"TODAY THE SALVATION HAS COME TO THIS HOUSE"

"TODAY THE SALVATION HAS COME TO THIS HOUSE"

(Luke 19: 1-10)

It is very significant that each new day brings new desires, ambitions and uncovers the tasks, and new targets to accomplish. The sun rises with its rays of hopes and expectations. There is always and every day a new thirst to be quenched. And in toddy’s gospel also there is a genuine desire, a motivation to see Jesus.  The word “desire” covers a wide range of human wants, emotions, and cravings. Desire is a sense of longing. It can describe natural desires, which include hunger for food, and desire for God. There are various words used for desire for instance, wish, want, desire, passion, yearning, and craving.

Different kinds of desires:

Curiosity: The desire of curiosity represents a hunger for knowledge.

Eating: The desire of eating is the motivation to eat. 

Desire for self- Independence: Denotes the freedom of oneself.

In the Old Testament there are Hebrew words translated as “desire” for example, Kasap means to yearn for. Hapes means feeling of great favour toward something, translated as “delight” or “pleasure” In the New Testament the Greek term used is thelo, which can be translated will, be willing, want, or desire.

Desire can be treated as negative and as well as positive:

It can be positive for example to see God, good for the others. It can also be negative, in the form of “covet” or “lust after,” A genuine desire always includes others in the circle. It is not self-cantered. For example Simeon had a genuine desire to see Jesus. He was looking forward for the consolation of Israel. And when he saw Jesus he spontaneously uttered “My eyes have seen your salivation, dismiss your servant in peace”

When we reflect on the life Saints they had a genuine desire to see and follow Jesus. St. Francis had a genuine desire to follow Jesus and he left everything to follow the redeemer of the world. St. Mother Teresa saw Jesus in poor and fed them. St. Sebastian attained the crown of Martyrdom just because of a genuine desire. St. Clare says gaze upon the Lord with full attention and be conscious about his presence. And St John Mary Viany accomplished the perfection because of genuine desire, and he became the pattern saint of the diocesan priests. St. Augustine said that my heart is restless until it finds rest in Thee. The psalmist also says, as the deer pants for the water so my soul thirst for you.

How do we know if a desire is good or bad, negative or positive? The answer hidden in the object or motive for the desire. If the desire is self-centered then it is bad because, it is an act of idolatry in that one has put himself or herself in the place of God. Good desire is simply the opposite. It is putting the desire for God's will first. When the Lord is our greatest desire, all other desires find their proper expression.

And when the God is the center of a genuine desire, it will help to bring the consolation to the afflicted, solace to the sorrow, life to the dead, hope to the abandoned, concern to the marginalized, and love for the rejected. It will bring salvation to the entire family, as Jesus said to Zacchaeus today the salvation has come to this house. Zacchaeus has genuine desire to see Jesus and climbed the sycamore tree. In our life we also often ascent the tress of various devotions such as, Benediction, Holy Rosary, and the way of the Cross etc. But often we forget to invite Jesus into our heart, we neglect the poor. So we must have genuine desire to see Jesus in each person. If we have the genuine desire to see Jesus surely Jesus will come and stay with us and will say, today the salvation has come to this house.

God sneers upon us and bestows blessings upon us for the love we bargain to Him and to the people.  Hence, our works of love, when stimulated by His elegance, are converted into riches in Heaven.  But that’s not all that is converted into riches.  Even our desire to do well and to serve God is malformed.  God looks all things, even our lowest sincere desires, and renovates all into grace.

What is tour desire in life?  What do you seek for?  Do you discover that your desires are involved to sinful deeds?  Or do you find that your desires and wishes are for the good things of Heaven and the works of God?  Pursue to change even your desires and you will be richly consecrated!

 

The human being has most elementary desire called happiness.  Everything we do, in some way, is done so as to help us attain this destination. Even the sin is committed with a specious sense that it will clue us to happiness.  But there is one cause of human fulfillment and one source of reliable happiness.  That one cradle is God.  Seek our Divine Lord as the satisfaction of every human yearning that you have. There are certain questions we need to reflect. Such as,

What is it that you seek in life?  What is it that you long for?  Is God the end of all your longings?  Do you trust that God and God alone avails and fulfills all you desire?  Look at your ambitions, this day, and imitate upon whether or not God is the decisive end of those goals.  We all must seek God as the end of our all ambitions and desires, then definitely we will attain the pleasure we are seeking. We need to imitate the life of  Zacchaeus in order to gain salvation not only for oneself but for the entire family.

Lord, our God I bring before you my heart and every wish within it.  Help me to seek for You and for Your holy Will and love to be fulfilled in this world.  May I desire what You wish and seek for an lavishness of Mercy in our world.  Jesus, I trust in You and love you above all.