“God wants to change the hearts and lives of people not so much through punishment, illness, troubles, or rebukes, but especially through His overwhelming goodness,” said Patriarch Daniel on Sunday in his sermon about Zacchaeus, the tax collector.
“Since the Lord Christ did not rebuke Zacchaeus but honoured him with a visit to his house, Zacchaeus, overwhelmed by the merciful love of Jesus, immediately proceeded to acts of repentance and correction. That is, he went directly from greed to generosity.”
The Goodness of Christ Penetrates the Slag of Sin
“The Gospel shows us that the goodness of the merciful Christ penetrated beyond the wickedness of the greedy Zacchaeus,” explained His Beatitude. The tax collector became generous not after a rebuke “but because he was honoured with an undeserved and unexpected honour.”
“The boundless mercy or overwhelming goodness of Christ penetrated so powerfully into Zacchaeus’s soul, beyond the darkness and wickedness of the sin of greed that possessed him, that it stirred the small amount of goodness that remained deep within his soul like a spark of ember, or an incandescent coal, previously covered by the ash and slag of the sin of greed.”
“The smouldering ember of his soul darkened by greed immediately became a blazing torch of generosity, a luminous image of the merciful God,” added His Beatitude.
“We see here the great wisdom of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Divine goodness as a perfect spiritual guide, healing and freeing the souls of the passionate, transforming a greedy man into a generous one.”
“Greedy and stingy Zacchaeus of yesterday becomes today merciful and generous because he encountered the boundless mercy of God, which overwhelmed him,” added the Patriarch of Romania.
The Discerner of Hearts Saw Zacchaeus’s Faith
Patriarch Daniel also explained our Saviour Jesus Christ’s statement regarding Zacchaeus after his repentance—for he, too, is a son of Abraham: “These words of the Lord Jesus Christ reveal the motivation for His self-invitation to Zacchaeus’s house.”
“When Jesus calls someone a son of Abraham, it means that person has faith in God. Therefore, we understand that Zacchaeus climbed into a sycamore tree with the faith that Jesus of Nazareth, the Teacher and Healer of the soul or body, could enlighten and change his life,” said His Beatitude.
“This is the faith of Zacchaeus that only Jesus, God-man, could see spiritually deep within his soul. It was actually his desire to have a new relationship or communion with God and with others.”
“This secret desire of Zacchaeus drew the attention of the Lord Jesus Christ. Firstly, the Divine grace had secretly, invisibly entered Zacchaeus’s soul when he was seeking Jesus,” explained the Patriarch of Romania.
“And then Jesus visibly entered Zacchaeus’s house to bestow and proclaim salvation, or the healing of his soul from the selfish passion of greed.”
“The Gospel helps us understand that God’s great gentleness, patience, and goodness are a secret call to repentance for sins, to change one’s life through good deeds,” emphasized Patriarch Daniel.
Why Do Sinners Prosper?
“Many people, although more sinful than others, receive many gifts from God. Although they are wicked, things still go well for them. And others wonder why it goes well for these very wicked or greedy people,” said the Patriarch of Romania, who answered this question.
“Lord Jesus Christ waits for His goodness, mercy, and generosity to one day prompt even the most sinful or wicked to change their lives, to convert – not out of fear of punishment, but following God’s goodness and mercy, Who loves all people and desires that none should perish but all should be saved.”
“That is, to come to Him freely, with a desire for salvation, to attain eternal life in the love of the Most Holy Trinity,” concluded His Beatitude.
Patriarch Daniel participated on Sunday in the Divine Liturgy celebration at the St George Chapel of the Patriarchal Residence.
Photo: Basilica.ro Files / Mircea Florescu
