33rd Tuesday in Ordinary Time
18 November 2025
Salvation Demands a Response
Today’s readings give us two unforgettable portraits of what it looks like to respond to God.
Two men, separated by centuries,
living in radically different circumstances
—yet united by one truth:
when God calls,
salvation demands a response.
Our first reading introduces us to Eleazar, a 90-year-old scribe,
beloved, wise, and respected.
A decree had gone out requiring all Jews to eat forbidden food as a sign of abandoning their covenant.
Some officials,
even sympathetic ones,
urged Eleazar to fake it
—pretend to eat the unclean meat
while actually eating something lawful.
“No one will know,” they tell him.
“Save your life.”
But Eleazar refuses.
He won’t pretend.
He won’t compromise.
He won’t betray the covenant
—not even in appearance.
He won’t because Eleazar knows something many forget:
our response to God is not just private;
it is public.
His fidelity—or his compromise—
could either strengthen or scandalize the young.
Eleazar sees the larger picture.
He sees generations watching.
He knows that what he does in secret echoes in eternity.
So he responds to God’s covenant with fidelity,
which costs him his life.
And in the final lines,
as he is dying,
he prays that his suffering may be a witness to truth for the whole nation.
Scripture says he left “a noble example” for all who would come after him.
That is Eleazar’s response:
courageous fidelity that costs something.
In the Gospel, we meet what is to many of us a well-known story and a well-known figure:
Zacchaeus,
and he is perched awkwardly in a sycamore tree.
He is not a beloved elder or a revered teacher;
he is despised
—a chief tax collector,
a man who made his wealth by cheating his own people. Zacchaeus has no illusions about his reputation.
He knows he is a sinner.
But he has one thing in common with Eleazar:
he too is searching for something more.
He climbs the tree simply to see Jesus.
That small act is already the beginning of his response.
And then something amazing happens.
Jesus stops beneath him,
looks up, and says,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”
Notice that little word: must.
This isn’t a courtesy visit.
This is divine necessity.
Salvation is seeking Zacchaeus.
The crowd grumbles.
“He’s going to dine with a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stands his ground.
This is his Eleazar moment
—his moment of response.
He doesn’t merely say, “I’m sorry.”
He doesn’t just say, “I believe.”
He responds with repentance and restitution.
“Behold, Lord,
half my possessions I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything,
I shall repay it four times over.”
That is what a converted heart looks like.
Zacchaeus doesn’t earn salvation.
Jesus brings salvation to him.
But salvation requires a response
—and Zacchaeus responds with a transformed life.
Jesus declares,
“Today salvation has come to this house.”
Not because Zacchaeus climbed a tree,
not because he was wealthy,
not because he made promises
—but because he opened his heart and acted.
His life moved from selfishness to generosity,
from deceit to truth,
from isolation to communion.
Eleazar and Zacchaeus show us two complementary truths:
Eleazar teaches us fidelity
—faith that stands firm, even when costly.
Zacchaeus teaches us conversion
—faith that changes our life, our habits, our priorities, our relationships.
Both are responses to salvation.
Both honor God.
Both reveal the Kingdom breaking into this world.
These readings, I hope, invite us to reflect honestly:
How am I responding to God?
Is my faith costing me anything?
Do I stand firm in conviction, like Eleazar?
Do I repent quickly and joyfully, like Zacchaeus?
When Christ calls me by name,
do I come down from my comfortable branches
and welcome Him into my home?
Salvation is always God’s initiative
—but it always requires our response.
Today, may we respond like Eleazar
—with fidelity that strengthens others.
And respond like Zacchaeus
—with repentance that transforms our life.