into a water faucet.
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If you think about it, that’s not a bad description of parts of our lives: Assuring ourselves that everything possible is being done while screwing the light bulb into the water faucet. It’s certainly an apt description of Zacchaeus, the central figure in Sunday’s Gospel.
Zacchaeus was one of the richest men in Israel. He held the position of chief tax collector, he moved in the highest circles, and he had power — lots of it. He was also a crook, a collaborator with the enemy, and a target of hate for his countrymen. He’d always thought of himself as successful. But suddenly, at the height of his career, it dawned on him that his life wasn’t working. There was a void at the core. There was no joy, and intuitively he understood that there would be no joy as long as he continued on the same path.
Unlike many of us, Zacchaeus knew he had to change. So when he heard that Jesus was passing through town, he abandoned all dignity and shinnied up a sycamore tree to make sure he’d see this holy man who just might be able to tell him how to find the joy that was missing in his life. The rest is history. Jesus looked up into his eyes and said, “Let me come to your house today.” Jesus came and Zacchaeus’ life was forever changed. He found the joy for which he’d so longed.
The story has a very happy ending, and it’s important for us to understand why and how that happened. The real turning point came before Jesus offered His invitation. It came when Zacchaeus recognized his need and decided to do something about it.
For every one of us, there are parts of life that don’t work, parts that are lifeless and yield no joy. And in many cases that hasn’t changed in years. The reason is that we persist in trying to get light out of a bulb that’s screwed into a water faucet. We keep looking for joy where it isn’t to be found.
If, in those failed parts of our lives, we can speak the hard truth that Zacchaeus learned how to speak, if we can see something is wrong and has to change, at that very moment we’ll hear the words that Jesus has been speaking to us all along, words we’ve been drowning out with our self-deceptive assurances that everything’s just fine. We’ll hear Him say, “I want to come to your house this day. I want to live at the center of your life.” And then, with our “Yes” to Him, the healing, the transformation, and the joy will begin.
Face the truth today, speak it to yourself and then to the Lord, and let your healing begin!
