If we could have a conversation with Zaccheus, he would remind us that conversion doesn't have to be gloom, doom and a hard slog.  In today's Gospel, we see both him and Jesus at play and the changes this can bring. 
 
In his trilogy, John Shea writes the story beautifully. 
 
Another time, when Jesus was on His way from Jericho to Jerusalem, 
A dwarf of a tax collector, Zaccheus by name, 
whose eyes were as tarnished as two Roman coins, 
and whose hands were no bigger than a stolen purse,  
climbed a tree to spy Jesus. 
But Jesus spied him and said,  
Zaccheus, hurry down, I will eat with you tonight. 
 
Now, who is the host and who is the guest 
when the one invited in turn invites?  
And what can happen at such a meal? 
Can more than bread be shared? 
Can more than wine be drunk? 
 
The story says that later the same day Zaccheus reached into the centre of his soul and found a rusty key which he used to unlock the strongboxes that held the wealth of his people.  Later that day, a taller Zaccheus returned what the smaller one had stolen.

 In Saint Luke's Gospel, Jesus is always making His way to Jerusalem.  It will be in Jerusalem that the steady strength of Sacred Love will cast deeper shadows on a loveless and ungrateful world. The story of the healing of the ten lepers prepares us for this.  The steady strength of Sacred Love will show itself as mercy for the afflicted.  But few, even of the afflicted, will see clearly enough to fall in adoration at His feet. 
 
The  story  unfolds  in  what  could  be  called  'no-man’s  land'  which Jesus transfigures it  into everyone's land.  Focus less on the geography and more on the place where Sacred encounter is possible.  Illness has brought these 'ten' to this place, but Jesus has come to reveal the face of His Abba. To sing the Divine Compassion to what is lost. 
 
Ten lepers are cured.  But the one who returns (remember the lost sheep and the missing coin) tells the story of a God who is relentlessly pursuing human hearts who relentlessly run away. 
 
In the end, this is really a story about seizing or not seizing second chances.  Being cured 'on the way' to the priestly gatekeepers forces them to choose.  What is more important - Re-entry into the established Jewish community, or entry into the company of those who understand who Jesus is?  
 
When the Samaritan falls prostrate at the feet of Jesus, it is much more than an expression of gratitude.  It speaks more of his commitment to the teaching of Jesus and of his desire to follow the way of life that Jesus advocates.  And so, Jesus instructs him to 'get up and go'.  He is not to return to the old ways, but to find a new way, grounded in his gratefulness that God has been to gracious to him.  As he walks this path, he will go beyond cure and into healing. 
 
The second chance slumbers in every minute of every life. The real question is, will we seize it?