(The text is the second part of "Come and See")

One of the two who followed Jesus after hearing what John (the Baptist) said was
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
The first thing he did was to find his brother Simon. He said to him, "We have found
the Messiah" (which is the Hebrew for Christ). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked
at him and said, "You are Simon, son of John. You shall be called Cephas" (that is, Peter,
the Rock).
(John 1:40-42)
SCRIPTURAL TEXT
Zacchaeus
He entered Jericho and was going through the town when a man whose name was
Zacchaeus made his appearance. He was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy
man.
He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was, but he was too short and could not
see Him for the crowd.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to
pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot, He stopped, He looked up and spoke to
him: "Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.'
And he hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully. They all complained when they saw
what was happening "He has gone to stay at a sinner's house," they said.
But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, "Look, sir, I am going to give half
my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times
the amount.
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is
a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost."
(Luke 19:1-10)

SUGGESTED TEXTS FOR THE FACILITATOR GUIDED SCRIPTURAL REFLECTION

(1)
1. Jesus Affirms Simon More than Names.
In the Bible, names are more than superficial titles given without any particular
purpose. They are carefully and deliberately chosen to denote something--a quality or a
mission--on the part of the person who will bear the name. Hence, it is not unusual for
God Himself to impose names on important personages' or to change their names. So,
when Jesus changed the name of Simon to "Peter," we are almost sure that the change_
was not in name only but in person itself of Simon.
Simon's Weaknesses. What the change was in the person of Simon may be gleaned
from comparing the kind of man he was before he became a disciple of Jesus and the
kind of man he later became. Many Gospel incidents involving Simon Peter reflect what
kind of man he was before his "formation" by Jesus. I shall recall some of these
incidents; please tell me what kind of man they indicate and I shall write your answers
on the board.
There is the Last Supper scene. Jesus is telling his disciples that when he is arrested,
they will all lose faith in him. Simon protests that "even if all lose faith in you, I will
never lose faith... Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." A few hours
later Simon is in the courtyard of the house of the high priest, where Jesus had been
brought after his arrest. A servant-girl recognizes Simon and confronts him: "You too
were with the Galilean Jesus." Simon vehemently and repeatedly denies it: "I do not
know." Now tell me what kind of man do we have here? How can we describe him?

(Sample answers: overconfident, boastful, humbug, presumptuous, holier-than-thou,

liar, coward, unfaithful, fickle, balimbing)

Other Gospel incidents show Simon to be ambitious, cocky, violent, power-conscious,

hard-headed. Please look at the board once more and consider Not what kind of man
Simon was. Would you vote him for baranggay Not even for baranggay councilman, I
am sure. And yet this was the mar', whom Jesus picked to be the leader of his band, the
first pope of the Church in fact. But we also know that by the time Simon assumed the
leadership o-f the Church, he was a vastly different man. He had changed.
Peter's Strengths. The change is already hinted at in the name that Jesus gave him:
"Peter," which means "rock." What adjectives come to your mind at the mention of the
word "rock?"
(Sample answers: strong, solid, firm, steadfast, immovable, loyal, principled, faithful)
Focus on "Peter." How do we account for the change from "Simon" to "Peter?" What did
Jesus do that helped change the man? The Gospel text we have read says that Jesus
looked at Simon (one translation says, "looked hard") and told him: "You are Simon.
You shall be called Peter, that is, Rock." In other words, Jesus looked at the man, saw his
shortcomings and weaknesses but did not stop there. He immediately went on to note
the man's underlying strengths and brought the latter to Simon's attention, thereby
making him aware of his positive qualities. It is as if Jesus had said to Simon: "I know
you are presumptuous, over-confident, cowardly, and so on. But I also see that you are
firm, loyal, steadfast, faithful." Hearing Jesus tell him that behind and underneath his
"Simon" self he was really "Peter," the man changed from "Simon" to "Peter,"
2. The Power of Affirmation
What Affirmation Is. What Jesus did to Simon thus changing him to Peter is known
today as Affirmation. To affirm means to make firm, to make along, to strengthen. To
affirm a person is to make him firm and strong in his sense of his own goodness and
worth. An affirming person is one who is aware of another's unique goodness and
worth, delights in the goodness he sees, and shows visibly his delight, but without
attempting or even desiring to change him. Jesus was such a person, and his
relationships with others, with Peter in this case, were so affirming that people,
including sinners, felt good as a result.
Secret of Power of Affirmation. The power of affirmation to transform people for the
better is found in a rather simple psychological principle: We become what others,
especially significant others, say we are. We see the t7ttis principle daily. A child whiiis
constant-Vial that he is good for nothing turns out to be good for nothing; a child, on
the contrary, who is made to feel that he is good becomes good. The Language of
Affirmation. Someone has written that people usually try to correct others with the use
of the language of words--and with little effect. He suggests that more effective than the
language of words is the language of relationships, of affirming relationships, if I may
hasten to add. Words by -themselves do not necessarily produce the effect we intend
them to produce. For words are ambivalent, and their meaning or effect on the listener
depends not so much on the speaker but on the listener, specifically on his disposition
and attitudes. The latter are the product of his experiences of relationships. Experiences
of affirming relationships dispose a person to be affected positively by the words
people speak to him.

GUIDED SCRIPTURAL REFLECTION (2)

1. Affirmation in Action
Zacchaeus: Portrait of an Unaffirmed Person. The Gospels abound in examples of how
Jesus converted people through the language of affirming relationships, without a
single scolding word of correction. We shall take the case of Zacchaeus, because it
shows in surprising detail how affirmation works.
The Evangelist Luke tells us that Zacchaeus was a senior tax collector and a wealthy
man (needless to say). Have in mind that a tax collector is seldom a popular person,
even today. But to make matters worse for Zacchaeus, he was a tax collector for the
Roman government, which through conquest ruled the proud and nationalistic Jews at
that time. As such, he must have been detested by his townmates and fellow Jews. To
them he was a traitor, a collaborator, an enemy in fact. Luke further says that when one
day Jesus passed through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem, Zacchaeus wanted to see
what kind of man Jesus was but could not because of the crowd and because he was a
short man.
We can take Zacchaeus' shortness literally and it would make sense. But a figurative
interpretation would make even better sense. As a traitorous collaborator of the Romans
who must have enriched himself at the expense of his fellow Jews, Zacchaeus must
have been looked down upon with contempt by his townmates. In other words, he
must have been small and "short" in their eyes and, consequently, in his own eyes. In
psychological terms, he must have been poorly esteemed by people and, hence, must
himself have lacked self-esteem. Now, psychologists tell us that people with poor self-
esteem will have difficulty relating healthily with others and with God. Perhaps this is
the deeper meaning of Zacchaeus' not b ' "see" Jesus.
So what did Zacchaeus do to overcome and compensate for his shortness, which
hindered him from having a good view of Jesus? Luke tells us that he ran ahead of the
crowd. It is well known that people with poor self-esteem, tend to be driven by a strong
need to "get ahead" of others. Luke also says that Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree.
The sycamore tree naturally gave him height, so that he could see above the crowd. In
psychological language, a "sycamore tree" is anything that gives us the sense or
impression of importance or worth. It could be anything that compensates for our sense
of smallness: money, power, social status, salary, position, connections, a diploma or a
degree, and so on. "Sycamore trees" are not always and necessarily wrong; for a time at
least we may need "sycamore trees" while we do not yet possess a strong sense of self-
worth. But they should not be the permanent basis of our sense of worth.
Think: How is my self-esteem? What do I like the best about myself? What do I not like about
myself? Do I feel that people like me? What is your main "sycamore tree"?
In sum, Zacchaeus' being an unloved and unaffirmed person made him feel small,
unaccepted, lacking in self-esteem. It forced him to the "edge of the crowd," hindered
him from "seeing" Jesus, and drove him to fight to .0 ahead of others" and "to climb
sycamore trees."
Jesus: Portrait of an Affirming Person. We may assume that his townmates must have
tried to correct and change Zacchaeus, but most probably by scolding, berating or
threatening him, all to no avail. Jesus comes around and relates with him in an
affirming way. Without a single correction, Jesus converts Zacchaeus from sinner to
saint.
2. The Qualities of Affirming Relationships
By studying Jesus, we discover the qualities of affirming relationships. How did Jesus
do it? The Gospel says, explicitly or implicitly, that Jesus did the following:
Jesus "stopped." When Jesus came to the sycamore tree, he stopped to speak with
Zacchaeus. In the story of the two blind men, we saw what to "stop" The effect on
Zacchaeus was to give him a sense of importance, recognition, which is a most basic
human need.
means.
Jesus "looked up" literally as well as figuratively. To look up to a person is to hold him
in esteem, to hold him in admiration.
Jesus "spoke with" Zacchaeus. Communication, reaching out, leading to the birth of
relationship, loneliness is overcome.
Jesus called Zacchaeus by name: "Zacchaeus." Recognition. Identity. Zacchaeus is
lifted from the condition of anonymity and becomes "somebody" or "someone" to Jesus.
Jesus told Zacchaeus to "come down." As if Jesus had said to him: "Look, Zacchaeus,
you do not need sycamore trees with me. You're okay as you are." Acceptance of
Zacchaeus as he is, freeing him to be authentic, to be himself.
Jesus asked Zacchaeus to do him a favor: "Let me stay at your house." Thus, Jesus
shows his faith in Zacchaeus' goodness, in his capacity to do good, to be hospitable
and generous. Zacchaeus is affirmed.
Jesus stayed at Zacchaeus' house. Jesus joins Zacchaeus where he is, shares his world, a
world of loneliness, of self-hate. Now Zacchaeus is no longer alone in his loneliness.
Jesus is there. Solidarity, fellowship.
Jesus ate with Zacchaeus. Eating is a sign of unity, friendship, solidarity, oneness.
Eating is also celebration.

3. The Fruit of Affirmation

A Man of Charity and Justice. The result of Jesus' affirming treatment of Zacchaeus was
beyond imagination: the tax collector who had enriched himself at the expense of his
poor and oppressed countrymen became a man of charity and justice. He said to Jesus:
"Look sir, I am going to give half of pay him back my property to the poor, and if I have
cheated anybody I will four times the amount." And Jesus had not even asked him to
change his ways! Here we have an intimation of the power of affirmation.
A Free, Loving, Responsible Person. Freed from poor self-esteem and self- image, from
his sense of worthlessness, his self-hate and from his "sycamore trees" Zacchaeus
becomes a generous and hospitable host and entertains his guests in friendship,
camaraderie and fellowship (loving relationships). He becomes concerned for the poor
and assumes his responsibility to those he may have done injustice to (service and
responsibility). In short, through Jesus' affirmation Zacchaeus grows into a person!
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
It is not difficult to see why affirmation and affirming relationships have this power to
affect people for the better. For affirmation answers the most fundamental human needs
and aspirations: recognition, sense of importance and worth, self-esteem, intimacy,
solidarity, fellowship, identity, acceptance, authenticity, and the need to celebrate life
and existence. Man is basically good. When God created man, he saw that it was good.
What man needs for his latent goodness to blossom is to be freed from those forces
within and without him that tend to cripple his sense of his goodness. Affirmation
affords him that freedom.
Think:
Am I an affirming person? Do I tend to notice the good side of people or their
bad side?
Am I sufficiently affirmed as a person?
Are the people I live with or work with affirming enough?

Is there anyone with whom I ought to relate in a more affirming way? Are the
relationships in my family affirming enough?

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE REFLECTION GUIDE

In many ways, we are like Simon who later became Peter. We have our own
weaknesses, which we may call "Simon" qualities and our underlying strengths, which
we may call "Peter" qualities. We actually have more good points than bad ones, if we
only look more deeply into ourselves. A lot of our good points are hidden, waiting to be
discovered and developed.
Find a suitable place for reflection, and put yourself in a prayerful mood.
1. Think of two "Simon" qualities that you have and what they are doing to your life;
write them inside that portion of the circle marked "My Simon Self."
2. Then think of at least five "Peter" qualities that you have or could have, and how they
influence your life. Write them inside that portion of the circle marked "My Peter Self."
3. Get your copy of the Gospel text (Simon to Peter) and read it again. When you come
to the part where Jesus says to Simon "You are Simon... you shall be called Peter" allow
Jesus to affirm you as he affirmed Simon Peter. Listen to him as he lovingly whispers to
you the "Peter" qualities you have written on your sheet. Taste and relish each quality
as Jesus mentions it, and feel how he delights in you in spite of your "Simon" qualities.