Homily

“Zacchaeus”… the name sounds funny to our ears. To the ears of his contemporaries, the name must have sounded not funny at all, but ironic, for its meaning in Hebrew was “innocent” or “pure.” Zacchaeus was considered anything but innocent or pure by his fellow Jews. Their name for him would more likely be “abuser” or “exploiter” for Zacchaeus worked for the hated Romans who had conquered and occupied the land of Palestine. He had won the tax-collecting franchise awarded by the Romans to enterprising traitors…