When I was in high school, I only sat with certain people at lunch. It was a small school so we didn’t have all the usual groups like jocks or band nerds or the popular girls, but we had our cliques.  We would sit with our friends, with people that we liked, with people that were like us.  We shared similar schedules, we would share stories, we thought alike, and over time, we would start to act alike. We talked like each other, thought like each other, and picked up each other’s mannerisms.

I see the same thing happen today with adults. We’re all kind of like that. We gravitate to the people we like and that are like us.  And we become like the people we surround ourselves with.  Many times, this happens in a negative way.  I think a lot of people struggle with this at their place of work.  Maybe your coworkers have the habit of falling into vulgar language or gossiping. Before you know it, you’re talking just like them. 

But when Jesus enters the picture, something different happens. He would often sit down at table with people who were nothing like Him.  He chose them. And things would change for them. They would become like Him.

In the story of Zacchaeus, we see this play out. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and a wealthy man. The thing about tax collectors at that time in that part of the world was that they were allowed to set whatever amount for the fee they wanted over and above what the government required. They were able to use the foreign oppressing nation as a weapon of intimidation to extort money from their poor neighbors to make themselves rich. They were often selfish people. And for Zacchaeus to be a chief tax collector and a wealthy man meant that he must have hurt a lot of people along the way. He was nothing like Jesus.

The Mass is a Meal of Mercy

By Father Jacob Koether

Episcopal Vicar for Evangelization and Catechesis and Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows in Victoria

But one day, Zacchaeus heard about this holy rabbi Jesus who was passing through his town. He wanted to hear Jesus’ message and see what He would do.  Even though he was nothing like Jesus, there was still some openness and curiosity, strong enough that Zacchaeus was even willing to climb up a sycamore tree to get a good spot in the crowd.

When Jesus saw him, and his beginnings of faith, He blessed him by choosing him and showing him mercy. “Zacchaeus, I’m going to stay at your place today. I don’t care that you’re nothing like me.  I want to sit down at table with you and show you mercy. I want to get to know you and your friends and family. I want to spend time with you.”

The people of the town didn’t like that too much because they grumbled against it.  “Doesn’t Jesus realize who this guy is? Doesn’t He realize that he’s a tax collector and a sinner? Doesn’t He know that Zacchaeus is nothing like Him?” But Jesus corrects the crowd and tells them that that is exactly the reason why He came. He came to seek and save the lost. He came to find people who were nothing like Him and to sit down at table with them.  And just like what happens when we share meals with our friends, Zacchaeus was influenced by Jesus. He said, “Because I’ve been shown this mercy, I want to show mercy to others. Half of all that wealth I accumulated, I’m giving it away. And if there’s any money I extorted, I’m going to pay it back four times over.”
 

Really, this story happens every time we go to Mass.  We’re Zacchaeus.  If we’re honest, a lot of the time, we’re nothing like Jesus. But Jesus chooses us. He says, “I see you and your faith and I want to bless you. I want to show you mercy. Today I’m coming to your house. I’m staying with you. I’m going to sit down at table with you and share my life with you.” And when that happens, it should change us.

The Mass is a Meal of Mercy that Makes us like Jesus. Have you ever thought of it that way? Well, I think the meal aspect of the Mass is pretty obvious.  We come into the church building and we begin by acknowledging God’s presence. We bless ourselves with Holy Water and genuflect to the tabernacle. We usually sing the Gloria – “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we give you thanks!!!”  Then after greeting the Lord, we allow Him to speak. The Word of God is proclaimed and we sit in a listening and receptive posture, open to hearing what God wants to say to us. Then at the high point of the Mass, we are nourished with Food from Heaven as we approach the Table of the Lord and sit with Jesus who abides with us in peace. 

So, the Mass is a meal, bit it is also a meal of Mercy. I wonder if many people realize that.

Usually, I think people have the impression that the only way we can receive mercy is by going to the sacrament of confession. And of course, if we have committed grave sin and have cut ourselves off from the Body of Christ, the way that we return is by first going to confession. But the Mass is also constantly offering mercy, forgiving sins, and washing us clean. So, if you have any less serious sins, or venial sins, you can trust that when you come to this meal, they will be forgiven. Have you ever noticed all the different ways that we ask for mercy in the Mass? When we say the prayer, “I confess to Almighty God and to you my brothers and sisters,” we’re asking God for mercy. “May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.” “Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.” When the priest or deacon proclaims the Gospel, afterwards they say a prayer that goes, “By the words of this holy Gospel, may our sins be washed away.” And again, at the high point of the Mass, when the Body and Blood of Jesus is held up, the priest says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb.” Blessed are those who are called to sit down at this table! Blessed are those that get to eat this Food! It cleanses us and sets us free.

But after having received this mercy, we should not be the same. When we receive this mercy of Jesus when He sits down to share this meal with us, we should become merciful, too. Like Zacchaeus, we who are nothing like Jesus should start to become like Him.
 

We should start to think like Him and care about the things He cares about and love the things He loves. He should start to talk like Him and pick up His mannerisms. This is as simple as living out those traditional and often forgotten lists of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. What should we do after sitting down at table with Jesus? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty, visit those in prison, instruct the ignorant, bear wrongs patiently, forgive.

Jesus wants to sit down at table with you, share a meal with you, and show you mercy. If you have never experienced this mercy of Jesus, open yourself to it. Too often we hold on so tightly to our own way of doing things and living life how we see fit that we don’t let God give us anything better. Let go! Come down from the sycamore tree and let Jesus come into your home.

If you have experienced this mercy before, consider how Jesus might be calling you to give it away. Is the Mass changing you? If not, repent. What can you do to make restitution for your sins? How does Jesus want you to imitate Him in showing mercy to others?

Imagine what our world would be like if we all responded to the Mass like Zacchaeus did.