Lk. 19: 1-10
A Walk to Remember is one of the few movies that has made an impact on me. There was this vibrant young man, Landon, who was very popular in the college. He lands into trouble and the college punishes him with community service and participation in the college drama. It is here that he bumps into Jamie. She is simple, beautiful and the daughter of his pastor. She is way out of his league and so he ignores her. The girl tries to help him, in her own words because she found something good in him. Somehow, the character of this young lady attracted him and this fascination slowly leads him to fall in love with her. Now comes the twist in the story. She was a cancer patient: leukemia, already counting her days. The reality came to him like a slap on the face. He realized that she had so many dreams. He sets out to fulfill her dreams: to be in two places at the same time; to build a telescope to see a comet; to witness a miracle being the number one in her list. Despite her imminent death, they marry. There are no cliché miracles in the story; she dies. But, her impact on his life was beyond words. He had transformed into a new being with greater commitment to life. He joins for medicine. After the studies, he goes to visit his wife’s father, the pastor, and there he confesses that he was not able to fulfill her greatest dream, i.e., to witness a miracle. The pastor assures him that her wish was granted her. He was the miracle.
Our nurturing presence definitely could transform others. It is easy to criticize the fault of the other whereas being with them and giving them their time and space to grow, and helping them to mature is a call to walk the second mile. When we analyze the conversion stories, we could see a person who remained as a nurturing presence in the life of that person. They were touched by their love and this love transformed them little by little. It is true that this process may not happen all of a sudden; it can take days, weeks, months and even years but be for sure it would happen.
Today’s gospel also invites us to believe in the transformative power of love. The gospel presents to us the story of Zacchaeus who climbed the Sycamore tree in order to meet Jesus; it might be out of his curiosity to meet Jesus. Anyhow, for Jesus it was Zacchaeus’ first step towards Him. We are aware of the social status of the tax collector in the Jewish society. They were condemned and looked down by Jews; because they ill-treated their own people for the sake of Roman Empire. Therefore, they were considered as national traitors. However, Jesus sensed his deeper craving for God and personal transformation. It is very interesting to observe that when Jesus encountered Zacchaeus, he did not preach to him about conversion. Jesus expressed his wish to dine with him. Zacchaeus receives Jesus whole-heartedly and we do not see any discourse of Jesus on conversion at his house. However, we see Zacchaeus coming to Jesus with a contrite heart and acknowledged his true repentance by expressing his willingness to share his wealth with others.
It is the presence of Jesus that transformed him. The Pharisees and scribes were grumbling against Jesus because Jesus took initiative to receive hospitality from this notable sinner. Jesus recognized in Zacchaeus a heart that constantly seeks God’s presence, one who could mend his brokenness and restore his innocence. We are called to live like Jesus, as streams of mercy, bringing hope to the life of others. Jesus ignored the grumbling of the so-called ‘good people’ and remained with the so-called sinner and that resulted in a great heavenly banquet. Let us, like Jesus, be a nurturing presence to the other, especially the so-called lost sheep, that we may find ourselves in reaching out to them.