READING OF THE DAY
A reading from the Book of Revelation
RV 3:1-6, 14-22
I, John, heard the Lord saying to me:
“To the angel of the Church in Sardis, write this:
“‘The one who has the seven spirits of God
and the seven stars says this: “I know your works,
that you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die,
for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
Remember then how you accepted and heard; keep it, and repent.
If you are not watchful, I will come like a thief,
and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you.
However, you have a few people in Sardis
who have not soiled their garments;
they will walk with me dressed in white,
because they are worthy.“‘
The victor will thus be dressed in white,
and I will never erase his name from the book of life
but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father
and of his angels.
“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”“
“To the angel of the Church in Laodicea, write this:
“‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the source of God’s creation, says this:
“I know your works;
I know that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either cold or hot.
So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,
I will spit you out of my mouth.
For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’
and yet do not realize that you are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich,
and white garments to put on
so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed,
and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see.
Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise.
Be earnest, therefore, and repent.
“‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
then I will enter his house and dine with him,
and he with me.
I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne,
as I myself first won the victory
and sit with my Father on his throne.
“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Luke
LK 19:1-10
At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”
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.”
And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.”
Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
(Luke 19:1-10)
The Word of God for Us
Dear people of God,
The Word of God in today’s Gospel recounts the story of Jesus visiting the house of Zacchaeus. He was a sinful tax collector known to the whole city.
God’s Word today reminds everyone that God is a God of love. He loves everyone and does not exclude anyone. God came to earth to seek and save the lost, to save those who are living away from God; especially in today’s world, people commit a lot of sins; people live away from God, away from His love. People tend to focus more on themselves than on God. God said: God loves sinners and comes to help them return to the righteous path of God. As in the past, the Lord Himself came to Zacchaeus, a sinful tax collector. It was the loving presence of God that touched his human heart, helping him to convert and turn from the way of sin and return to God. He demonstrated repentance for his sins by giving half of his possessions to the poor and giving back fourfold to those he had damaged. This is an image of reparation for the justice of God and his neighbor.
God invites people today:
– Turn to God, listen, and follow His instructions;
– Sincerely repent, turn from the path of sin and return to God and make peace with Him and others.
God used the image of Zacchaeus who knew how to repent and to repay God’s justice. He also invites people in today’s world to learn how to give back everything that belongs to God, to give all that is not their own to their neighbor, for that is fair and just before God. After leaving this world, humans will also be judged by the fairness and justice of God.
God invites people in today’s world: Listen to and practice God’s command. Do not walk the way of the world, the path of darkness. Rather walk on the path of light, the path of truth, and the path of love that are taught and called by God.
God is love. He invites everyone to run to Him so that He can give His loving heart to everyone. For those who come to pray to Him, their hearts will be warmed by the love of God, and He will provide for all their needs. Because God is love, He came into the world to save people from Satan’s captivity, just as He saved Zacchaeus’ soul from the way of sin.
Therefore, the Word of God today invites everyone: Take courage and go to God to receive His love. Through God’s love, man becomes a new man belonging to God, and thus, the life of the Kingdom of God will be present in the person’s very own heart.
Thanks Be to God. Amen.
