31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, C October 30, 2022
Fr. Alexander Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
Repentance, Reparation, and Charity. Last week, we heard the parable of the arrogant pharisee and the repentant tax collector. We focused then on the journey from being the arrogant pharisee in the parable to becoming like St. Paul, confident in his own salvation. A journey that starts with recognizing our pride and conceit, goes through repentance, and culminates in humble service.
But what is repentance, really? The tax collector in the parable prays for mercy and admits he’s a sinner, but the story stops there. Today we see what a repentant tax collector really looks like. Remember that being a tax collector in ancient Israel meant you were a servant of the pagan Roman Empire that had conquered God’s chosen people. It meant giving up on God’s promise to give the land to the Israelites. Tax collectors were also allowed to keep whatever extra money they collected beyond actual government requirements. So, tax collectors weren’t just traitors, but thieves as well.
This is why it’s so significant that Zacchaeus proclaims he will repay anyone he stole from. If you’ve never stolen from anyone, that’s an easy promise to make. But this is real repentance. Saying you’re sorry is a start, but only a start. If you are unwilling to try to make it right, then your contrition isn’t real. This “making it right” is what we call reparation. To repair what we’ve broken.
Notice what he says though. He’ll repay it four times over. Not just equal. Real reparation isn’t just going back to what was before, but actually going above and beyond that. It’s a bit like breaking a bone. Speaking as someone who has broken several bones, if the bone is set properly, it often becomes stronger, less likely to break again. Why four times, though? Why not just an extra 10 percent? Is Zacchaeus just being dramatic? No, that formula comes from the book of Exodus which says that if you steal or kill someone’s sheep, you have to give them four in return. Despite being a sinful traitor, Zacchaeus does know something about his faith and it is to that truth that he turns when he’s repented.
It doesn’t stop there, though. He also exclaims that he’ll give half of his possessions to the poor. Why? Hasn’t he already done enough with the repayment four times over? No, in fact he has not. Because the point is not just fixing evil, but actually accomplishing good, growing in love. By love, I mean charity – the choice to do what is good for another. Our purpose in life is not to avoid sin. It is not to make up for mistakes. It is to burn with charity, to build up the kingdom of heaven.
Notice the dynamic here. It all starts with Zacchaeus hearing about Jesus. He is moved by a desire for what is good. He wants to glimpse the goodness of Jesus Christ and the desire for what is good is the thing that moves him, as a grown, wealthy man, to humble himself enough to climb a tree like a child. But the point is not that he gets to see Jesus, it’s that Jesus was already looking for him. He knew him by name. He expected him to be in that tree. All Zacchaeus did was put himself in position to be able to respond to the search Jesus had begun. And Jesus invites himself into his home. Yet, for all that, it is not until after Zacchaeus’ proclamation of reparation and charity that Jesus says “salvation has come to this house.”
Do we realize what this means for us? Jesus is looking for you, for me. He hopes continuously to see us pushing past obstacles, humbly climbing whatever tree it takes to put ourselves before his loving gaze. He is eager to invite himself into our homes. We can eat with him, live with him, be known by him… but if we have not repented, really repented… salvation is not yet at home in us.
Let’s translate that to our Catholic reality. People often say to me “I confess my sins to God.” Great. Awesome start. The tax collector in the parable did the same thing, begging for mercy humbly in the back of the temple. But there’s a reason that story is followed by one of a tax collector actually doing something about his sins. He doesn’t just confess them to Jesus, but to others. Salvation does not enter his home until that sin is disclosed to another. Even that would not be enough if it were not for contrition… a genuine desire to make right what has been done wrong. The penance we give you in confession is part of this… usually a symbolic and token gesture of the overall attitude of reparation. Think carefully about what that means.
It means that Confession is not a replacement for repentance. If you are not genuinely interested in making reparation, confession won’t help you. That’s why you pray an act of contrition. The words of that prayer don’t work by magic, they’re meant to help you express and stir up the inner disposition to turn from sin and make reparation.
Now, because we offend an infinitely loving God, we cannot fully make up for our sins, even by quadrupling what we pay back. Only Jesus’ loving and obedient death on the cross can do that. But we nonetheless need the desire, the effort to make reparation where we can. Just as Zacchaeus based his reparation on teachings in the book of Exodus, so we base our reparation on the teaching of the Church. If you do not know what the Church expects regarding reparation, part of repentance is to learn it. Learn more about Advent and Lent, meatless Fridays, devotions like First Saturday, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and so on. To benefit from the infinite reparation of Christ on the Cross, we must make what reparation we can, cooperating with God’s grace.
Still, we must avoid the trap of turning repentance into another self-centered enterprise, focusing always on fixing our own mistakes. We must turn outward to acts of charity. Almsgiving is always foremost among these. Few things prepare us for self-sacrificing love as well as sacrificing things we own for the good of others… even when those others don’t deserve it. Because on some level, they do still deserve it. Zacchaeus did and did not deserve Jesus’ visit. As a sinner, he did not. As a child of Abraham, a child of God, he did.
Repentance, Reparation, and Charity. Jesus came to save what was lost. So, admit you are lost. Admit your sins not just to God, but in confession. Then, make abundant reparation. Then, love those who don’t seem deserve it. Why? Because you that’s what God has done with you.