Today we have one of the most delightful stories of Luke and indeed of the whole Gospel. The central figure is Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector and hence a rich man. And much despised by his fellow-Jews for collecting their money for the hated Romans. When Jesus comes to Jericho, Zacchaeus wants to see him but, because of his despised status, at a distance. And because he was small, he climbed a tree where he could see - and not be seen. What a shock to hear Jesus say, "Zacchaeus, come down; I want to go to your house today." Very similar words are in the First Reading ("I stand at the door and knock") and Jesus addresses them to each one of us every day. The people, who judge only by the exterior, are shocked that Jesus should choose the house of the town's greatest sinner. Zacchaeus may be a chief tax collector but he is ready to give half of his property to the poor and, if he has cheated anyone, he promises to pay them back four times what they lost. Jesus is able to see beyond the stereotype which makes Zacchaeus the tax collector an outcast. He was not going to the house of a sinner but to that of a basically good man. Jesus always sees the real person and goes beyond the label. Can we always claim to do the same?