Pass Me Not By

A reflection by Heidi Knofczynski

Whenever this Gospel is proclaimed at Mass, I always connect it with the hymn, Pass Me Not, Gentle Savior.  

Pass me not, O gentle Savior,

Hear my humble cry;

While on others Thou art calling,

Do not pass me by.

Oh, how Zacchaeus wanted to get a glimpse of Jesus,!  So much so that this man, who had a great deal of power within the community, was willing to cast aside his ill-gotten dignity and climb up a tree to do so.  An impulsive act perhaps, but Jesus, who knows what occurs in the depth of our hearts, was there at exactly the right moment.  He willingly entered this bully’s home to dine with him.  This caused much grumbling among those who had also gathered to see Jesus.

Many of those grumblers may have been scandalized by this because Zacchaeus so willingly took the side of oppression and dishonesty for his own personal gain.  But among those grumblers, there were some in that crowd who may have been deeply hurt by Zacchaeus’ unscrupulous actions.  Their honor has been stolen; stolen and misused by this little man in a tree!  Why would the healer pass by the victims in favor of the victimizer?

Let me at Thy throne of mercy

Find a sweet relief;

Kneeling there in deep contrition,

Help my unbelief.

I admit in my meditations, sometimes I find myself to be a major grumbler in the crowd.   I see myself standing in the crowd as someone wounded by that small person.  I am still struggling under the burden of the dishonor and humiliation that was heaped upon me.  I had hoped beyond hope that the Savior would reach out His hand and call me to Him, to restore what was taken.  But instead, He passed me by to get to Zaccheaus, did I deserve my dishonor?  Is there nothing about me or my sorrow that calls to His Heart?  I do not even have the strength to even want to forgive this little man you are calling on.   I start to fear my hopes; I start to doubt my Savior. Better to not hope than to be let down.

It is really hard to stay with a meditation like this, because it is so painful.  There is often so much fear that He will not respond to the pain.   And on top of that, in the background of these thoughts are the murmurings of our own guilt, because we know we have failed others.  It is easy to think: Maybe I don't deserve His attention.   Maybe I am selfish is desiring it. 

Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.

Listen carefully to what Jesus is saying when you start to waiver.   Allow the Lord to draw you out of your fears.  “Do you trust me?”   He speaks so softly you can miss it: “I have not passed you by.  Those who hurt you cannot truly pay their debt to you without Me. Fourfold you will be repaid. My justice surges like water and spreads its splendor like an unfailing stream. (Amos 5:24 ).

Thou the spring of all my comfort,

More than life to me,

Whom have I on earth beside Thee,

Whom in Heav’n but Thee.

Truly we should not begrudge Zacchaeus his joy at being singled out by Christ in this way; we all are a Zacchaeus to someone.  We have stolen someone’s honor, or made them feel insignificant or worse.   Mostly we do this blindly, but not always. In Him only is our hope for repaying our debts, and in Him is our only hope of recovering what has been taken from us.  Christ does not pass you by ever in indifference to your hurts!  He is always bringing you to a deeper level of healing with a stronger faith and a higher hope!

How do you relate to the story of Zacchaeus?  Are you ever worried that He might pass you by?

As Christ approaches you this Advent, let Him draw out your deepest fears and replace them with a hope that is deeper still.  Let your trust in His gentle ways cause your justice to surge like waters and flow like an unfailing stream!

Lyrics for Pass Me Not Gentle Savior  by Frances Crosby 1868 Public Domain

YOU MUST CLIMB A TREE!

YOU MUST CLIMB A TREE!

(a reflection on Luke 19:1-10)

by: Deacon Paul Rooney

 

I have no statistics on this, but I suspect that there are a LOT of folks out there who are convinced that if they just "believe" in Jesus, then they are Saved.  But those same folks don't stop with just that thought.  They are convinced that they need to do absolutely nothing more; their part is finished, and the rest is up to God.  Of course, these fundamentalists will cite scripture verses such as John 3:16, which speak of believing and the salvation that follows.

        There are many responses to correct such a view of a potentially very limited Christian life, and we find those correctives throughout Jesus' teachings in the gospels.  Today's wonderful story of Zacchaeus is no exception.  In fact, it is one of the more delightful teachings in the gospels, a very visual story that excites the imagination.  When we first meet Zacchaeus, a rich tax collector, we are told that he is "short in stature."  Immediately I picture him in my imagination as a short, fat, bald and bearded man.  Since he is rich, and lives in that very hot desert town of Jericho, then he is probably sitting in the shade of his tax stall on a corner somewhere on main street, sipping wine all day And eating pastries that only the rich can afford.  He was not liked by the townspeople, because he was a tax collector, a much-hated person because he worked for the Roman government in his occupation.  The Pharisees almost always mentioned "sinners" and "tax collectors" in the same contemptuous way.

Old Jericho was a desert town way out in the middle of "nowhere"; but it was a major city because of it's location near the crossroads of two heavily trafficked roads.  First, the "King's Highway" was located a little to the east (a N-S route).  Second, Jericho connected to a major trade route (running E-W) that led to the Mediterranean.  The Old Jericho of our story is about two miles away from modern Jericho (I have been there several times).  It had an oasis, and was the first city captured by the Hebrews when they entered the promised land.  So it's historical existence cannot be doubted, because all archeologists agree that it existed centuries before Jesus visited the city in our gospel story today, and the drawing indicates their understanding of the type of walls and buildings that it had at that time, based on their excavations.

Back to our story: notice what Zacchaeus does.  He takes action to "see" Jesus!  He runs ahead of everyone ("waddles," in my imagination), and with effort climbs up a sycamore tree–not really too difficult, since the branches of the desert variety are fairly low.

Now notice what Jesus does.  He sees Zacchaeus, and invites himself to dine with him!  That must have stunned the crowd following Jesus through the town.  Now I am going to take that giant leap to our own day, so hang in there... J

The key to today's gospel is to recognize that Jesus always responds to our little efforts to make contact with him!  We all have our "Zacchaeus moments" such as going to Mass on Sundays to adore our Lord.  Mass is our "tree."  We all need a tree!  One of my own "trees" is the Bible.  If I did not take quality time every morning to read and meditate on the scripture passages used in the day's daily Mass, I would have a frustrating day.  I personally need this contact, because I need to hear Jesus talk to me; I need to hear him "invite himself" into my life–just because I chose to do something to enable that Jesus to see the welcome mat I have placed at the door of my heart.

What is your own "tree"?  Remember, we all need one!  How do you make Jesus feel that he is welcome?  Perhaps it is simple vocal prayer for you, both praise and thanksgiving.  Perhaps you pray a rosary, meditating on gospel scenes from the life of Christ.  Perhaps you just sit silently in his presence, just "being with" him in silent adoration, either in your "prayer chair" at home or in a church or chapel.  Whatever it is, it is your "tree" and you must water it frequently (i.e., use it) to keep it flourishing on your desert journey.

Remember, we meet Jesus in the ordinary events of our lives.  We do not need to look for the spectacular to find him.  He will meet us anywhere we like, if we are just welcoming. So my advice today is this: Go Climb Your Tree!

- Deacon Paul Rooney