Sunday Reading

31^st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle C)

Readings:
Wisdom 11:22-12:2
Psalm 145:1-2, 8-11, 13b-14
2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2
Luke 19:1-10

Abbreviations: NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).

God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, which is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).

The Theme of the Readings: The Lord Who Calls Us is Gracious and Merciful
Yahweh revealed His divine attributes to Moses, telling him He is merciful and gracious... slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity (Ex 34:66-7). The First Reading reminds us that God is good and that everything He created is good. He created us to be good, and the stain of sin upon our souls does not lessen His love for us. God is, therefore, gracious and merciful in giving us time to turn away from sin. He continually calls us to repentance and to experience His divine mercy and forgiveness.

In the First Reading, the inspired writer tells us that God created the material world to serve human beings created in His image. His immortal spirit is in all things, and all creation is inspired and governed by God's wisdom, as we pray in the Nicene Creed, "Through Him, all things were made" (CCC 269-270, 299 317-318).

Scripture attributes the Psalm Reading to King David. The psalmist declares that God's faithful people will praise Yahweh for all His works. Everyone will come to acknowledge the glory of God's kingdom and God's mighty deeds. The psalmist recognizes God's grace and mercy, praising Him for His compassion for those who suffer. The psalmist declares God's mercy as He lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The universal range of God's Kingdom is seen in the way He cares for the weak and the oppressed of every nation. St. John of the Cross wrote, quoting Psalm 145:16, "he opens his hand, as David says, and fills all his creatures with his blessings" (Spiritual Canticle, 6).

In the Second Reading, St. Paul alludes to God's mercy in the time He has allowed humanity to come to salvation between Christ's first and second visitation. We have an obligation to use the time allotted to us to spread the Gospel of salvation to the ends of the earth (Mt 28:19; Acts 1:8). God, in His mercy, has given us time before His Final Judgment because He is not willing that any should perish but that all might have the opportunity to come to salvation, like the sinful tax collector Jesus called to discipleship in the Gospel story.

Last week's Gospel reading compared the prayer of a proud Pharisee with the humility and contrition of a tax collector who acknowledged his sins. This week we see the response of a tax collector to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The previous story in the Gospel of Luke concerned Jesus healing a blind man who called out to Him as He entered the city of Jericho (Lk 18:35-43). In this encounter with Christ in Jericho, there is a connection between what happened to the blind man who so urgently called out to Jesus as He "passed by" and the little tax collector who desperately wanted to see Jesus before He "passed by." Both stories are about the urgency of reaching out to Jesus before He "passes by." They warn us not to neglect reaching out to Jesus while there is still time for us to be open to God's grace and mercy and to receive the gift of salvation. In our journey to salvation, we need to respond quickly and decisively to Jesus, like the earnest blind beggar and the repentant little tax collector, calling out to the gracious and merciful Christ while there is still time and before life passes us by.

The First Reading Wisdom 11:22-12:2 ~ Almighty and Merciful Lord of the Imperishable Spirit
11:22 Before the LORD, the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. 23 But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people's sins that they may repent. 24 For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. 25 And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? 26 But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls. 2:1 For your imperishable spirit is in all things! 2 Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!

The lesson the inspired writer of the Book of Wisdom gives about God's mercy and faithful love toward all created things is not new (see Hos 6:4-6; Jon 3:1-4:11). He writes forcefully of the universal range of God's mercy towards sinful man and the love of God that is continually at work in creation (see Wis 11:23-26). The inspired writer speaks of God's loving providence towards all created beings, also expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "With creation, God does not abandon his creatures to themselves. He not only gives them being and existence but also, and at every moment, upholds and sustains them in being, enables them to act and bring them to their final end. Recognizing this utter dependence with respect to the Creator is a source of wisdom and freedom, of joy and confidence" (CCC 301). God waits for the sinner to repent and never loses His patience (12:1-2). When God rebukes sinful human beings, He does so with a redemptive intention in the hope that contrition will lead to repentance, which will lead to a return to the acceptance of God's love and mercy. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "the love of God creates and fills all things with goodness" (Summa Theologiae, 1.20.2).

Responsorial Psalm 145:1-2, 8-11, 13b-14 ~ Praise the Great and Merciful Lord
The response is: "I will praise your name forever, my king and my God."

1 I will extol you, my God and King; I will bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day will I bless you; I will praise your name forever and ever.
Response:
8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. 9 The LORD is good to all, compassionate toward all your works.
Response:
10 All your works give you thanks, LORD, and your faithful bless you. 11 They speak of the glory of your reign and tell of your mighty works.
Response:
13b The LORD is trustworthy in all his words, and loving in all his works. 14 The LORD supports all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
Response:

Psalm 145 is another of the alphabetical psalms and one of a group of psalms attributed to King David that both begins and ends with praise (verses 1 and 21). The psalmist begins with an enthusiastic desire to praise the Lord daily (verses 1-2). St. John Chrysostom wrote: "Devotion to praise is a mark of the truly filial heart. He who praises the Lord every day will praise him for the eternal Day" (Expositio in Psalmos, 144.2). In verses 8-9, the psalmist focuses on the graciousness and mercy of God, quoting in verse 8 from Exodus 34:6 in God's words to Moses: Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out, "The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity ...."

In verses 10-11, the psalmist declares that Yahweh will be praised for all His works and by His faithful people; everyone will come to acknowledge the glory of God's kingdom and His mighty deeds. The last verses in our reading again declare God's faithfulness in His words and His works and that God, in His mercy, lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. We can see the universal range of God's Kingdom, in His mercy, He protects the weak and the oppressed in every nation. St. John of the Cross wrote, quoting Psalm 145:16, "he opens his hand, as David says, and fills all his creatures with his blessings" (Spiritual Canticle, 6).

The Second Reading 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2 ~ Awaiting The Day of the Lord's Return
11 We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. 2:1 We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, 2 not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a "spirit," or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.

St. Paul was deeply concerned. He feared that the persecution the church at Thessalonica faced would cause some of them to stumble and fall away from the Lord (1:4-5). Even more disturbing was the news Paul received that someone was deceiving the community by writing false letters in his name (2 Thess 2:2)! The topic of the false teaching concerns the Parousia, the Second Advent of Christ. Some church members in Thessalonica had inferred that the coming of Christ was so imminent that there was no longer any need to work or care for their families. Paul began by writing about the Second Advent of Christ (1:6-10) and then wrote that he and his missionary team prayed continually that God would make them worthy of the call of Jesus Christ and that they would be glorified in Him when He returns.

Then in 2:1-2, Paul began to refute the false messages they have received: We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, 2 not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a "spirit," or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand. He warns them that before Christ's return, there are signs that must be fulfilled (2 Thess 2:3b-12). He writes that before Christ's Second Coming, there will be a general apostasy and the appearance of "the man of sin" (2 Thess 2:3). In the meantime, they need to "not be shaken" or "alarmed" by any letter or spirit or oral statement telling them otherwise (2:2). God was preparing them for Christ's return in their sufferings and with the teaching of His Apostles and disciples. This was the only teaching they must follow and none other.

We must also heed St. Paul's warning to the Christians at Thessalonica to Stand firm then, brothers, and keep the traditions that we taught you, whether by word of mouth or by letter (2 Thess 2:15; also see 2 Thess 3:6 and 1 Cor 11:2). We have the Scriptures, and the Universal [catholic] Church of Jesus Christ has been given the power and authority to interpret and teach those Scriptures and to pass on the oral Tradition of teaching received from Jesus (Jn 20:22-23; 21:15-17; 2 Pt 1:20-21). If we do not understand those teachings, how can we be ready to receive Christ's mercy instead of His judgment when He returns?

The Gospel of Luke 19:1-10 ~ Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
1 He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. 2 Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, 3 was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. 5 When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." 6 And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 7 When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." 8 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." 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."

Last week's Gospel reading compared the prayer of a proud Pharisee with the humility and contrition of a tax collector who repented and acknowledged his sins. This week we see the response of another tax collector to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The previous story in the Gospel of Luke concerned Jesus healing a blind man who called out to Him as He entered the city of Jericho (Lk 18:35-43). In this encounter with Christ, there is a connection between what happened to the blind man who so urgently called out to Jesus as He was passing by and the little tax collector who desperately wanted a chance to see Jesus before He passed by. Both stories are about the urgency of reaching out to Jesus before He "passes by" and warning us not to fail responding to Jesus while there is still time for us to be open to God's grace and mercy and receive the gift of salvation. In our journey to salvation, we need to continue to respond quickly and decisively to Jesus, like the earnest blind beggar and the repentant little tax collector.

The people despised tax collectors because of the way they profited off the commission that they added to the people's taxes. Jesus, in His mercy, calls out to the little tax collector, and Zacchaeus responds to Jesus. Repenting his dishonesty, Zacchaeus promises Jesus that he will make restitution as a sign of his conversion. The Law of Moses imposed fourfold restitution for the theft of domestic livestock only (Ex 21:37), but Roman law demanded a fourfold compensation in all cases of theft. Zacchaeus appears to be following Roman law in the restitution he promises for those he has defrauded, but he goes beyond the requirement in promising to give half his wealth to the poor.

Luke 19:9-10 ~ And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."
Zacchaeus's repentance and submission to Christ identify him as a true descendant of Abraham (Gal 3:29) and one of the "lost sheep" the Messiah, who is God Himself, was prophesied to save (Ezek 34:11-12). May we all respond to Christ in the same way as Zacchaeus, the tax collector. He may have been small in stature, but his genuine contrition for his sins and gratitude for Christ's mercy and forgiveness enlarged his heart, as demonstrated in the mercy he was willing to extend to others. A faith filled response to Jesus and His Gospel of salvation removes the selfishness that blurs our vision of Christ and increases the power of our faith. Zacchaeus's response to Christ gave him the honor of welcoming Jesus to his table and the promise of a place at Christ's banquet in the eternal kingdom.

Catechism References (* indicated Scripture is quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Wisdom 11:23 (CCC 269); 11:24-26 (CCC 301); 11:24 (CCC 373)

Psalm 145:9 (CCC 295, 342*)

2 Thessalonians 1:11 (CCC 2636*)

Luke 19:1-10 (CCC 2712*); 19:8 (CCC 549*, 2412)

The universe was created for God's glory (CCC 293, 294*, 299*, 341, 353)

Reparation (CCC 1459, 2412*, 2487)