Sermon Cloud

A few years ago, priests of the diocese were invited to participate in a day of reflection which was animated by Father Thomas Rosica.  Fr. Tom is a Basilian priest who lives in Toronto.  He is well known as a scripture scholar and has held a variety of portfolios within the Basilian Fathers' community, but he is perhaps most well known as the Chief Executive Officer of World Youth Day 2002.

One of the innovations that was introduced in the World Youth Day 2002 team was that those who were responsible for the organization were all under the age of 35 years.  This was the first time that youth were actually invited to coordinate the WYD !

In May 2004, Father Rosica came to visit with us here in Sudbury.  The focus of his day of reflection was to begin unpacking the lessons of WYD2002.  Father Tom has been asked on numerous occasions, 'What is the secret to doing youth ministry today?  How do you attract youth to work with you? We too wanted to hear his reflections about this, but his answer surprised at least some of us.

'There is no big secret or trick to working with youth,' he said.  'What's important is that if you invite youth to do something, you have to have confidence in them and trust that they will accomplish the task.'  This seems simple, but it's not always easy to trust so implicitly because there's always a certain level of control that we give up when we ask someone else to do something for us.

'The other simple truth,' he said, 'is to throw the net large'.  By this he meant that when we invite people to participate in a project, we need to accept all comers, and trust that all those who come are meant to be there.  This too can be difficult because people all have preconceived notions and expectations about other people, especially the ones we know best.

Preconceived notions were also at play in the story of the gospel we have heard today.  Zacchaeus was a tax collector, well known to the citizens of Jerico.  Tax collectors were not well liked though because they were infamous as cheaters who often amassed great wealth at the expense of ordinary citizens.  Imagine the gasp that must have reverberated through the crowd when Jesus stopped and spoke with him.  Even worse, Jesus called him out of the tree and went with him to visit in his home (Lk 19:5).  What must the rest of the crowd have felt like?  What thoughts must have passed through their minds?

Yes, this story is about the judgments we impose on others, but it is more about the mercy of the Lord (Wis 11:24) which sees beyond the externals we show to others, and knows the hearts of all those who come to Him.

What was it that motivated Zacchaeus to run on ahead of the crowd and climb the sycamore tree?  He probably didn't have too many friends, and he was probably very keenly aware that others looked at him with hatred, and that they would really wonder about his sanity if they saw him hanging from a tree branch, but he didn't let this bother him.  Despite the fear of judgment, he was willing to humiliate himself just so he could set eyes on Jesus.  Was he hoping that Jesus would speak with him?  Did he expect that Jesus would stop and actually talk to him, or was he just hoping to catch a glimpse of him as he passed by?

Climbing a tree was an act of humility for Zacchaeus, and perhaps this is the lesson to be learned from the World Youth Day experience.  Making room for all comers to find a place at our table, or to participate in our plans, or offering our prayer for others and trusting that God will do good in their lives (2 Thess 1:11) is also an act of humility which calls us beyond ourselves and allows us to see the great lessons to be learned when we put ourselves at the service of others.

What lessons did Zacchaeus learn while sitting at the table with Jesus?  What lessons did the citizens of Jerico learn from the actions of Jesus in their midst?  What lessons do we learn when we throw the net large, and allow the Lord to teach us how to be witnesses of his love, forgiveness and acceptance of all those who are his beloved?