Lesson 7: The Power To Overcome Sin PDF

The Power To Overcome Sin LESSON 7 Read, Reflect & Answer: p56 Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector Lk 19:1-10 Questions 1. Who is Zacchaeus? What was his purpose in climbing the sycamore tree? 2. What was Jesus’ response to Zacchaeus’ action? 3. If you were Zacchaeus, would you have done...

The Power To Overcome Sin LESSON 7 Read, Reflect & Answer: p56 Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector Lk 19:1-10 Questions 1. Who is Zacchaeus? What was his purpose in climbing the sycamore tree? 2. What was Jesus’ response to Zacchaeus’ action? 3. If you were Zacchaeus, would you have done the same thing? Why? 4. How did Zacchaeus show his repentance for his sins? 5. What did Jesus mean when He said, “Today, salvation has come to this house…”? Why do you think He said this after Zacchaeus repented?  Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see Him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received Him with joy. When people all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have exhorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Lk 19:1-10 Questions 1. Who is Zacchaeus? What was his purpose in climbing the sycamore tree? 2. What was Jesus’ response to Zacchaeus’ action? 3. If you were Zacchaeus, would you have done the same thing? Why? 4. How did Zacchaeus show his repentance for his sins? 5. What did Jesus mean when He said, “Today, salvation has come to this house…”? Why do you think He said this after Zacchaeus repented? God’s Message It is always our inner desire to be good, though sometimes we fail. Nevertheless, God is always there to help us overcome our sins and to guide us in this life.  Christ calls all to the radical conversion from the power and deadly evil of sin, to the kingdom of His Father. To all entrapped in the snares of sin, He offers forgiveness: “Your sins are forgiven (Lk7:48),” Sin no more (Jn5:14; 8:11) CFC 771 Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector  Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see Him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received Him with joy. When people all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have exhorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Lk 19:1-10  Conversion: Moving Away From Sin Zacchaeus, Jericho’s famous tax collector. Just like any other tax collector, Zacchaeus is a cheat. He cheated on many people and so many people hated him.  Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see Him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received Him with joy. When people all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have exhorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Lk 19:1-10 This showed us that if want to change our life, we need to exert extra effort to begin the process. Like Zacchaeus, we need to “go out of our way” and do things that are seemingly impossible. He might be small, but he became “big” in the eyes of God because of what he did.  Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see Him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received Him with joy. When people all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have exhorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Lk 19:1-10  This is a clear manifestation of God’s open embrace to each one of us. God stays in us if we honestly repent for our sins and resolve not to do the again.  Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see Him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received Him with joy. When people all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have exhorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Lk 19:1-10  The message of this part of the story is that our response to Jesus’ call for us to change our sinful ways should be enthusiastic and immediate. We cannot be dillydallying or having second thoughts or doubts.  Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see Him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received Him with joy. When people all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have exhorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Lk 19:1-10 By saying this, Zacchaeus was not only repenting for his sins and asking forgiveness; he was also resolving not to sin again. As he felt God’s loving forgiveness in the presence of Jesus and so he began to think like a true follower of Jesus. Like Zacchaeus, we too, must be sorry for our sins, ask forgiveness from God, and resolve not to sin again. We must humble ourselves first before God. We must first recognize that we are lost and empty and sinners before we receive the loving forgiveness of the Lord. Like Zacchaeus, our decision to move away from sin requires total conversion or “change of heart”. There is no going back to sin.  The story Zacchaeus also show us that conversion is a personal decision to change from sinful kind of life to one that is characterized by love for God and for others.  Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see Him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When Jesus reached the place, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received Him with joy. When people all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have exhorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man, too, is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” Lk 19:1-10 It is God who initiates the call to conversion. It is Jesus who knocks on the door of our hearts and we have the choice to open it or not.  It is God who takes the initiative in saving us by sending His Son, Jesus, and it is He who takes the initiative in making us His children and calling us back to His friendship when we sin through the sacraments. Conversion is a gift of God, His initiative but it needs our response. We need to open our hearts to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and say “Yes, Jesus, I want to accept You in my life.” To accept Jesus in our hearts, we need to rid it of sin. Jesus and sin simply cannot co-exist in our heart. Our response to Jesus’ call to conversion must be concretely manifested by our action of going to Confession and by our firm resolution to stay away from sin.  Jesus, when asked by the rich young man what he should do to enter heaven, told him to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds of the sale to the poor. The rich young man went away sad and Jesus, no matter how much He loved him did not run after him to say, “All right, you can just sell half of your possessions and give half of the proceeds to the poor.” The radical change that characterizes our conversion may not be an easy thing to do but we need not worry because of God’s grace is available to us through prayer and the sacraments.  The sacraments will help us overcome our sins, in particular, the Sacraments of Reconciliation or Penance and the Eucharist. The Sacrament of Penance has a vital role in obtaining God’s forgiveness through the priest-confessor, while the Sacrament of the Eucharist provides us the spiritual food that strengthens us. St. Paul tells us that “where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more.”