House Visit

Gospel: Luke 19: 1-10

Jesus makes a shocking announcement before a large crowd at Jericho.  He announces that he intends to visit the house of Zacchaeus, a notorious tax collector who has cheated many people.  What is noteworthy is that the intended visit is in no way preconditioned.  Jesus does not ask Zacchaeus to do anything.  Jesus makes this invitation prior to Zacchaeus' own announcement that he intends to repent and make restitution for the many crimes he has committed against others.  

Some would have us believe that Jesus eating with sinners comes with qualifications and preconditions, but is never the case in the scriptures.  He eats at the homes of tax collectors and Pharisees alike, both sinners in their own way.  The meals are not agenda driven.  They are opportunities for encounter with God and with one another, opportunities for beginning and developing an ongoing relationship with God and with others.  

Today's feast and this reading invite us to ask why it is that we construct church buildings and celebrate the Eucharist at all.  Are these agenda driven endeavors of our own making, or are these opportunities for us and others to encounter God and each other, opportunities for transformation through the encounter, opportunities for relationships to begin and grow over time with God and with others?  One model is manipulative, the other is authentic discipleship.