Prepare a place for Jesus to seek and save what was lost.

For our third reflection this Advent we look at the story of Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10). Pope Francis wrote about this gospel in a catechetical bulletin published just a few weeks before his death: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/04/02/250402c.html

Zaccheus was the chief tax collector of Jericho, a city lying below sea level about fifteen miles east of Jerusalem. He was a very wealthy man, and likely grew his wealth dishonestly and was likely disliked by the people of the city. Jesus was passing through Jericho on his way up to Jerusalem after traveling through Samaria and Galilee.

Zacchaeus must have already heard about Jesus, because Luke tells us that he “was seeking to see who Jesus was.” But a crowd had gathered, and Zacchaeus, being “short in stature”, could not see. So, to prepare to see Jesus, he ran ahead of the crowd, climbed a sycamore tree, and waited for Jesus to pass by.

When Jesus reached that spot, he looked up and saw Zacchaeus. “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house” (Lk 19:5). Zacchaeus didn’t hesitate. He climbed down from that “quickly and received him with joy” (Lk 19:6).

The crowd is scandalized. They grumble that Jesus has chosen to stay with not just any tax collector, but the chief tax collector. But Jesus sought out Zacchaeus, who is so deeply transformed by this encounter that he stood before the Lord and declared: “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.”

Pope Francis explained that Zaccheus made “a commitment …, not a price to be paid, because God’s forgiveness is free, but rather the desire to imitate the One by whom he felt loved. Zacchaeus makes a commitment to which he was not bound, but he does so because he understands that this is his way of loving. … Zacchaeus …knows how to take practical steps. … He looked at his life and identified the point from which to begin his transformation.”

In response to the crowd and Zaccheus, Jesus proclaimed, “salvation has come to this house,” and revealed his mission: “to seek and to save what was lost.” Salvation comes to our house when we accept God’s grace and respond to Jesus seeking us out with faith through conversion: repentance, a desire to repair what we damaged, and concrete steps toward a new way of living.

When Jesus seeks us out where we are lost, how do we respond? When he gives us the grace to know him, will we make the effort to prepare a place where we can see him more clearly? When Jesus wants to stay with us, will we receive him with joy? Will our encounter with him move us to examine our own lives and identify real, practical steps toward change?

As Pope Francis concluded his instruction, "Let us nurture our desire to see Jesus, and above all let us allow ourselves to be found by the mercy of God, who always comes in search of us, in whatever situation we may be lost."