On this weekend of Zacchaeus, our Epistle reading is taken from the first letter of Paul to Timothy wherein he states: “Our hopes are fixed on the living God who is the savior of all men, but especially of those who believe.” He also shares this with Timothy: “You can depend on this [that God is the savior of all men] as a means of trying to encourage Timothy to persist in his ministry.
Our Gospel reading, which is taken from Luke’s Gospel, relates the story of the calling of Zacchaeus. His name is used to designate this weekend which begins a sequence of five weekends that are designed to help us enter into the Great Fast – our preparation for Easter. Each of these five weekends are dedicated to some fundamental aspect of METANOIA (repentance) which is the focus of the Great Lent.
Long before the actual beginning of Lent, the Church announces its approach and invites us to enter into the period of pre-Lenten preparation. It is a characteristic feature of the Eastern Church’s liturgical tradition. Thus, long before the actual effort of Lent is to begin, the Church calls our attention to its seriousness and invites us to meditate on its significance. Before we can practice Lent we are given its meaning.
The story of Zacchaeus is the story of a man who was too short to see Jesus but who desired so much to see Him that he climbed up a tree. Thus the first fundamental aspect of metanoia is DESIRE. A strong desire overcomes the natural limitations of man. When he passionately desires something he does things of which “normally” he is incapable.
So we must, at this point in our yearly journey to Pascha, ask ourselves: Do I truly desire to become more like Jesus Christ? If I do, then I will make plans to observe the Great Fast in a way that will truly promote my spiritual development. As we know from St. Paul, God desires to bring all of us to union with Him. He will never force us to this greater union because He respects our free will. God has revealed to us His offer of helping us become His children. It is our choice. We have to truly desire to be His child which requires that we engage in a process of personal transformation or change. We need to change if we want to be His children. Why? In order to freely return His love. We do that – return His love – by working to grow in our likeness of Jesus.