October 23rd 2022. Thirtieth Sunday of the Year

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 ...

 

GOSPEL: Luke 18, 9-14

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."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

 

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 does not reach heaven! 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.

 

1. Prayers that reach heaven, and prayers that are not prayers at all.

In today’s gospel we are presented with two different types of prayer. One prayer manages to reach heaven, but the other doesn’t. Firstly, though, let’s have a look at the two men who are doing the praying. One is a tax collector. Maybe, we have a sugar-coated idea of what tax collectors were like. The fact is that they were not good characters. They would rip off their own people on behalf of the Romans with exorbitant taxes that would actually ruin families. You could say that they were among the worst people around at the time. The second man was a Pharisee. Pharisees knew the Law of God and observed it. They were men of prayer, fasting and good deeds. As the Gospel recounts, both of these men go to the temple to pray. The Pharisee places himself at the front, standing there upright, looking up to heaven. The tax collector remains at the back, bent over with his eyes on the floor. The Pharisee’s mistake is to think of himself as worthy by despising others. That attitude does not go down well with Jesus! St Paul says, “If I had the gift…to…comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”

 

2. The Pharisee measures his own righteousness in comparison with sinners.

The Pharisee is using a particular scale to measure his righteousness, and that scale is a comparison with thieves, prostitutes, and sinners (like the tax collector behind him). His prayer is not really a prayer at all. He is full of himself, ranking his own person first above everybody else. If you want to feel good about yourself, or so he thinks, you just have to think of those who are inferior to you. That’s why crime news sells so well and why gossip is so captivating! It makes us feel better about ourselves.

 

3. The tax collector measures himself in the light of God.

In complete contrast, the unit the tax collector measures himself with is God. Before God, we are all unworthy. Before God, we know that the only way we can be saved is through God’s mercy. The tax collector is acutely aware of this. We need to see ourselves in the light of God and with nothing else. This is what will open our eyes and show us that we are not here to compete with one another, but we are here to be redeemed and saved. That is the real truth of our situation.