I like to
say that I am a “practicing” Catholic. To
be a Christian is to be a work in progress. In one sense, of course, we’re loved exactly
as we are; we don’t have to be perfect in order to be cherished by God.
But that
doesn’t mean we have a "pass" to be complacent of heart or
self-satisfied in the ease of our own lives. We’re continually being called to renew
ourselves in the Holy Spirit, to reach out where there is suffering, to be
humbled by the goodness of God. It must
have been difficult in the early Church, just as it is in today’s environment,
to keep the spiritual fires burning as the actual event of Jesus’ presence on
earth receded farther into the past. Clearly
the members of the Church in Sardis and Laodicea had either strayed into
sinfulness or were content to merely look like they were doing all the right
spiritual things (Revelation 3:1-22). But
the reality was that something was going terribly wrong. Not unlike the Pharisees of an earlier day,
perhaps, they had drifted from the heart of their spiritual call and were at
risk of becoming dead inside.
And then
there’s the almost comical picture of Zacchaeus bounding up into the tree to
see the face of Jesus, giving away his riches to the poor, joyfully welcoming
Jesus into his home (Luke 19:1-10). He’s
the essence of generosity itself; and we see the promise of salvation given to
the "sinner”, the one who is not perfect but who’s changing toward the
good because he’s met the Savior and allowed the Holy Spirit to breathe new
life into him.
“Today salvation has come to this house.” Those words from Luke’s gospel could very well
be the most important we’ll ever hear. But
when Jesus comes to our house, how will we respond? Will we eagerly and joyfully welcome him in or
are we afraid to even open the door?
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