O Blessed Redeemer, imbue our
hearts and minds with a deep love for You, God’s living Word. May we rejoice
with You when sinners repent and receive Your new life. Amen.
If our Lord came up to you today and asked to come to your home for
dinner, would you be ready? Would you be willing to let Him in and dine with
you on such short notice, knowing that your home was not clean and the
refrigerator nearly empty since your plan was to buy groceries the next day? Would you welcome Him anyway, regardless of
how things were with you personally; long overdue for a haircut, or unshaven
for a day or two? Or would you offer Him
a rain check for a better day when you had time to clean, prepare a king's
feast and have yourself all spruced up for the great visit from your Lord?
Well, all of these things really don’t matter. In the gospel, Jesus calls to Zacchaeus and
invites Himself to dinner and it is possible that Zacchaeus was not ready for
this himself. Jesus did not go to
Zacchaeus for a feast or to see his palatial home all cleaned and ready for the
visit. No, Jesus went to Zacchaeus because he was a tax collector, a man in
need of salvation.
Jesus comes to us the same way. He is not expecting us to be in our finest
clothes with a gourmet meal all prepared and ready. He comes expecting us as we
are, sinners in need of an all loving and all saving God. To be ready for Him is not to have our house
all in perfect order, but rather to be willing to accept Him when He calls and
ready to do His bidding and receive the free gift He brings.
Jesus will help us get our house in
order. But we have to accept His
invitation.
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| Immaculate Heart of Mary Pray for us now and at the hour of our death. |
As I think about my birthday tomorrow, I remember that it
is also the feast day of St. Albert the Great.
It reminds me that my sponsor for my confirmation many years ago was
Albert Alva. Many would call that coincidence. I'm not so sure. I'm a firm believer in providence. My prayer intention today is
for Albert. I haven’t seen him in over
40 years, since shortly after my confirmation my dad passed away and we moved
to Northern California. Mom told me he
had passed away a few years ago. I am so
grateful for his agreeing to “stand” with me on that day when the Holy Spirit
confirmed me in my Baptism. I pray that he is at peace in our Lord.
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