THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
26 OCTOBER 2025
When
we hear this parable, we tend to think negatively of the Pharisee. We know from Scripture that Pharisees argued
with Jesus, who sometimes accused them of being too concerned with laws and traditions. Our English word, pharisaical, means
“hypocritic.” However, there is another
side to the Pharisees. The Pharisees
were a lay group who helped ordinary people live out the Covenant of Moses in
their ordinary homes and lives. They
were popular with the people of that time.
While they may have argued with Jesus, the only Pharisee known to want
to murder people was Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee who became Saint Paul the
Apostle.
In today’s
parable, the Pharisee praying in the Temple is probably a good and decent
person. He more than likely is not
greedy, or dishonest, or adulterous, because he knows and respects the Law of
Moses. He exceeds the religious requirement
to fast once a week by fasting twice a week.
He pays tithes on his whole income without hiding a portion of it.
He is correct
about his assessment of the tax collector.
Tax collectors grew rich by working for the hated Roman occupiers. They overcharged their own people, keeping
generous portions beyond the Romans’ demands.
If you have seen The Chosen,
you can understand why Matthew the tax collector wanted some kind of protection
from his neighbors. They loathed him for
making choices to become rich with the Romans instead of being with his own
people.
However, this
tax collector goes home justified, or considered righteous by God, and not the
Pharisee. In his prayer, the Pharisee
takes all the credit for his righteousness, without realizing that he can be
considered righteous only by God’s grace.
Even worse, he builds his himself up by comparing himself to the lowly
tax collector. He is so filled with his
own sense of holiness that he allows no room for conversion for the tax
collector. And that is exactly what is
happening to the tax collector. He
realizes his sinfulness and asks for God’s mercy. In beating his breast, he knows the truth
about his sins and intends to respond to God’s mercy by repenting.
Jesus
directs this parable to us, because we have more in common with the Pharisee
than with the tax collector. Like the
Pharisee, we gather here every Sunday, because we are trying to live decent
lives. We perform religious actions to
express our faith, and we fast and give a portion of our wealth away. But, there is always a danger of growing in
faith. We tend to notice those who do
not seem to have as much faith as we do.
Like the Pharisee, we can make the mistake of seeing our growth in faith
as a result of our own initiative, instead of admitting that our growth in
faith is a result of our response to God’s loving grace in our lives. We also need to admit that even with a deep
faith, we still have much room to grow and admit that we are sinners. That is why we begin every Mass with the
Penitential Act. We know that we have
not fully lived the commandment of the Lord to love ourselves and others. We ask for mercy.
When Saint
Paul writes to Timothy, he is in prison waiting for his execution in Rome. He is being poured out like a libation. Libations were part of Temple sacrifice. The person offered a sacrifice as an external
manifestation of a desire to be in union with God. Then, the one who offered the sacrifice poured
fine wine or oil over the holocaust, signifying that the sacrifice is not a
waste. In prison, Saint Paul expresses
his faith that God continues to be with him, even in his confinement. The Lord had stood by him in his ministry as
he ran the race of spreading the Gospel.
Now, he is confident that the Lord will be with him and give him the
crown of victory in the end. We can
share Paul’s confidence if we avoid the mistake of the Pharisee and embrace the
humility of the tax collector. We
advance in faith in response to the Lord’s grace, and leave all judgments about
other people to God.
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