Fr. Michael Vinoth sx
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Wis 11:22--12:2; 2 Thes 1:11--2:2. Lk 19:1-10)
In the early 1950s, a TV program captured the attention of millions throughout the word, particularly the English-speaking segment. It was Archbishop Fulton Sheen's program: Life is Worth Living. The opening, dramatic lines spoken by the Archbishop as he introduced the program were, "Is life worth living, or is it dull and monotonous? Life is monotonous if it is meaningless; it is not monotonous if it has purpose." Today’s readings tell us that life is worth living, if we are ready to experience the mercy of a forgiving God Who accepts us as we are.
Each and every minute of our life we make mistakes. Sometime we feel that no one is seeing or know what I am doing. "Why doesn’t God do away with evil men?" The answer is that, unlike mortal, God is benevolent toward all His creatures. God´s love for what He has created becomes a redemptive love through His mercy. God loves His creation, and because of this love He pardons and is patient with people who have gone astray, so that they may repent.
I do remember my dad; in my young age, I have done lots of mistakes. Even thought of running away from the house. My dad was a good mentor and guide. He directed me to choose better things in life. Even though he punished me but always He forgave me and gave me many opportunities whenever I did some mistakes. He never wanted to do away with me but always wanted me to learn from the mistake that I did. If my dad could do that what about our heavenly Father. My dad made me to realize that I have some dignity and uniqueness, I worth something to him. He made me to feel that he values me more than anything. That is the same, God our is doing to us. It is purely of His love that we are moving and living on this earth.
Today in the world we hear so much about wars and terror attacks and we ask again and again why doesn’t God do away with them? Sometime we feel to say or ask where are you, God? The answer is GOD IS BENEVOLENT TO ALL HIS CREATURES. God saw everything was good at the time of creation. Therefore, He gives us the opportunity to repent again and again. He still waits for us to come back to our original status. Most of the time we would like to get this benevolent from our God but we don’t want to share the same with our brothers and sisters. Look at Zacchaeus in the gospel today.
What was the cause for Zacchaeus' sudden conversion? By entering Zacchaeus’ house, Jesus gave back to him the dignity that he had lost and restored his sense of self-worth. Jesus gave him a new life. By making no demands on Zacchaeus, Jesus gave him a feeling of acceptance and a new direction for his life. Hence during the dinner, Zacchaeus made the solemn announcement of his repentance and committed himself to doing justice by the sharing of his wealth (giving half his possessions to the poor), and the making of reparations (fourfold to the defrauded). We need to learn from Zacchaeus today that how to realize the Benevolent of God. There are many opportunities that god is giving us every day. He is knocking at the door of our heart to enter but we don’t want to open the door for him.
We need to accept the God’s invitation for repentance. Jesus takes the initiative of knocking at the door of our souls, asking for entry. We have one thing in common with Zacchaeus: like him, we are all sinners, and we all need salvation. The total rehabilitation of a formerly sinful man accomplished by a process of discipleship: seeking, meeting, undergoing conversion, and following Jesus Who is God.
To refuse to admit that we are sinners, is a fundamental impediment to the working of the mercy and grace of God in our hearts. We have lost the sense of sins. We are not aware that we are sinning every walk of our life. We keep justifying ourselves that we are ok. That makes us not to repent.
A second, more common impediment is to refuse to listen to the call to repentance, which God so frequently sends out to us. We are all sinners to a greater or lesser degree. Jesus is inviting each one of us to total conversion today by means of this Gospel lesson. Jesus is our loving Brother who died that we might live. He is the Son of God, a God of Infinite Love. Hence, let us expose and confess all our weaknesses and injustices to Him.
Let us remember that Jesus loves us in spite of our ugly thoughts, broken promises, sullied ideals, lack of prayer and Faith, resentments, and lusts. He will put us back on the straight road to Heaven. We will become again true "sons and daughters of Abraham." In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus, acting through the priest in the confessional, ministers to us individually, just as he interacted individually with Zacchaeus. As Zacchaeus did, we, too, need to “come down,” to leave the roosts of our pride and allow Jesus to go to work through his ministerial priests. This life is worth living. Let us live it to the fullest.
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Wis 11:22--12:2; 2 Thes 1:11--2:2. Lk 19:1-10)
In the early 1950s, a TV program captured the attention of millions throughout the word, particularly the English-speaking segment. It was Archbishop Fulton Sheen's program: Life is Worth Living. The opening, dramatic lines spoken by the Archbishop as he introduced the program were, "Is life worth living, or is it dull and monotonous? Life is monotonous if it is meaningless; it is not monotonous if it has purpose." Today’s readings tell us that life is worth living, if we are ready to experience the mercy of a forgiving God Who accepts us as we are.
Each and every minute of our life we make mistakes. Sometime we feel that no one is seeing or know what I am doing. "Why doesn’t God do away with evil men?" The answer is that, unlike mortal, God is benevolent toward all His creatures. God´s love for what He has created becomes a redemptive love through His mercy. God loves His creation, and because of this love He pardons and is patient with people who have gone astray, so that they may repent.
I do remember my dad; in my young age, I have done lots of mistakes. Even thought of running away from the house. My dad was a good mentor and guide. He directed me to choose better things in life. Even though he punished me but always He forgave me and gave me many opportunities whenever I did some mistakes. He never wanted to do away with me but always wanted me to learn from the mistake that I did. If my dad could do that what about our heavenly Father. My dad made me to realize that I have some dignity and uniqueness, I worth something to him. He made me to feel that he values me more than anything. That is the same, God our is doing to us. It is purely of His love that we are moving and living on this earth.
Today in the world we hear so much about wars and terror attacks and we ask again and again why doesn’t God do away with them? Sometime we feel to say or ask where are you, God? The answer is GOD IS BENEVOLENT TO ALL HIS CREATURES. God saw everything was good at the time of creation. Therefore, He gives us the opportunity to repent again and again. He still waits for us to come back to our original status. Most of the time we would like to get this benevolent from our God but we don’t want to share the same with our brothers and sisters. Look at Zacchaeus in the gospel today.
What was the cause for Zacchaeus' sudden conversion? By entering Zacchaeus’ house, Jesus gave back to him the dignity that he had lost and restored his sense of self-worth. Jesus gave him a new life. By making no demands on Zacchaeus, Jesus gave him a feeling of acceptance and a new direction for his life. Hence during the dinner, Zacchaeus made the solemn announcement of his repentance and committed himself to doing justice by the sharing of his wealth (giving half his possessions to the poor), and the making of reparations (fourfold to the defrauded). We need to learn from Zacchaeus today that how to realize the Benevolent of God. There are many opportunities that god is giving us every day. He is knocking at the door of our heart to enter but we don’t want to open the door for him.
We need to accept the God’s invitation for repentance. Jesus takes the initiative of knocking at the door of our souls, asking for entry. We have one thing in common with Zacchaeus: like him, we are all sinners, and we all need salvation. The total rehabilitation of a formerly sinful man accomplished by a process of discipleship: seeking, meeting, undergoing conversion, and following Jesus Who is God.
To refuse to admit that we are sinners, is a fundamental impediment to the working of the mercy and grace of God in our hearts. We have lost the sense of sins. We are not aware that we are sinning every walk of our life. We keep justifying ourselves that we are ok. That makes us not to repent.
A second, more common impediment is to refuse to listen to the call to repentance, which God so frequently sends out to us. We are all sinners to a greater or lesser degree. Jesus is inviting each one of us to total conversion today by means of this Gospel lesson. Jesus is our loving Brother who died that we might live. He is the Son of God, a God of Infinite Love. Hence, let us expose and confess all our weaknesses and injustices to Him.
Let us remember that Jesus loves us in spite of our ugly thoughts, broken promises, sullied ideals, lack of prayer and Faith, resentments, and lusts. He will put us back on the straight road to Heaven. We will become again true "sons and daughters of Abraham." In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus, acting through the priest in the confessional, ministers to us individually, just as he interacted individually with Zacchaeus. As Zacchaeus did, we, too, need to “come down,” to leave the roosts of our pride and allow Jesus to go to work through his ministerial priests. This life is worth living. Let us live it to the fullest.