Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Peter Struk on the Sunday of Zacchaeus
January 14, 2024
We only have to desire to come to God and enjoy His favour and mercy in order to taste salvation for us and our dear ones and friends.
The vespers service of last Saturday as we conclude the feast of the Theophany Of Our Lord Jesus Christ gives us a reading from which we can come to reflect on the Sunday of Zacchaeus. “O Master, unapproachable to all! Creator of heaven and earth! You suffered on the cross and gave me freedom from suffering, accepting burial and rising in glory, You raised Adam with your mighty hand. Glory to your resurrection on the third day by which you gave us eternal life and cleansing from sin O only lover of us all.”
When we see Jesus coming to the town where Zacchaeus lived and was a notable tax collector and viewed as a great sinner, we realize this. Jesus has come to free us all from sin and the power of death. He Has already conquered the devil. When he refuted the temptations of the devil in the desert. He began his mission at Theophany. Jesus sees in Zacchaeus only the potential to be a child of God. He actually invites himself into his home to bring joy Salvation and a return to acceptance not only by God which is the most important quality to possess but also by all around him who always despised and feared him.
Zacchaeus rejoices and turns around his life and offers those whom he has wronged more than he was required to give. This is the power of Gods action in him through his welcoming Jesus in to his home which Jesus knew that he longed to welcome Jesus. In a similar way for us this is the situation in which we find ourselves many times in life and only have to desire to come to God and enjoy His favour and mercy in order to taste salvation for us and our dear ones and friends. This is how God wills it to happen.
