How many opportunities have we had in life?
Life is, indeed, full of them. Although sometimes it seems that the mistakes we make leave us not escaped, and in fact, many mistakes are paid dearly, the truth is that the idea of God as a merciful Father is another way to say that He gives us the chance to remake the way.
Opportunities to reconcile, to repair the damage we have done, and to heal. Opportunities to love again and be loved. Opportunities to find the peace and joy of life. Opportunities to believe still in others and ourselves.
In the first reading, the author of the book of Wisdom (11:22–12, 2) argues that God sympathizes with humans without punishing them for their sins, giving them a chance to convert. In other words, God, who is love, is moved by compassion as He provides opportunities to correct the way. The author of the book of Wisdom was surrounded by shuddering cosmogonies and theogonies that spoke of gods and divine furies, thunderous outings of catastrophic events, punishments, and rematches against humans. But that is not the strategy of the God of Israel, who creates everything out of love and doesn’t destroy his creation, but is “compassionate and merciful, slow to be angry and generous to forgive. Well it is the Lord to all and his love extends to all His creatures.”
Such a beautiful confession of faith begins with the certainty of God’s mercy and compassion, contrary to all the proclamations of punishment and destruction caused by divine wrath.
The story we hear today in the Gospel of Luke goes down the same line. He says that Zaqueo, a wealthy, short-lived publican, wanted a chance to meet Jesus, a celebrity in Jericho, always surrounded by people, which made it almost impossible to approach him. Jesus notices Zaqueo’s effort, invites him down, and invites himself to the publican’s house.
Finally, Zaqueo had a chance to chat with Jesus, who drew him out from selfishness to generosity, from his self-centered life to the awareness of the needs of others. The publican began to see others as brothers and sisters and not as objects for his benefit.
I can’t imagine the kind of conversation Jesus and Zaqueo had that night. We do not know what Jesus said to Zaqueo, but the impact on the life of the chief of tax collectors is evident: “Look, Lord, I will give the poor half my property, and if I have let anyone down, I will restore him four times more.”
In this conversation, Zaqueo recognizes himself, accepts his deceptions and traps, and lets Jesus’ words become an opportunity to reorient his path.
Finally, Zaqueo had a chance to chat with Jesus, who drew him out from selfishness to generosity, from his self-centered life to the awareness of the needs of others. The publican began to see others as brothers and sisters and not as objects for his benefit.
Jesus received critics for visiting the house of a thief instead of giving him a public rebuke. However, His strategy was different, because Jesus, like His Father, is moved by compassion.
So what are these encounters that produce opportunities about?
I think they are ways in which God wants us to see and live. It is about understanding that failures as lessons, to see circumstances and events in life as propellant moments to learn, to grow, to give north to our existence, to understand the profound meaning of our being in the world. They are the way God wants to approach us, from dialogue better than punishments, from intimate and meaningful conversations that transform and reorient life.
How about if we let God come to us and accept the opportunities he gives us every day?
