Sunday After Theophany & Zacchaeus

We hear in today’s Holy Gospel a quotation from Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death, Light has dawned.’ This quote from the prophecy of Isaiah is presented to us by the Evangelist Matthew in the context of his description of Christ’s baptism by John in the Jordan.

The great event of Christ’s baptism is the manifestation of the Holy Trinity and Christ shines forth His Light to the world. Indeed, in the Kontakion of the feast of Theophany we sing: ‘Thou hast appeared today to the whole world, and Thy light, O Lord, hath been signed upon us who hymn Thee with understanding. Thou hast come, Thou hast appeared, the Light unapproachable.’

It is true… Christ’s appearance to mankind brings Light to the world. But as we hear in the opening verses of the Gospel of St John: ‘In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.’

This is the great tragedy of mankind and, if we are being honest with ourselves, the great misfortune of our own lives as well. The Light of Christ has shown forth upon us and yet we do not comprehend it. For if we comprehended it, if we comprehended it fully, our lives would be different. We would be so full of love for God and for His blessings that it would surpass all other things in our life.

Let us listen to the words of our holy father and wonderworker Herman of Alaska, who said the following: ‘I a sinner have been trying for more than forty years to love God, but I cannot say that I love Him completely. If we love someone, we always remember them; we try to please them. Day and night our heart is concerned with the subject. Is that the way you love God? Do you turn to Him often? Do you always remember Him? Do you always pray to Him and fulfill His holy commandments?’

Why do we fall so far short of this kind of love? I think it is fair to say that most of us standing here this morning DO long for God and DO love Him… but why do we remain so paralyzed when it comes to praying with attention? Why do we so often fall back into our sins and selfishness? Why are we such easy prey for the temptations of the evil one?

Surely one of the reasons is that we are mired in the distractions and temptations of the world. We lead busy lives – and some of that is by necessity – busyness with our jobs and with our families… but how many precious moments in the day are there which could nurture our faith and our love for God? How many of those precious moments are lost to the distractions of TV, social media, games, fretting over the latest headlines, and other distractions?

As St Herman of Alaska said to us: If we love someone, we always remember them; we try to please them. Day and night our heart is concerned with the subject. Is that the way you love God?

The Holy Gospel appointed for today puts before us a perfect illustration of someone who loves God and who goes to great lengths to draw near to Him.

Zacchaeus, a despised tax-collector, like so many in the region, had been hearing about the wondrous works of Jesus Christ. Zacchaeus longed to get a glimpse of Jesus as He was passing by, but because of his short stature and the great crowd of people, he could not have a clear view. So Zacchaeus, in his zeal, climbed into the branches of a sycamore tree to get a view of our Lord as He passed by. When Jesus came along this way, He made a point of stopping and looking up to Zacchaeus, calling out to him to ‘make haste and come down – for I desire to stay in your house this day’.

This is the illustration for us of someone who loves and who takes action to be close to the One Whom he loves. Just like Zacchaeus, our sins make us ‘short of stature’ spiritually. Our vision of God is often lost and obscured because we cannot see past the obstacles of the world and our daily concerns. These worries, distractions, and temptations block our view from seeing God. Like Zacchaeus, we must take action and find the means to somehow climb above the tumult of the worldliness in which we live in order to gain perspective and get a glimpse of God. We must pull ourselves up from the obstacles of the world if we are to see that Great Light Who is Jesus Christ our Lord.

This Gospel account of Zacchaeus is the first call of the Holy Church preparing us for the season of Great Lent. The Church is crying out to us that Christ is approaching… He is drawing near! Zacchaeus shows the response of one who truly loves Christ. He risks the ridicule of all those who despise him, he risks looking like a fool and climbing up the tree… he is willing to risk everything because he is driven by love.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us love God with all of our heart and mind and soul and strength. Let that love not just be a passive and distant admiration and honoring of God. Let that love be a call to action! Let us ask ourselves each day the questions posed by St Herman: Do we always remember God? Do we try to please Him? Is our heart concerned with God day and night? Do we turn to Him often? Do we always remember Him? Do we always pray to Him and strive at all times to fulfill His holy commandments?

These are the traits and actions of someone who truly loves God. Saint Herman concluded his discourse on the true love of God with the following words: ‘For our own good, and for our own fortune, let us at least promise ourselves that, from this day, from this hour, from this very minute, we will try to love God above all and to fulfill His holy will!’

May God grant it!