Any effort we make to draw near to Christ is greatly rewarded. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for it is fitting for me to stay at your house today. What immense joy! He, who was content to watch him from the tree, finds that Jesus calls him by name, like an old friend, and, with the same confidence, he invites himself into his house. "He who thought it great and ineffable to see him pass by," comments St. Augustine, "immediately deserved to have him in his house. The Master, who had read in his heart the sincerity of his desires, does not want to miss this occasion. Zacchaeus "discovers that he is personally loved by the One who presents himself as the awaited Messiah, he is touched in the depths of his spirit and opens his heart ". He immediately wants to be close to the Master: he went down quickly and received him with joy. He experienced the singular joy of everyone who meets Jesus.
Zacchaeus has the Master, and with Him he has everything. "He is not afraid that the reception of Christ in his own house could threaten, for example, his professional career, or make some actions difficult for him, linked to his activity as chief publican". On the contrary, he shows the sincerity of his new life by his deeds; he becomes one more disciple of the Master: Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone I will repay him four times as much. He goes far beyond what the Law of Moses8 ordered concerning restitution, and he also gives half of his fortune to the poor! The encounter with Christ makes us generous with others, it moves us immediately to share what we have, much or little, with those who are most in need. Zacchaeus understood that to follow Christ requires the most complete detachment. "My God, I see that I will not accept you as my Savior if I do not at the same time recognize you as my Model.
"-Since You wanted to be poor, give me love for Holy Poverty. My purpose, with your help, is to live and die poor, even if I have millions at my disposal."