31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

In our familiar Gospel story of Zacchaeus, Jesus does something that might entirely change how you see Jesus’ life, and what that means about how you are called here and now to live as disciples of Jesus!  In our Gospel today, we hear that Jesus came to Jericho and “intended to pass through the town”…Jesus intended to pass through the town, but when he sees Zacchaeus he changes his mind and decides to stay.  For Jesus, following his Father’s will didn’t look like having a checklist in his head of every single pre-planned-from-all-eternity thing that had to happen on that particular day to achieve our salvation…Jesus changed his mind and his plans during his days with the nudges of the Holy Spirit (and in this case the Holy Spirit moved him to change his plans and have dinner with Zacchaeus – and this interaction changed Zacchaeus’ life).

God’s plan to change the world is not primarily through heady knowledge of theology, nor is it primarily through large-scale events that normal folk like us are unable to bring about.  God’s plan to change the world is to change it primarily through normal, personal interactions, when we as individuals (as the hands and feet of Christ here and now), inspired by the Spirit, reach out and touch the lives of particular people that God has us come in contact with.  Personal interaction, personal invitation – that’s how Jesus lived and that’s how we are called to live, too!