THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
27 OCTOBER 2019
When
Saint Paul writes to Timothy is in prison awaiting execution. He looks back at his life and ministry and
knows that he is being poured out like a libation. As the Romans and Greeks would pour fine wine
over their sacrifices, he has poured out his life in service of the Gospel. Like a true sports fan, he uses athletic
imagery. He has competed well. He has finished the race. He has kept the
faith.
He knows
that his departure is near. The Greek
word he uses for departure has three implications. Like a beast of burden, he has been cut loose
from the plow, the work he has undertaken.
Like a rope removed from a peg, his tent being packed up for the next
destination. Like a rope being released
from the dock, his ship is about to sail.
He is confident that his release from this life allows him to reach the
crown of righteousness that awaits him.
Paul is
speaking directly to us old people. He
invites us to recognize the ways in which God has worked through us over the
years, despite our weakness and sinfulness.
As a converted Pharisee who had encountered the Lord on the way to
Damascus, Paul had come to understand that obeying the law and doing good did
not save him. He encourages us to be
hopeful as we are being untethered and preparing to meet the Lord, for whose
appearance we long. He encourages us to
depend not so much on what we have done or not done, but on the grace God has
given us.
Paul speaks
to everyone of any age. On this Sunday,
he speaks especially to our new Catechumens and Candidates for Full
Communion. As you grow in holiness,
avoid the mistake of the Pharisee in today’s Gospel parable. Despite the conflicts between Jesus and the
Pharisees, this Pharisee probably is a good and faithful Jewish religious
leader. He fasts every Monday and
Thursday and gives 10% of his income away.
However, he is talking to himself and not to God. He is patting himself on the back for his growth
in holiness. He is comparing himself to
those who are not as “holy” as he is, especially the tax collector.
The tax
collector probably is a public scoundrel.
More than likely, he makes a huge profit when he collects taxes from his
fellow Israelites and keeps the difference required by the hated Roman
occupiers. He is part of a corrupt
institution, and he knows it. That is
why he beats his breast and addresses his prayer to God as a sinner, begging
for mercy. He goes home justified,
because God has heard his humble prayer and puts him in a right relationship. Perhaps like Matthew, another tax collector,
this tax collector can proclaim the Gospel of mercy to other people and draw
them closer to the God who loves them.
As a
religious leader, the Pharisee is an insider in the Temple. He belongs there. As a hated sinner, the tax collector does not
belong there. Because of the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, there are no insiders or outsiders. We belong to Jesus Christ, who allowed the
temple of his body to be destroyed on the cross and raised from the dead. No matter where we are in our journey of
faith – at the beginning, in the middle, or near the end – we can trust that
the Lord will always stand by us and give us strength. He does not strengthen us when we compare our
own growth in holiness to those who do not seem to be holy. He strengthens us when we admit our
sinfulness and weakness and depend on God’s and mercy to transform us.
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