The above verse of scripture is a beautiful one and all of us would do well to keep it in mind especially when it comes to prayer. Our first reading this weekend, which has the above quoted verse, was obviously chosen because it fits in perfectly with the gospel.
Today's gospel is a parable only found in Luke. We should note that in his introduction to the parable, Luke states that:
On the other hand, the tax collector was a "bad egg."
He was a participant in a very corrupt system which cheated his own people. Politically, he was a traitor and religiously, he was unclean. Plain and simple, the guy's life was "offensive." He had few, if any, redeeming qualities. He was the kind of unsavory character that all respectable people would not want in their company.
So these two very contrasting characters go off to the temple to pray. When they are finished praying Jesus comments:
"I tell you the latter one (i.e., the tax collector) went home justified, not the former: for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
Jesus applauds the prayer of the "bad egg" character and disapproves of the prayer of your 'ideal parishioner' Why? Three reasons:
First, the Pharisee really didn't pray. Instead he went to the temple to inform God of how good he was, fasting, tithing, avoiding sin, etc. He was only aware of his good deeds. He was totally blind to his own sinfulness and his need for God and his mercy. "If a man, after prayer is proud, self-satisfied, he has not prayed to God, but to himself" (Baal Shem Tov).
Second, his attempt at prayer was rendered useless because of his attitude toward the tax-collector. Instead of taking time to examine his own conscience, he spent time taking an inventory of the tax-collector's faults. Trying to make himself look good by putting down others was outrageous to God. Jesus despised all kinds of self-righteous attitudes and behaviors. This externally religious, holy and dutiful man was very unholy on the inside.
Third, the Pharisee's prayer was rejected because it expressed the false belief that we can save ourselves by our own good deeds rather than by totally depending on God's mercy.
The Prayer of the Tax-collector and why it was pleasing to God.
The tax-collector could have behaved like the Pharisee and prayed in the following way:
Lord, look at that Pharisee standing up there so that everybody can see him praying. He thinks he's better than everybody else. He despises people like me. See the long robes he's wearing so as to make himself feel holy and attract attention to himself.
'Everything he does is done, not to bring honor to you, but to win the esteem of others, and thus bring honor to himself. He makes sure to get the seats of honor at banquets and in the synagogue, He loves it when people salute him in the marketplace and call him "Rabbi".
Ah, Lord, don't be taken in by him. It's all an act, it's all a show. He's not genuine. He may look clean on the outside, like a whitewashed tomb, but inside he's full of corruption. He's the biggest hypocrite on two feet.'
The tax-collector could have focused on the sins of the Pharisee. He didn't. Instead he focused on his own sin before God and that made his prayer pleasing to God.
Second, the tax-collector was humble before God, whereas the Pharisee was proud. Remember the opening quote from Sirach: "The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds . . . The tax-collector's humble prayer won him God's favor. The tax-collector came before God empty-handed. Indian priest, Fr. Dasan S.J. commenting on today's gospel tells this story:
A man came to Buddha with an offering of flowers in his hands. Buddha looked at him and said, "Drop it!" he could not believe he was being asked to drop the flowers. But then it occurred to him that he was probably being invited to drop the flowers he had in his left hand, since to offer something with one's left hand was considered impolite. So he dropped the flowers that his left hand held. Still Buddha said, "Drop it!" This time he dropped all the flowers and stood empty handed before Buddha, who once again said with a smile, "Drop it!" Perplexed, the man asked, "What is it I am supposed to drop?" "Not the flowers, son, but the one who brought them," was Buddha's reply. Thus, Buddha was calling all devotees to come before God poor in spirit, divorced from oneself, and not to come like the proud Pharisee of the Gospel, who stood before God as an "I" specialist, singing his own praises, off key, of course! Then Fr. Dasan continues:
The Pharisee was telling God about the all good things he was doing for him, "praying, fasting, tithing, keeping laws" (Lk 18:12). He was almost demanding God to admire and approve of him. Through this Pharisee, Jesus is warning us against self-righteousness, the devil's masterpiece which has become the family disease of all the children of Adam, clinging to us as skin clings to the body. He is warning us against the self-opinionated attitudes of an egoist, whose self-importance makes his mind shrink while his head swells. He is warning us of conceit, which is not the same as self-confidence, for confidence is keeping your chin up, whereas conceit is sticking your neck out. In short, Jesus is warning us against every form of pride. Oh, how grateful I am to that teacher who gave me her parting advice on my leaving school: "Be not proud of race, face, place or grace!" In fact, pride and grace dwelt never together in one place, for pride dines on vanity and sups on contempt.
Lessons For Us:
In this parable Jesus is stressing the importance of a humble heart when it comes to prayer. At the same time, Jesus is issuing a severe warning about the dangers of having an attitude like that of the Pharisee. While most of us may deny it, we can probably assume that all of us have something of the Pharisee's attitude in us. This will be especially true if we are morally upright people and are very faithful to prayer and church. Speaking for myself, I would say that it is rather easy to find in myself something of the Pharisee's attitude. It is easy enough to find myself thinking, if not saying that I am more dedicated to my priestly duties than some other priests I know. This in fact may well be true, but it is not for me to compare myself to others. It is never right for us to make ourselves look good by putting others down. Such behavior is always sinful and hateful to God.
Today's parable also proclaims to us the awesome Good News of God's mercy. As I said earlier, the tax-collector was a despicable character. There was very little to like about him. Yet when he humbled himself before God with sincere sorrow, God forgave him. This means that there is hope for rapists, terrorists, child molesters, etc.
The Good News proclaimed in today's Gospel is that there is hope for the worst of us. The disturbing news is that good works, tithing and being faithful to church do not in themselves make us pleasing to God. According to today's gospel, three things that make us pleasing to God are: A humble heart, clear admission of our sinfulness before God (even when we are not aware of specific sins) and compassion for the 'bad eggs' of our society. The latter will become easier as we become aware more of the 'bad egg' side of ourselves.
Paul reflecting on his life
In today's second reading, we find Paul keenly aware that his days are numbered. As he looks back over his life he seems to feel pretty good about his efforts. He says: "I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith." He also speaks about a time when his friends deserted him. But he asks that their failure not be held against them, for God was his strength.
If you are in the senior years of your life how do you feel about the years you have lived? Paul's words:
Reflection Question
1. Are there individuals or groups that you tend to despise? If so, how ready are you to bring this sinful attitude to prayer? Are you humble enough to admit that despising others is a serious sin or do you self-righteously think it is no big deal?
2. Is it easy or hard for you to confront the Pharisee side of yourself? Or do you just assume that there is nothing of the Pharisee in you?
Three saints in our church family had the following to say about humility.
"The beginning of all holiness is humbly admitting our need for God". St. Terese of Lisieux
"It was pride that caused the Fall. If you ask me what are the ways to God, I would tell you the first is humility, the second is humility, the third is humility." St. Augustine
"True humility makes no pretence of being humble, and hardly ever utters words of humility." St. Francis de Sales
Christian Pumpkins
A lady recently being baptized was asked by a co-worker what it was like to be a Christian. She replied, 'It's like being a pumpkin'.
God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off you that you may have gotten from the other pumpkins. Then he cuts the top off and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc, then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.