It's that time of the week again. Post today's readings for your church, and what the homily was about.
Today's readings:
1 Timothy 4:9-15
>This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. These things command and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.
Luke 19:1-10
>Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Today's homily:
Zaccheus was a man who, even while being a sinner, thirsted to see Christ and to welcome Him in his house. He may have been short-statured, but he "grew" by climbing a tree. In this pre-Lenten period, we must do the same: grow in faith so that we may actively will to truly see our Lord and to welcome Him in the house of our heart, so that, like Zaccheus, we may say that we give out freely half of our goods, whether these goods are our personal belongings, our smile, or our knowledge acquired at church.