The Sánchez Archives THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Year C

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

Restoring the Lost

Wisdom 11:22-12:1
2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2
Luke 19:1-10

The wise and loving concern with which God created the universe is the same wise and loving concern that waits patiently for sinners to repent (Wisdom). That very concern seeks out the lost and makes them welcome (Luke). One day, all who persevere in faith will experience that welcome for all eternity (2 Thessalonians).

Wisdom 11:22-12:1.

Attributed to Solomon, Israel’s tenth century B.C.E. king and most noted sage, the book of Wisdom was actually written less than a century before Christ (ca. 60 B.C.E.). The author is believed by most scholars to have been a Greek-speaking Jew living in Alexandria, a city famous throughout the Mediterranean area for its rich intellectual and scientific climate. Like Jesus Ben Eleazar Ben Sira who wrote before him, the author of Wisdom was concerned for the sacred traditions of his fellow Jews living in the diaspora. Although the Jewish community in Alexandria was one of the three largest in the then-known world, the influence of Greek philosophy, art and culture proved very attractive and some were abandoning the faith of their ancestors to embrace secular systems of thought. Spurred on by the growing Jewish skepticism with regard to their national heritage and the traditional solutions to age-old issues, the author of Wisdom plunged into a study of the Jewish scriptures to provide pertinent answers and challenges for his contemporaries.

The entire second half of the book (Wisdom 11-19), from which our first reading has been excerpted, represents a midrash on the exodus from Egypt and the plagues. Midrash, which in Hebrew means to search, inquire and interpret, is a specific type of biblical interpretation which assumes that the biblical text has an inexhaustible fund of meaning that is relevant to and adequate for every question and situation (P. Achtemeier). It was this wealth of meaning and relevance that the author of Wisdom wished to offer his fellow Jews. Rather than search for wisdom amid the Greek systems of philosophy, he would have them realize that the source of true wisdom is to be found only in Israel and in Israel’s God!

Part of a reflection on the utter transcendence of God and on his mercy, today’s first reading focuses on the love God has for all he has created. Unlike the gods of the Greek pantheon who occasionally dabbled in human affairs to satisfy their whims or curiosity, the God of Israel became personally involved with his creatures. This personal involvement is called love by the Wisdom author (11:23), viz., the love that overlooks sin and gives time for repentance. Repentance, or metanoia in Greek, signifies that complete reversal of attitude and life style that would turn away from the lure of pagan art and culture in order to return completely and wholeheartedly to the one God of Israel.

To explain the divine motivation for loving all souls, the author of Wisdom reminded his contemporaries that the imperishable spirit of God himself (12: 1) pervades all that exists. Whether by spirit he meant wisdom as the instru­ment of divine immanence (1:7, 7:24, 8: 1) or the spirit of God breathed into humanity at creation (Genesis 2:7) is dif­ficult to ascertain. In either case, it is the Wisdom author’s conviction that the wisdom and/or spirit in all things is from the God of Israel. Within a century, the author’s thought would be revised by the Christ-event. As R. Fuller has noted, “In the New Testament the dominant conception of the Spirit is not universally immanentist but eschatological. It does not dwell in all things by creation but is a gift to those who believe in Christ Jesus.”

2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2.

When Paul preached the good news of salvation in Thessalonica ca. 49 C.E., he intended that the “word of the Lord would echo forth resoundingly” (1 Thessalonians 1:8) from that city throughout all of Macedonia and Achaia. As history has revealed, Paul’s intentions were realized because, from the time of the apostle’s ministry to the present day, Christianity has been a vibrant factor within Thessalonica (modem day Salonika). Having survived the Roman empire and its oppressive persecution, the Christian community at Thessalonica continued to resist as each successive wave of tribal barbarians swept through Europe. Because of the city’s reputation for fidelity to Christ, medieval historians referred to it as “the Orthodox city.” Even today vestiges of the ancient Hippodrome can be found interspersed among the modem Turkish edifices; these ancient ruins continue to testify to the courage of the 15,000 who were massacred there during the reign of Theodosius. But compared to this late fourth century persecution, the conflict that prompted the writing of 2 Thessalonians ca. 51 C.E. had not yet grown as intense.

Many today doubt that Paul wrote the second letter to Thessalonica because it represents such a radical shift in thought concerning eschatology (as compared to 1 Thessalonians). Others propose that circumstances in the city demanded that Paul revise his thoughts so as to answer the needs of a growing, struggling community. In either case, the second letter was written within a few months of the first and was intended to correct certain misunderstandings which had arisen in the community.

Evidently, someone had brought either a message or a letter (purported to be from Paul) to the believers at Thessalonica which asserted that the Day of the Lord, i.e., the second coming of Jesus, had already occurred. False teachers in the city, influenced by early gnostic tendencies, exacerbated the situation as well. With their perverted interpretation of the gospel, these taught that human beings were separated into categories with varying degrees of enlightenment and therefore importance. Some were called spiritual beings or pneumatics who enjoyed an experience of the realm of light. Others with a lesser share of enlightenment or knowledge were believed to be “of this world” with little hope of anything better. According to the false teachers, the gospel revealed to the spiritual elite their true nature; as such they already enjoyed full knowledge and immortality. They preached that the day of the Lord had already come!

Today’s second reading represents a partial answer to this false teaching. Rather than agitate over a Day which he asserted had not yet arrived (2 Thessalonians 2:2), the author of 2 Thessalonians called his brothers and sisters in the faith to concentrate on their calling here and now (2 Thessalonians 1:11). By their diligent efforts to become worthy of their call, they would be preparing for the Day in a proper manner. Call, or klesis, as J. Forestell has pointed out, referred to the call of the Thessalonians from paganism to Christianity; it was also the beginning of their orientation to glory. To persevere in the faith and then to arrive at glory was, according to the author of 2 Thessalonians, not a matter of human achievement (as in gnosticism) but a “gracious gift” of God (2 Thessalonians 1: 12). This gracious gift came to Zacchaeus (see next reading) in the person of Jesus.

Luke 19:1-10.

What really made Zacchaeus climb the sycamore tree? In this wonderful narrative, unique to his gospel, the Lucan author has explained that the man was short. But there has to be something beyond his physical stature that impelled Zacchaeus to climb. In his commentary on the gospels, John Calvin described Zacchaeus as being attracted by that quality of God that draws people unto himself, even while they do not know him. Then, when they have come near, God reveals himself. Rudolf Otto referred to this as the experience of the holy, “mysterium tremendum et fascinans.” Whatever first attracted Zacchaeus to Jesus, it becomes evident, as the narrative unfolds, that his was a true encounter with the Lord and his conversion experience resulted in his salvation. A paradigm of the process of conversion, the Zacchaeus narrative contains all the elements of salvation history in a fascinating short story.

Zacchaeus, as chief tax collector in Jericho, was probably a man of much wealth and few friends. From the time of Julius Caesar, the options for collecting Rome’s taxes were auctioned off to the highest bidder in each municipality. In order to win the bid, the prospective tax collector would have had to pay to Rome in advance all the taxes due in his locale. Then, he would hire agents who would help in collecting the taxes so that he could recoup his initial investment, pay his agents and make a generous profit as well. Because the tax collectors extorted sizable amounts of interest in addition to the taxes fixed by Rome, they were despised by their own townspeople. Their careers and their methods placed them outside the pale of acceptable society. As the gospels reveal, the tax collectors were often lumped together with sinners as being unclean and outside the law. According to Zacchaeus’ neighbors, he was certainly no son of Abraham!

Nevertheless, Zacchaeus was drawn to Jesus; and Jesus, the incarnation of God’s love and mercy for sinners, was drawn to him. As R. Fuller has pointed out, in the Zacchaeus incident Luke dramatized the fact that it would no longer be the law that determined humanity’s relationship to God. After all, Zacchaeus was considered in breach of the law. Rather, a person’s relationship to God would be determined by his/her attitude toward Jesus! Zacchaeus’ attitude is first shown in his climbing the tree. Then, after Jesus had come into his home, his attitude was further revealed in his willingness to correct his wrongdoings.

According to the law as recorded in the Jewish scriptures, when one who had cheated another confessed his guilt and volunteered to make restitution, the amount required was equal to the amount stolen plus one fifth more (Leviticus 6:5, Numbers 5:7). However, if a person were caught in the act and then forced to make restitution, the amount exacted would be four- or fivefold the amount stolen (Exodus 22:14, 2 Samuel 12:6). It is significant that Zacchaeus opted for the greater penalty. Not only did he freely admit his dishonesty, he volunteered to make the ultimate restitution. Moreover, and in keeping with one of the requirements Jesus asked of his disciples, Zacchaeus volunteered to give half of what he owned to the poor. When Jesus made a similar challenge to one of the ruling class (Luke 18:22), the wealthy man went away sad.

Jesus’ declaration, “Today salvation has come to this house” (v. 9), confirmed the integrity of Zacchaeus’ conversion and affirmed the quality of his faith. In the person of Jesus, Zacchaeus had met and experienced the saving power of God. He showed himself to be a true son of Abraham, viz., one who, by faith, had become an heir to all the promises God had made to the patriarch. In the Jewish tradition, those promises translated into land, posterity and prosperity; in the Christian tradition, those promises trans lated into an experience of the reign of God present in Jesus, i.e., salvation.

While the final verse of this gospel pericope concerning the Son of Man searching and saving the lost is thought by many to be a later addition to the story and a commentary by the post-resurrection community, it is nevertheless an apt description of Jesus’ ministry. The searching of God, made tangible in Jesus, reached out to Zacchaeus and made him whole. That day, Zacchaeus became truly worthy of his name; the experience of Zacchaeus, whose name means “pure one” or “righteous one,” challenges every sinful believer to do whatever is necessary to welcome salvation into his/her heart.

1. True wisdom does not judge and condemn. True wisdom understands and forgives (Wisdom).

2. If we live each day as if it were our last, then we shall prepare a worthy welcome for the Lord (2 Thessalonians).

3. If one day salvation knocked at our door, would we recognize and welcome him? (Luke).

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