GOSPEL: Luke 18, 9-14
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini,
broadcast on Vatican Radio
Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...
Jesus
addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity --
greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.'
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity --
greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.'
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
The Gospel of the
Lord: Praise
to you Lord Jesus Christ
Kieran’s summary . . . In Sunday’s Gospel we hear of two men offering two kinds of prayers to God. The first man is a very upright and respectable man who exploits nobody, but his prayer is not heard! The second man is a terrible sinner who lives a life exploiting others, but his prayer is heard by God! What is happening here? The difference is that the publican has a correct viewpoint of his own sinfulness in comparison to the holiness of God, and as a result he begs for mercy. By contrast, the Pharisee focusses on his own holiness in comparison to the sinfulness of others! We like to compare ourselves to others, especially those who are struggling. That is why crime sells and why gossip is so popular. But when we place ourselves before the crucified and risen Christ, contemplate his holiness and consider our own sinfulness, then we realise with the publican that the only thing we can do is ask for mercy.
The prayer of the sinner is heard, whilst the prayer of the upright man is not heard. What is happening here?
"The prayer of the
poor pierces the clouds, it does not stop until it reaches its goal", says
the first reading this Sunday. In the Gospel, two types of prayer are
contrasted: one that makes it to heaven and one that does not. One of the two
characters is a publican, but it is necessary to correct the sweetened-up image
of this profession: they exploited their own people by extracting all types of
taxes on behalf of the Romans. The publican was a very shady figure. Yet his
prayer is heard and he is justified - that is, he is made just in the eyes of
God. The other is a very good person, a man of prayer, honest, just and
faithful, observant of good rules and a regular practitioner of works of
penance. He has only one problem: he despises others. Is this a minor issue, do
you think? St Paul says: “If I knew all mysteries and had all knowledge, if I
had enough faith to move mountains, but I did not have charity, I would be
nothing. And even if I gave all my possessions and delivered my body to be burned,
but had not love, I would be nothing" (1 Cor 13: 2-3). What a disappointment!
To do a lot of good things and then discover that they are good for nothing!
What is the difference
between these two types of prayer? In one, the publican places himself in a
proper position before God: as a sinner in need of mercy in comparison to the
holiness of God. In contrast, the Pharisee considers his own holiness in
comparison to other people!
What is the real difference
between the publican and the Pharisee? This Gospel, like last week’s, is
dealing with prayer and the problem is right there: the publican prays in an
authentic way, the other ... not really. The prayer of the Pharisee,
technically, is a form of praise and therefore in itself would be a perfect
prayer, but our Pharisee, standing and strutting, makes a mistake that the
other does not: the tax collector, despite his faults, puts himself before the
Lord and confronts himself with God’s holiness, instead of talking about his
own! He humbly trusts that God can
redeem him. In essence, the publican has a correct impression of his status
before God. He is a sinner and God can save him. The Pharisee, by contrast, measures
himself with other men and is very pleased with the results! He comes first in
the rankings compared to thieves, adulterers and, above all, the lousy
publican. Prayer and fasting, if they are occasions for arrogance and
self-edification, are worse than sins, said Saint Ambrose of Optina.
Does Jesus want us to live like the publican?
No, but he wants us to imitate the publican in the way he places himself humbly
before his merciful Lord
Does that mean it's better to live like the
publican? No, it means that instead of living in envy, which is the instinct of
the Pharisee, it is better to live by measuring oneself against the Lord. If I
want to think well of myself, I will always find someone worse than me. As a
result, we often compare ourselves to people we already despise. This is why
crime news sells and why gossip is so widespread. When we place ourselves
before the crucified and risen Christ, we cannot tell ourselves that we are
perfect spouses, or perfect friends, or perfect priests. In the presence of the
Lord we begin to pray, because we have so much to be forgiven.
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