Sermons & Homilies
Zacchaeus is an example of the spiritual athlete and an image of a central virtue essential to the Christian life - zeal. Zacchaeus had already been transformed in spirit; that is why he desired to see Jesus, but it was zeal which did not let his stature or dissolute reputation stop him and which energized these holy desires. Because of zeal, he climbed a tree, not allowing any physical limitations to keep him from engaging in what was for him a truly spiritual act - seeing Jesus; because of zeal, though he was known by all as a crook, employed by the Romans, and swindling his own people, yet he raised himself up to a place from which he could see Jesus and be seen by the whole crowd; because of zeal, this treasonous robber received Jesus “joyfully” into his house, the Evangelist tells us; and, because of zeal, he confesses to the Lord his wrongs and how he will remedy them.
“God is the infinite fulfillment of our desire, both in this life and in eternity,” thus writes St. Ignaty Brianchaninov. Unlike Buddhism, Christianity does not see desire as the root of all suffering but rather sin is. God created us to desire Him and implanted in our hearts an infinite desiring capacity to be able to contain Him insofar as we are able. But in the Fall, man turned away from God and chose to satisfy his desires not for spiritual delights, but for fleshly ones. In our own sinfulness we see our desire for the temporal trump the eternal.
