John Chrysostom, On Zacchaeus the Publican

In Zacchaeum publicanum

On Zacchaeus the publican.

61.767 Those who love good things are in no way different from those who are thirsty, O beloved. For by as much as they do not find what they seek, by so much are they inflamed with thirst for the things they long for; and by night, like thirsty men, they imagine the springs they long for; and by day, wandering from place to place, looking around with ever-moving eyes, they seek the things their heart desires. And just as travelers in the hour of scorching heat run across the waterless land, pressed by thirst, and look around for springs, so that they often even run up hills where a spring might be; and if they see it from afar, they rejoice, and intensify their journey, hastening toward it; then, having come to the spring, they quench their thirst with the water; such are the men who love Christ. For by day they seek out with good works the Christ whom they desire, and by night they converse with Him through prayers, and in their sleep they imagine they are walking with Him; if in visions they see Him from afar, they rejoice and are glad, just like those who are thirsty when they find the springs they long for; and again, having awakened, they wish to sleep, so that they might encounter the same vision in their sleep.

Such was Zacchaeus, who was just now read aloud to you from the Gospel. For see him both running, and burning with divine desire, and climbing up the tree, and looking around for Jesus, so that he might see the life-giving spring. But Zacchaeus, having beheld the Lord, rested his sight, but inflamed his heart even more with desire. And Jesus, it says, having entered into Jericho, was passing through. And behold, a man named Zacchaeus; and he was a chief tax collector, and he was rich; and he desired to see Jesus, because he was about to pass that way. See the desire of the man, beloved. And he was not able to see because of the crowd, because he was small in stature. And running ahead, he climbed up into a sycamore tree, so that he might see Jesus, because he was about to pass that way. Zacchaeus, small in the stature of his body, but great in the wisdom of his spirit, sought to see Jesus, he desired to see God among men bestowing heavenly things; he sought to see the creator of angels, and the torch-bearer of heavenly and super-terrestrial light walking with human steps; he sought to see how the sun of righteousness, sitting in the cloud of the body, illumined the eyes of the heart of the faithful; he sought to see the God Jesus, the beautiful form, the longed-for reality, the sweet name, Jesus, Him who signifies reality by His name; he desired to see the purple-fleeced sheep, whose blood redeemed the world, and whose fleece has covered those who were naked from Adam to the end; the captive soldier desired to see his own king, the sheep the shepherd, the one who has strayed the way, the one in darkness the light; he desired to see the herald of piety, he who did not have the sweetest seasoning of the knowledge of God; the sick man sought to see health, the hungry man the heavenly bread, the thirsty man the life-giving spring; he desired to see the life-giver of the priests, and the one who awakened Lazarus. O divine love, O good desire! O love with golden wings, or rather, of Christ, who bears up to heaven the soul that possesses Him! Already the divine love, which lifted him from the earth, made him a tree-climber; it no longer permitted him to see earthly things, it no longer permitted him to speak with men; but looking toward divine love, he was awaiting heavenly things; from those things toward 61.768 those things he was running toward which

In Zacchaeum publicanum

Εἰς τὸν Ζακχαῖον τὸν τελώνην.

61.767 Οἱ τῶν καλῶν ἐρῶντες, οὐδὲν ἀπέχουσι τῶν διψώντων, ὦ ἀγαπητοί. Ὅσῳ γὰρ οὐχ εὑρίσκουσι τὸ ζητούμενον, τοσούτῳ πρὸς τὴν δίψαν τῶν ποθουμένων ἐκκαίονται· καὶ νύκτωρ μὲν φαντάζονται τὰς ποθουμένας, ὡς διψῶντες, πηγάς· μεθ' ἡμέραν δὲ τόπον ἐκ τόπου περιερχόμενοι, ὄμμασι πολυκινήτοις περιβλεπόμενοι, ζητοῦσι τὰ τῆς καρδίας ποθούμενα. Καὶ ὥσπερ ὁδοιπόροι ἐν ὥρᾳ καύσωνος τὴν ἄνυδρον γῆν διατρέχουσιν, ὑπὸ τῆς δίψης πιεσθέντες, καὶ τὰς πηγὰς περιβλέπονται, ὡς πολλάκις καὶ ἐπὶ βουνοὺς ἀνατρέχοντας αὐτοὺς ὅπου πηγή· κἂν ἴδωσιν αὐτὴν πόῤῥωθεν, χαίρουσι, καὶ ἐπιτείνονται τὴν πορείαν πρὸς αὐτὴν σπεύδοντες· εἶτα ἐλθόντες ἐπὶ τὴν πηγὴν τὴν δίψαν τῷ ὕδατι παύουσι· τοιοῦτοί εἰσιν οἱ φιλόχριστοι ἄνδρες. Ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τὸν ποθούμενον αὐτοῖς Χριστὸν ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς ἐκζητοῦσι, καὶ ἐν νυκτὶ δι' εὐχῶν προσομιλοῦσιν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὕπνοις μετ' αὐτοῦ βηματίζειν φαντάζονται· ἐὰν ἐν ὁράμασιν αὐτὸν ἴδωσι πόῤῥωθεν, χαίρονται καὶ ἀγάλλονται, ὥσπερ οἱ διψῶντες, ὅταν εὕρωσι τὰς ποθουμένας πηγάς· καὶ πάλιν διυπνισθέντες καθεύδειν ἐθέλουσιν, ἵνα τῇ αὐτῇ ὀπτασίᾳ τοῖς ὕπνοις περιτύχωσι.

Τοιοῦτος ἦν καὶ Ζακχαῖος, ὁ ἀρτίως ὑμῖν ὑπὸ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου διαναγνωσθείς. Ὅρα γάρ μοι αὐτὸν καὶ τρέχοντα, καὶ πόθῳ φλεγόμενον θείῳ, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ δένδρον ἀναβαίνοντα, καὶ Ἰησοῦν περιβλεπόμενον, ὅπως ἴδῃ τὴν ζωοφόρον πηγήν. Θεωρήσας δὲ Ζακχαῖος τὸν Κύριον, τὴν μὲν ὅρασιν ἀνέπαυσε, τὴν δὲ καρδίαν πλέον πρὸς πόθον ἐξέκαυσεν. Εἰσελθὼν δὲ, φησὶν, ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς Ἱεριχὼ, διήρχετο. Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι Ζακχαῖος· καὶ οὗτος ἦν ἀρχιτελώνης, καὶ οὗτος ἦν πλούσιος· καὶ ἐπεθύμει ἰδεῖν τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ὅτι ἐκεῖ ἤμελλε διέρχεσθαι. Ὅρα μοι πόθον ἀνθρώπου, ἀγαπητέ. Καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο βλέπειν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄχλου, ὅτι μικρὸς ἦν τῇ ἡλικίᾳ. Καὶ προλαβὼν εἰς τὰ ἔμπροσθεν, ἀνέβη ἐπὶ συκομορέαν, ἵνα ἴδῃ τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ὅτι ἐκεῖθεν ἤμελλε διέρχεσθαι. Ζακχαῖος ὁ τὴν ἡλικίαν τοῦ σώματος μικρὸς, τῇ δὲ φρονήσει τοῦ πνεύματος μέγας, ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ἐπεθύμει ἰδεῖν τὸν Θεὸν ἐν ἀνθρώποις τὰ οὐράνια χαριζόμενον· ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν τὸν τῶν ἀγγέλων κτιστὴν, καὶ τοῦ οὐρανίου καὶ ὑπεργείου φωτὸς λαμπαδοθέτην βήμασιν ἀνθρωπίνοις περιπατοῦντα· ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν πῶς ὁ ἥλιος τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ τοῦ σώματος καθεζόμενος, τῶν πιστῶν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας κατηύγασεν· ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν τὸν Θεὸν Ἰησοῦν, τὸ καλὸν σχῆμα, τὸ ποθεινὸν πρᾶγμα, τὸ γλυκὺ ὄνομα Ἰησοῦν, τὸν ἐκ τοῦ ὀνόματος πρᾶγμα σημαίνοντα· ἐπεθύμει ἰδεῖν τὸ πορφυρόμαλλον πρόβατον, οὗ τὸ αἷμα τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐξηγόρασε, καὶ ὁ πόκος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ μέχρι τέλους γυμνωθέντας ἐσκέπασεν· ἐπεθύμει ἰδεῖν ὁ αἰχμάλωτος στρατιώτης τὸν ἴδιον βασιλέα, τὸ πρόβατον τὸν ποιμένα, ὁ πεπλανημένος τὴν ὁδὸν, ὁ ἐσκοτισμένος τὸ φέγγος· ἐπεθύμει ἰδεῖν τὸν τῆς εὐσεβείας κήρυκα, ὁ μὴ ἔχων τὸ τῆς θεογνωσίας γλυκύτατον ἄρτυμα· ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν ὁ ἄῤῥωστος τὴν ὑγείαν, ὁ πεινῶν τὸν οὐράνιον ἄρτον, ὁ διψῶν τὴν ζωοφόρον πηγήν· ἐπεθύμει ἰδεῖν τὸν τῶν ἱερέων ζωοδότην, καὶ ἐξυπνιστὴν τοῦ Λαζάρου. Ὢ ἔρωτος θείου, ὢ ἐπιθυμίας ἀγαθῆς! ὢ ἔρωτος χρυσοπτέρου, μᾶλλον δὲ Χριστοῦ, τοῦ τὴν ἔχουσαν αὑτὸν ψυχὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀναφέροντος! Ἤδη ὁ θεῖος ἔρως, ὁ ἄρας αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, δενδροβάτην παρεσκεύασεν· οὐκ ἔτι τὰ ἐπίγεια βλέπειν αὐτὸν ἤδη, οὐκ ἔτι ἀνθρώποις συνεχώρησεν αὐτὸν ὁμιλεῖν· ἀλλὰ πρὸς θείαν βλέψας ἀγάπην, τὰ οὐράνια ἐξεδέχετο· ἀπ' ἐκείνων πρὸς 61.768 ἐκεῖνα ἔτρεχε πρὸς ἃ