October 30, 2016
I would like to concentrate today on the first reading from the book of Wisdom. It is the youngest book of the Old Testament, written in the first century before Christ. The Jewish people, the people of Israel was living in the whole known world, but they already suffered certain kinds of persecution in spite of the guarantees they had received from Rome. Rome was ruling over the world around the Mediterranean and guaranteed religious freedom, but there were always movements that objected to religious freedom and tried to make everybody believe the same things they believed. Those who believed or celebrated or lived differently were a nuisance and were not well looked upon. Often they were silenced. It is in this context that the author of our book writes down what he believes. He writes down how he sees the world with the eyes of his faith, how he sees the relation of God to his creation, how he sees and evaluates the world around him, and he writes down how he sees himself in this world. A very touching book – because everything the author writes down he brings before God.…To bring one’s life before God. I am not sure that our religions and denominations and faith communities see this as a priority in their service. Often it is the formal fulfillment of rules that is the priority. Let us look again at our text: For me, some of these lines are the most beautiful lines in the Bible: “You love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made” or in a different translation: “You love everything that exists; you do not despise anything that you have made.” The author does not make a distinction between good people and bad people, between right and wrong. Everything in this world is loved by God, every human being, every animal, the whole of creation and what human beings make of their lives. Everything (and everybody)!… No, the author does not judge! He does not say “This is good” - “This is bad”, “This is sin” - “This is not sin”, “This one believes in the right way” - “This one believes in a wrong way”. The author of the book of Wisdom does not judge. How relevant this is for us today! Because we do judge, we do put people down, we do reduce people’s value by telling them that they are deficient and sinful and unworthy. I am sorry that religion often betrayed people by telling them that they were unworthy. Religion betrayed people by refusing them happiness and freedom and the possibility of living their lives in peace with God, in peace with others, in peace with themselves. And here our author says: “You love everything that exists; you do not despise anything that you have made.” And he continues: “You spare all things, because they are yours, O Lord and lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things!” or in a different translation: “You have allowed everything to exist, O Lord, because it is yours, and you love every living thing. Your immortal spirit is in every one of them.” God’s spirit is in everything that is – isn’t this enormous and terrific? God’s spirit is in you and in me, in people we like and in people we do not like, in people near to us and in people far away, in people we understand and in people we do not understand or we do not want to understand. In all of them is God’s spirit. God’s spirit is in the whole of creation. “Think big” is a motto that comes to my mind: the author “thinks big” of God just as God “thinks big” of us. God wants our happiness and does not want us to feel small and inferior and bad. God is the friend of life – and as a friend of life he wants us to live in happiness. So now the story in our gospel with Jesus and Zacchaeus (Luke 19,1-10) receives a new aspect in its meaning for us: Jesus sees Zacchaeus on his tree and Jesus offers a new beginning to the life of Zacchaeus. Jesus offers a new chance to Zacchaeus through his presence, through his respect and love. This is the way God deals with our mistakes or: – if you prefer the religious jargon – this is the way God deals with our sins. This is the God I would like to believe in, this is the God I would like to talk of and live with and celebrate.
Fr. Wolfgang Felber SJ