Luke 19: 1-10 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus was in Jericho and was passing through the town. Everybody wanted to see Him. One can imagine the crowds as they crammed every space. There was a little rich man, the chief tax collector whose name was Zacchaeus, who had the opportunity of personal gain through unjust means but he too wanted to see Jesus! Zacchaeus was short in stature and could not see over the crowds gathered around Jesus, so he perched atop a sycamore tree hoping to catch at least a small glimpse of Jesus as he passed through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem. As he drew closer, Jesus looked up noticing the little rich man and said to him: “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today” (Lk 19:5). The rich man hurried down with joy to go ahead to prepare to host Jesus. Upon hearing this exchange between Jesus and Zacchaeus, the crowds began murmuring about Jesus’ habit of spending time and dining with sinners. Typical of Jesus! In Luke’s Gospel the...
