Stories

By Pierre Diarra

Who should be listened to and what should be heard? Those who recriminate and who seem to watch what others do? Those who try to convert, like Zacchaeus, whatever their situation? Is Jesus addressing everyone when he invites them to conversion? What do those who recriminate say, many of them according to the evangelist? It is “all of them”, or at least most of them: “He went to stay with a man who is a sinner. What is meant and implied? The “well-behaved” or “good people” do not go to just anyone. If a person appears to be well behaved, he should not associate with people of questionable behaviour. They should not, it is thought, allow themselves to be influenced to act badly. But should we separate the good from the bad? How can Christian mission be lived out if the people who carry the Gospel distance themselves from those who need the Lord’s forgiveness? Moreover, people who are well regarded by those around them, who try to act well, to love God and their neighbours, can make mistakes, lack love, and therefore need the Lord’s forgiveness.

Let us listen to what Zacchaeus said to the Lord: “Behold, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor, and if I have wronged anyone, I will repay him four times as much. Zacchaeus, whose name means “the righteous”, is a beautiful example of liberating and joyful repentance. By confessing his faults and showing a firm desire to make reparation, he confesses the love of God. He wants to acknowledge before the Lord and before the people who are with him that he is a sinner and that he needs salvation. He seems to affirm that forgiveness is given to us by the Lord Jesus before whom he acknowledges that he has wronged people. He wants to give back four times as much, as if he wanted to share the benefits of his unjustly acquired gains. One might say: with all that he has stolen, he can do that; but it is not so simple; it takes courage to be just and even to go beyond that. By doing this, Zacchaeus wants to show not only that we must opt for justice, but also try to go further, that is, to follow the paths of a love that has no limits. We are oriented towards the love of God, which is the strongest and which pushes us to go ever further in the acts of love that we perform.

To confess the love of God is to proclaim aloud, with a certain exultation, that God has reached me, poor sinner that I am. The name of my God is Jesus, which means God saves. This God did not come for the righteous but for sinners. To confess the love of a God who is at work in my life is to confess the future that God is opening for me, with my brothers and sisters. It is a God whose mercy reaches me, but also all human beings, all those who acknowledge their faults and sincerely ask for forgiveness. I confess that I am a sinner, but above all I confess that God is Love, Mercy; I acknowledge that forgiveness has reached me, and that God is concerned about my salvation, my future. I don’t just say “I did this, I did that and it’s bad...”, especially when I go before the priest for the sacrament of reconciliation; I also say: God loves me, he calls me to live this, that and here is where I am and how I want to move forward. 

I am aware of God’s love, aware of a God who forgives. I meet a God who loves me; I have not yet arrived in my walk towards holiness, towards this thrice holy God. But I can move forward; I have not said my last word and neither has God. I know that his love and forgiveness are with me on my journey as a man or woman. Jesus is with us every day until the end of time (Mt 28:20), even though he may be rejected or welcomed, in agony or “re-crucified” (Heb 6:6), without ever ceasing to be risen and to be-with-us in various ways (see Michel Fédou, Jésus Christ au fil des siècles, Paris, Cerf, 2019, p. 491).

Recognising my sin and asking God for forgiveness is an expression of taking responsibility for my history in relation to salvation in Jesus Christ. Asking for forgiveness is not about settling accounts. It is a matter of saying in confidence: Oh Lord, you love me; forgive me for what I have done and open a future that will allow me to walk with you in hope and love. The confession of my sin is also a confession of my faith which can take the form of a creed, a song, a thanksgiving... The confession of my sin helps me to feel loved, forgiven, encouraged to continue my efforts to love better, to believe better and to hope with confidence. Because God loves us, each of us uniquely, each of us must therefore feel at ease with ourselves, our limitations, our faults and even our failings. We must not be discouraged in the search for the true thirsts for truth and love. Forgiveness roots us in this search and encourages us to forgive in turn: forgive us our trespasses and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. 

Listen to what Jesus says about Zacchaeus: “Today salvation has come to this house, for he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost. Let us pray, following the apostle Paul, that our God will find us worthy of the call he has made to each of us. Let us pray that by his power he will enable everyone to accomplish all the good that each of us desires, so that faith may be made active. 

With the psalmist, let us become aware of the goodness and mercy of our God. For the Lord sustains all those who fall and lifts all those who are afflicted. With our eyes on him, we are all invited to hope. He gives us life, the world, intelligence, food always. He graciously satisfies all that lives. The Lord is just in all his ways, faithful in all he does. He is close to those who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. He answers the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry: he saves them. Lord, let your love be upon us, as our hope is in you. Let us dare to bless the name of the Lord, always and forever! Let us dare to praise his name always and forever. He alone deserves praise, for his greatness and his love know no bounds. Let us dare to praise his works, his mercy and proclaim his exploits. May this keep us on the right path, the path of holiness, even if it requires a lot of effort. Let us repeat the story of his wonders, his forgiveness, and let our whole being know how to give thanks to him.