Elevating the host at Mass the priest invites, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world.” To this we respond, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” At this intimate moment we have the opportunity to look upon the Lord as we prepare to receive Him in Holy Communion.
As we look upon the Lord there are always the distractions of life which get in our way and keep us from seeing Him clearly. As sin creeps into our life, so too does our ability to have clear vision of Him demminish. As we look upon the Lord and state these words at Mass we should realize our unworthiness as we prepare to receive God made Flesh into our life.
Our Gospel points out that Zaccheus was found to be short in stature and thus there was a lot which blocked his sight from being able to see the Lord. Instead of giving into despair when it pertained to what seemed to be impossible he climbed the sycamore tree. From this tree he lifted himself above these distractions and gave himself clear sight of the Lord.
As Zaccheus climbed this sycamore tree, so too should we desire to have clear vision of Jesus. We must join with him in climbing this tree in order that we may obtain such vision of the Lord. It was from these heights that the Lord called out to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”
Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Whenever we allow Him to enter into our life through the reception of Holy Communion we allow Him to enter under the roof of this temple. He enters into this house as He did that of the house of Zaccheus and comes to dwell with us. This should be a very humbling thought for us to ponder and hold dear as we come to state those words at Mass as we prepare to receive Him in Holy Communion.
Like Zaccheus we must realize that we are found to be short in stature and thus need to climb the sycamore tree in order that we may come to see more clearly. It is from those heights that we will come to hear the call of the Lord that will change our life forever just as this call came to change the life of Zaccheus forever.
Where is the Lord calling us to be active in clearing out the distractions of life in order that we may come to see Him more clearly? What is it that we are holding onto that keeps us from climbing such heights in order that we may hear His voice call out to our ears? The Lord desires nothing more than that we look upon Him with an open heart for what we look upon when we see Him clearly is the fulfillment of all that we could ever desire in this life.
Let us open our heart up to this call and be willing to respond to that voice that calls out to us. Let us realize that we set our sight upon Him in Holy Communion and thus come to receive Him with true devotion and longing for He is the fulfillment of all that we desire in this life.
