Though the Sunday of Zacchaeus is sometimes understood to be the first pre-Lenten Sunday, it is in fact the final Sunday of the season after Pentecost. Nevertheless, it is certainly a foreshadowing of the penitential season to come. The example of Zacchaeus – his pledge to restore fourfold everything he wrongly took – reminds us that repentance is not merely feeling bad about our sins; it is a real change, and this change includes efforts to make amends for past wrongs. Though the Great Fast is still a month away, even now we would benefit from taking to heart the example of the penitent Zacchaeus and examining our consciences: whom have we wronged? And what concrete steps can we take in order to make things right? May God grant us the grace to restore our relationships with others and to do good unto them henceforth.
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