Jesus speaks to Zacchaeus and initiates a conversation that leads to a conversion of heart. We, too, are called to reach out to one another with the Good News of Christ…to seek and save what was lost.
It will not go well for the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum; Jesus preached in their midst and they have not responded. It’s a good reminder for us who have been raised with the Gospel…are we merely “cultural” Christians, or has the Good News touched our hearts and changed our lives?
In the first reading today we hear of the conversion of St. Paul, who begins the passage “breathing murderous threats” against the Church and ends with his preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. May Paul’s change of heart inspire us to draw ever nearer to the Lord!
Our conversion of heart never stops; we are either drawing closer to Christ or farther away. As we follow the Lord we recognize our actions have consequences that affect our lives…both in this life and the life to come.
Jesus points out that it is within our hearts that destruction and defilement take place. The solution? Turn away from sin, making a change of heart so that the grace of Christ can make us whole.
St. Paul’s conversion shows how God calls us to make changes in our lives as we draw close to Jesus Christ and proclaim the Good News. The Lord reaches out to us in our weakness, inspiring us to turn away from our sins and become living witnesses to the world.