THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
23 OCTOBER 2016
When
we hear this parable with 21st century ears, we tend to identify
with the tax collector. We remember the
Gospel stories from Mark and Matthew depicting Pharisees as hypocrites always
in opposition to Jesus. However, first
century listeners would have heard something very different. While the Pharisees certainly used the law
and their interpretation of the law for their own benefit, this Pharisee
belongs in the Temple. He is part of a
movement which has taken the holiness of the Temple and moved it into people’s
families and lives. More than likely, he
is a deeply religious person who does the things he mentions in his
prayer. In fasting twice a week, he
shows that he is serious about practicing his faith. He has embraced the message of stewardship
and tithes 10% of his income. He
probably is honest in his business dealings and is completely faithful to his
wife. He is a decent religious man.
That is not
true of the tax collector. He is not a decent
person. He works for the hated Romans to
collect outrageous amounts of taxes to fund their oppressive occupation of the
Jewish homeland. While his fellow Jews
become more impoverished under the weight of unfair taxation, he lives a
comfortable life. He and his fellow tax
collectors are traitors who enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else. Although he does not mention his sins in his
prayer, the Pharisee is probably correct in judging him to be greedy,
dishonest, and adulterous. More than
likely, the weight of his sins brought him to his knees to consider how his
lifestyle and his actions have ruined his relationship with God and with other
people. He can only repeat the words of
Psalm 51: “Oh God, be merciful to me a
sinner.”
Jesus says
that the tax collector goes home justified.
Weighed down by sinfulness and shame, the tax collector addresses God
directly. He trusts that God welcomes
and loves every honest and contrite heart.
He experiences the incredible mercy received by the prodigal son. God justifies him in a way that he could
never have earned. In this Year of
Mercy, the tax collector helps us to understand what Pope Francis is talking
about when he speaks of mercy.
To be
honest, we are more like the Pharisee than the tax collector. We care enough about our faith to gather
together in this Temple to praise and thank God for all we have. We are serious about religious practices when
we fast during the season of Lent and listen to talks about stewardship. We work at giving back to God a portion of
what God has given to us. We try to be
honest in our business dealings and faithful to our spouses. But, we can also be like the Pharisee in
making judgments. We can always find
someone less faithful and more sinful than ourselves. We can look down on a neighbor whose car
never leaves the garage on Sunday morning and who will show up for First
Communion. When we move into the new
church, we might resent that some who have never sacrificed for the capital
campaign will be just as welcome as those who have made great sacrifices.
The parable
warns us against making these kinds of comparisons. The parable tells us to address our prayers
to God, and not just speak prayers to ourselves. The parable invites us to acknowledge the
ways in which we have failed and to ask for God’s mercy. That is what Saint Paul does when he writes
to his friend, Timothy. Paul had been a
Pharisee. Paul speaks of the successes
he has enjoyed and the faithful ways in which he has run the race. But Paul addresses his prayer directly to
God. Paul knows his accomplishments are
not a result of his own efforts, but because of God’s grace working through his
actions. That needs to be our
prayer. We can also focus on running the
good race and keeping the faith. We
leave the judgment of those who do not run as well as we do to God and trust in
his merciful love for everyone.
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