The apostle Paul introduces us with his prayer into the meditation of one of the most moving stories of the Gospel of Luke: “let us pray continuously for you so that our God may make you worthy of his call”. The meeting of Zacchaeus with the Lord Jesus seems to be exactly the “Fulfillment” of the yearning that inhabits the heart of every man and woman e that comes from so far away: from the depths of our being. The Lord has one subtle perception of our deep desire enough to come forward for encourage us on the path of conversion by calling us by name e inviting himself: “today I have to stop at your house”. The stop of Jesus in the house of Zacchaeus, as well as in our life, is not only a reason for “joy”, but it puts the inner process of conversion back on track completely natural. It is in the nature of bitter things and people to go back to that God who loves “all things” and is “indulgent” because he is a “lover of life”. A lifetime of trying to climb a little bit higher to win the own inferiority complex. A whole life to impose on others something – a higher and higher tax! – to be able to redeem himself from that sense of continuous imposition that Zacchaeus has felt weighing on him since, child, he climbed the sycamores of Jericho with his companions who perhaps they made fun of him because he was “small in stature”. The Lord Jesus it fits into this game – which is nothing more than a pain relief – and it does with a word that must have been warned by Zacchaeus, however much it was sounded sharp, like a real liberation.

Commentary by b. Michael David, osb Novalesa Abbey

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey