Level Ground

Zacchaeus created distance from people. Living high above the poor, he collected money to protect himself from poverty. His short stature and shortsightedness kept him from truly viewing others with dignity. He even viewed himself with the same self-sufficient lens until a different viewpoint grew within him. Zacchaeus climbed high into a tree to capture a long view of Jesus’ reputation. Going out on a limb, he encountered Jesus and then came down to earth into a new way of life.  

Luke’s gospel is known for shortening the distance among people. In Luke 6, Jesus teaches the Beatitudes to the crowd on level ground, not on a mountainside as in Matthew’s Gospel. Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus unveils the holy view of people’s faces. Jesus desires to gaze into the eyes of the sinner. His words flow directly into the souls of those who most need to encounter him. In today’s Gospel, Jesus commands Zacchaeus to get out of the tree and to dine with him on the level grounding of a family meal.  

We may be threatened by a heart-to-heart, an eye-to-eye, encounter with Jesus. We may turn shamefacedly away from divine love. We may rely on our guilt for identity and sin for self-protection. On the level ground of the Eucharist, Jesus Christ desires to connect more deeply than our selfish ways. He invites unity on the equal ground of faith so justice, mercy, forgiveness and tenderness may spread across our differences.  

Fr. Ronald Patrick Raab

Fr. Ronald Patrick Raab, CSC serves as religious superior at Holy Cross House, a medical and retirement facility at Notre Dame, Indiana. He is an award-winning author and visual artist. Learn more at ronaldraab.com

My thanks to Liturgical Press for the publication of this article in Give Us This Day.