33RD TUESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Luke 19:1-10) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“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.” (Lk 19:8)

FIRST READING - 2 Macc 6:18-31

"I will leave to the young a noble example of how to die willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws."

A reading from the First Book of Maccabees

^18 [a]Eleazar, one of the foremost scribes, a man advanced in age and of noble appearance, was being forced to open his mouth to eat pork. ¹⁹ But preferring a glorious death to a life of defilement, he went forward of his own accord to the instrument of torture, ²⁰ spitting out the meat as they should do who have the courage to reject food unlawful to taste even for love of life.

²¹ Those in charge of that unlawful sacrifice took the man aside, because of their long acquaintance with him, and privately urged him to bring his own provisions that he could legitimately eat, and only to pretend to eat the sacrificial meat prescribed by the king. ²² Thus he would escape death, and be treated kindly because of his old friendship with them. ²³ But he made up his mind in a noble manner, worthy of his years, the dignity of his advanced age, the merited distinction of his gray hair, and of the admirable life he had lived from childhood. Above all loyal to the holy laws given by God, he swiftly declared, “Send me to Hades!”

²⁴ “At our age it would be unbecoming to make such a pretense; many of the young would think the ninety-year-old Eleazar had gone over to an alien religion. ²⁵ If I dissemble to gain a brief moment of life, they would be led astray by me, while I would bring defilement and dishonor on my old age. ²⁶ Even if, for the time being, I avoid human punishment, I shall never, whether alive or dead, escape the hand of the Almighty. ²⁷ Therefore, by bravely giving up life now, I will prove myself worthy of my old age, ²⁸ and I will leave to the young a noble example of how to die willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws.”

He spoke thus, and went immediately to the instrument of torture. ²⁹ Those who shortly before had been kindly disposed, now became hostile toward him because what he had said seemed to them utter madness. ³⁰ When he was about to die under the blows, he groaned, saying: “The Lord in his holy knowledge knows full well that, although I could have escaped death, I am not only enduring terrible pain in my body from this scourging, but also suffering it with joy in my soul because of my devotion to him.” ³¹ This is how he died, leaving in his death a model of nobility and an unforgettable example of virtue not only for the young but for the whole nation.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Lk 19:1-10

"The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."

✠From the Gospel according to Luke

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 [b]And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. ^10 [c]For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

33RD TUESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Luke 19:1-10)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear people of God,

The Word of God in today's Gospel tells the story of Jesus visiting the home of Zacchaeus. He was a sinful tax collector known to everyone in the city.

Today's Word of God reminds everyone that God is love, that He loves all people without exception.

God came into the world to seek and save what had been lost, to save those who lived far from God. Especially in today’s world, people commit a lot of sins, they live far from God, far from His love, and people are self-oriented rather than God-oriented.

God reveals that He loves and comes to sinners to help them return to God's righteous path, just as the Lord once came to Zacchaeus, a sinful tax collector.

Through His loving presence, God had moved his heart, helping him to convert and abandon the path of sin and return to God.

He demonstrated his repentance by giving half of his possessions to the poor and repaying fourfold those he had defrauded; this is the image of restoring justice to God and to others.

God calls today’s humanity:

• To turn toward God, listen to and follow His teachings;

• to sincerely repent, abandon the path of sin, return to God and reconcile with Him, and reconcile with others.

God uses the image of Zacchaeus, who repented and restored God's justice to call people in today’s world to also repay all that belongs to God, and repay to others all that does not belong to themselves, for that is justice and righteousness before God; and after departing this world, humanity will also face judgment to restore God's justice and righteousness.

God calls people in today’s world to listen to and practice the word God commands.

Do not walk the path of the world, do not walk the path of darkness anymore.

Walk the path of light, walk the path of truth, walk the path of love that God has taught and called you to.

God is love, and He calls everyone to run to Him so that He may bestow His loving heart upon them all.

All those who come to call upon Him and plead with Him will have their hearts warmed by God's love, and He will provide for and take care of everything. For God is Love, and He came into the world to save humanity from the captivity of Satan, just as He came to save the soul of Zacchaeus from the path of sin.

Therefore, the Word of God today calls everyone to be courageous and come to God to receive the love He bestows and, through God's love, humanity will become a new person belonging to God; and thus the life of the Kingdom of Heaven will be present in that very soul.

Thanks be to God. Amen.