XXX Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Sirach 35:12–14, 16–18; 2 Timothy 4:6–8, 16–18; Luke 18:9–14)
The parables in the Gospel according to Luke are like
ballads on the radio: they often convey wisdom in an engaging way. In today’s
gospel, Jesus offers yet another fascinating parable. This time he teaches us
how to pray through the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in
the Temple. Both men lived under very different circumstances from ours, yet
when we see ourselves reflected in each of them, we can draw great benefit from
the lesson.
Although the Pharisees often appear as villains in the
gospels, they actually saved Judaism from extinction. After the fall of the
Temple, the Pharisees reorganized the religion around the Law of Moses. To
ensure its observance, they developed customs known as the oral law. Jesus
opposed this new law because it was overly concerned with details. He said that
in trying to fulfill it, the Pharisees would forget the primacy of compassion.
He accused them of burdening the poor with unnecessary practices.
Jesus had some Pharisees as friends, but for the most part,
he regarded them as arrogant and unmerciful. That is why in today’s gospel he
presents a Pharisee as an example of how not to pray. He portrays him
with the faults that often afflict reformers: thinking himself better than
others, harboring prejudice, lacking humility before God, and being overly
concerned with appearances.
Even though we dislike the attitude of the Pharisees, it is
not unusual for us to act like them. Like them, we practice our religion
regularly — and there is nothing wrong with that. Yet, also like them, we tend
to justify our faults. We are also inclined to think of ourselves as better
than most people, and almost as good as the truly holy. We are slow to
acknowledge our faults but quick to notice the faults of others. We want to be
recognized as intelligent, attractive, hardworking, and generous — even when we
are not — and so we sometimes fake those qualities.
Tax collectors worked for the Roman Empire. While most were
Romans, some Jews were given the position. For collaborating with the
oppressors, Jewish tax collectors earned the people’s resentment. Their
position also gave them the opportunity to extort money, which caused even more
hostility.
Jesus spent considerable time with tax collectors in his
mission to proclaim God’s mercy. He may have found them more open to repentance
than others. At least Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, showed a sincere
desire to repent when he met Jesus in the gospel we would have read next Sunday
if it were not for All Souls Day.
Like the tax collectors, we too are inclined toward greed.
We may even find ourselves participating in small deceptions for the sake of
gain. Yet, like the tax collector in the parable, we strike our breast at Mass
and ask the Lord’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
But asking for forgiveness is not enough to be justified. Sinners
must reform their lives. In the case of the tax collector in this parable, reform
is assumed. In the story of Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector promises to give
half of his possessions to the poor before Jesus declares him saved.
On one Sunday this past summer we learned from Jesus that we
are to serve others like the Good Samaritan. Then, the following Sunday, he
taught us that it is better to listen to him like Mary than to serve like
Martha. Jesus was not contradicting himself but inviting us to discern the
proper times to listen and the proper times to act. In much the same way, the
gospels of last Sunday and today are coordinated. We remember how he taught us last
Sunday to pray persistently through the parable of the widow and the corrupt
judge. Today he teaches us that constant prayer is not enough unless it is
accompanied by humility before God.
Even though we are proud like the Pharisee and greedy like
the tax collector, we are not lost. Through the humility of repentance and the
prayer of a contrite heart, Jesus Christ will justify us. Without repentance,
prayer becomes presumption; with repentance, prayer leads us to salvation.
