A Descendant of Abraham!

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

2 Mac 6:18-31; Lk 19:1-10

Today’s Gospel highlights Zacchaeus’ desire to see Jesus as his desire to change. 

The episode on Zacchaeus is fascinating thanks to the minute details it carries. 

The wealthy tax collector harboured a deep desire to see Jesus so much that the word ‘see’ has been repeated twice. Hence, we understand that Jesus’ initiative to stay at Zacchaeus’ house is the Lord’s way of honoring the tax collector’s longtime desire. 

We must be careful not to dismiss Zacchaeus’ desire to see Jesus as mere curiosity. Though the wealthy tax collector had everything that could make him happy, the weight of condemnations was hard for him to carry. The fact that Zacchaeus longed to see Jesus shows that every conversion begins with a genuine longing.

Just as the fallen man was short in stature (certainly not just physically!), he was dwarfed by a crowd that was only interested in stereotyping him. Nevertheless, by volunteering to stay at his house, Jesus made Zacchaeus and the crowd understand that in the sight of God, he was more than his mistakes. 

Thus, Jesus changed the narrative about Zacchaeus by acknowledging him as a ‘descendant of Abraham.’ It was Jesus’ way of countering the crowd’s accusations that he was a sinner who was beyond redemption. For the crowd, he was a hardened sinner. But for Jesus, he was a penitent whose only desire was to change. 

We must also note that Zacchaeus’ promise of restitution comes without Jesus asking for it. The story reaches a beautiful climax here. When Zacchaeus finds Jesus validating his longing and conversion, the former sinner who wanted to only see Jesus now expresses his desire to live like him. 

In the end, what Zacchaeus starts, Jesus brings to fruition.

Thus, Jesus shows the crowd that in the end, it is who we become that matters to God. 

Let us pray that our conversion may lead to action, just as Zacchaeus had shown us the possibility.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar