Pastor’s Notes

Over the average tall has been a personal gift of mine for negotiating a crowd. At 6’6”,  I never had to climb a sycamore tree to see what was ahead of me.  I remember stepping on a short Missionary of Charity sister when Pope John Paul visited San Francisco’s St. Mary’s Cathedral in the early nineties.  Don’t know if I ever apologized adequately.  I was good at washing windows and painting ceilings.  “Short in stature“ Zacchaeus from Luke’s Gospel for this weekend, wanted to see Jesus. He jumped and elbowed through the crowd, but could not make any headway.  So he climbed a tree, a most undignified position, exposing his backside to the delight and jeers of the crowds.  Jesus saw him.  Like no one else had ever seen him before.  Instead of a low life traitor, Jesus saw him as a disciple, a bearer of Gospel. Jesus calls the strangest people from the strangest places. Even today, he invites us down from our trees and into salvation.

The story of the conversion of Zacchaeus for this weekend ends with Jesus’ declaration, “the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”  I imagine him with a nasty Napoleon complex!   What he lacked in size, he made up with an “in in your face” aggressiveness.  But he is addressed by Jesus, as a “son of Abraham.”   Zacchaeus salvation would affect the entire community, since he would provide support for the poor and restitution to those he had defrauded. A lot of money would find its way to the poor. The dinner at his house scandalized, then intrigued a whole community.  It left a little new portal into the Reign of God, and perhaps a tax collector they could trust. H & R Block, eat your heart out.

Zacchaeus’s story reminds us of one of the purposes of church. The Lost.  It can be any of us and any time of our lives.  How do we get the Gospel to those the world beats up and abandons on the side of the road?  Our local church exists for that purpose, to market the reign of God to them. And invite them to join us in ministry of lost-seeking. I found a prayer that fits well this illustrious crowd.

Dear Lord, so far today I’ve done all right.  I haven’t gossiped, haven’t lost my
temper, and haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent.
I’m very thankful for that.  But in a few minutes, Lord, I’m going to get out of bed,
and from then on I’m probably going to need a lot more help.  Amen.

“The veil is thin,” says the Irish about these November holy days, “between this world and the next.” Tuesday is the Solemnity of All Saints, and Wednesday All Souls, or the “Dia de los Muertos,” as it is better known in this part of the world. It’s a good time to be in worship. Come to our celebration next Sunday after the morning Masses. Experience food, dancing, face painting and “altar-citos” honoring our deceased loved ones in a way only St. Mary’s people can do it.

Daylight Saving Time ends for most of the country next weekend. I do not know if they are connected. We will not in Arizona, get an extra hour of sleep next Sunday morning. But cheer up. It is rainy and cold on the east coast.

A gentle week
Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM

Thanks to Celebration’s Fr. Lawrence E. Mick and Fr. Tony Kadavil of St. John Baptist Church in Grand Bay, Alabama for parts of the above reflection.