Quebec, November 17, 2010
The Gospel passage where Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) comes back into memory on the Sycamore which the little man climbed up to see him pass the Son of man. "Have you seen this tree?" , you say. Certainly not this one, but I've seen a sycamore.
That day I was in Karonga, northern Malawi, not far from lake. As usual, the heat of the day we were dehydrated. The sun finally set, we met for dinner under the trees in the backyard of the motel where we stayed. And that's where I saw for the first time a sycamore. In
wide trunk, say 50 centimeters in circumference, some branches extend over a very long distance perfectly parallel with the ground at an angle of 90 o with the tree. I was in awe of the majesty of the sycamore that offer protection against the sun by day and keep us from seeing the stars at night.
high enough, I could still imagine that young men can climb on the largest branch by helping each other. Surprisingly, as the passage from Luke, Jesus tells Zacchaeus to come down quickly because he wants to stay at his home. Imagine the scene!
A crowd pressed against Jesus. The apostles were struggling to contain the people who walk slow. Zacchaeus gets help to climb onto the limb of the sycamore where men congregate already know as birds do on 
an electric wire. There is no better place to "see" from above while being away from the hustle.
How Jesus he recognized the midst of this turmoil? How could he describe this little bird on the branch in the middle of so many others? It did not matter. What matters is the sycamore.
This tree represents us. That is we are talking about. This trunk is our life. With age, we rounded and hardened his body and mind. The arms are those of our love, our work, our travels, our loyalties, our emotion, our science, our accomplishments. But the most visible and closest to the ground, in parallel with the reality of the world is the branch of our disappointments, our sin.
And Zacchaeus is us too. We are sitting on the largest branches, that of our suffering humanity. It is on this branch that we hold strongly to "see" Jesus. But it's ground, where seeds of life that Jesus calls us.
- "Come down quickly: today, I must stay home."
Quick, Zacchaeus came down with joy.
about us! What do we want to get off the branch on which our misfortune we hold on and refuse to let go. And me! Who am I to tell you about this? I'm so afraid of passing on and say to Jesus: "Lord, I am giving to the poor half of my property and if I have wronged someone, I'll give him four times. "
It is easy to remember those who have harmed them. For cons, I find it difficult to "see" the people I myself wronged.
- "I have a remedy to rub your eyes to see clearly. All those I love, I show them their mistakes and correct them. So be strong and become a true believer, "says the Lord. "I am standing at the door and knock ... I take my meals with you." (Apocalypse 3, 18d-20).
- "Today salvation has come to this house ... Indeed, the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
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