Rv 3:1-6, 14-22 / Lk 19:1-10
How many bureaucrats does it take to change a light bulb? The answer is two: One to assure us that everything possible is being done, while the other screws the bulb into a water faucet.
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If you think about it, thats not a bad description of parts of our lives: Assuring ourselves that everything possible is being done while screwing the light bulb into the water faucet. Its certainly an apt description of Zacchaeus, the central figure in Sundays gospel.
Zacchaeus was one of the richest men in Israel. He held the position of chief tax collector, he moved in the highest circles, and he had power lots of it. He was also a crook, a collaborator with the enemy, and a target of hate for his countrymen. Hed always thought of himself as successful. But suddenly, at the height of his career, it dawned on him that his life wasnt working. There was a void at the core. There was no joy, and intuitively he understood that there would be no joy as long as he continued on the same path.
Unlike many of us, Zacchaeus knew he had to change. So when he heard that Jesus was passing through town, he abandoned all dignity and shinnied up a sycamore tree to make sure hed see this holy man who just might be able to tell him how to find the joy that was missing in his life. The rest is history. Jesus looked up into his eyes and said, Let me come to your house today. Jesus came and Zacchaeus life was forever changed. He found the joy for which hed so longed.
The story has a very happy ending, and its important for us to understand why and how that happened. The real turning point came before Jesus offered his invitation. It came when Zacchaeus recognized his need and decided to do something about it.
For every one of us, there are parts of life that dont work, parts that are lifeless and yield no joy. And in many cases that hasnt changed in years. The reason is that we persist in trying to get light out of a bulb thats screwed into a water faucet. We keep looking for joy where it isnt to be found.
If, in those failed parts of our lives, we can speak the hard truth that Zacchaeus learned how to speak, if we can see something is wrong and has to change, at that very moment well hear the words that Jesus has been speaking to us all along, words weve been drowning out with our self-deceptive assurances that everythings just fine. Well hear him say, I want to come to your house this day. I want to live at the center of your life. And then, with our yes to him, the healing, the transformation, and the joy will begin.
Face the truth today, speak it to yourself and then to the Lord, and let your healing begin!