11/18/2014 - Tuesday of 33rd week in ordinary time- Luke 19:1-10

      How often do we make an extraordinary effort to search for God in our lives and to find the ways he is present to us?  Today, we hear the familiar story of Zacchaeus.  We know a lot about him from the Gospel – he is short in stature, a wealthy man, and one of the despised chief tax collectors. Zacchaeus literally climbs a tree and goes out on a limb in order to find God in his life.  In meeting Jesus, in having Jesus call after him, Zacchaeus responds with his conversion and repentance.  He offers to give half of his possessions to the poor, showing he is willing to make amends to those whom he extorted money from during his work as a chief tax collector. 

      God calls us in the reality and the circumstances of our lives, just as he called out to Zacchaeus while he was up in that tree trying to get a glimpse of Jesus in the midst of the dense crowd. In our Church, we commemorate the martyrs who have given their lives for the faith.   A couple of weeks ago, we commemorated those who were martyred for the faith in the Spanish Civil War.  Just this past Sunday, November 16^th, was the anniversary of 6 Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter, who were all martyred in the country of El Salvador in Central America in 1989 at their residence at the university.  I mentioned them in the homily we had this past weekend.   They gave up their lives for the faith in the midst of a revolution and great political turmoil in this poor Latin American Country.  They were there as witnesses of our faith in the harsh reality that existed in that country.   In March of 1980, the Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero, was also gunned down by the military while he was celebrating mass, and his cause is moving forward toward beatification. In our own way, in the reality of our own lives, we are also called to go out on a limb in order to find Jesus in our own lives and to be witnesses for the faith.  “The struggle against injustice and the pursuit of truth cannot be separated nor can one work for one independent of the other.”  These are words spoken by Father Ignatio Ellacuria, the superior of that Jesuit community that was martyred.   His profound words challenge us to live out the justice that God’s truth calls us to, a justice that cannot be separated from our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.   So, as we reflect upon today’s Gospel story of Zacchaeus, might ask ourselves this question: How is God challenging us today to go out on a limb and to live out and proclaim his justice in our lives?