Gospel (Mt 23,23-26) - At that time, Jesus spoke saying: «Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who pay tithes on mint, dill and cumin, and transgress the most serious prescriptions of the Law: justice, mercy and faithfulness. These were the things to do, without neglecting those. Blind guides, who filter out the gnat and swallow the camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who clean the outside of the glass and the plate, but inside are full of greed and intemperance. Blind Pharisee, clean the inside of the glass first, so that the outside becomes clean too!

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Today the Syriac Church remembers Zacchaeus, the publican who welcomed Jesus into his house. It is a memory that touches our hearts, also because it comes from the tradition of a Church that has suffered so much because of the Gospel through the many conflicts that still bloodied the Middle East. Jesus, while walking in the streets of Jericho, looks up at Zacchaeus, who had climbed a tree because he was small in stature, and calls him by name. He knows us by name. In an anonymous and mass-produced society like ours, this attitude of Jesus is of great teaching for us. The Gospel is always personal, it always speaks our name. We are often the ones who leave it generic, like a distant show, because we don't listen to it. Let us imagine Zacchaeus' amazement at hearing himself called. He was a publican, therefore a sinner, but Jesus only calls him. Jesus, who reads hearts, realized the desire of that publican and, as soon as he sees him, calls him telling him that he wants to stay at his house. He recalls the Apocalypse: «Behold: I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door for me, I will come to him and dine with him, and he with me." That day in Jericho this word became reality. Zacchaeus just wanted to see him, Jesus wanted to meet him and give him salvation. He becomes a guest because only by opening our heart can we free it from fear and pride and rediscover hope. At Jesus' invitation, Zacchaeus quickly comes down and welcomes him into the house with joy. This time the rich man does not go away sad when faced with the invitation, and Jesus too is full of joy. At the end of the meeting he decides to return what he had stolen and to give half of his goods to the poor. Thus begins his conversion: he is no longer the man he was before. Zacchaeus establishes his measure and implements it. In fact, he doesn't say "I give everything", but "I give half". Welcoming Jesus into our hearts allows us to find the personal path to charity.