- 1st Reading – Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
- 2nd Reading – 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
- Gospel – Luke 18:9-14
“When you are ill and go to the doctor it wouldn’t make much sense to tell the doctor about another person’s illness. The doctor wouldn’t be able to treat you if you complained about someone else’s illness and didn’t tell him your own symptoms. If you did that you go home just as sick as when you went to the doctor.” That comes from a sermon of St. Augustine on today’s Gospel. Strange as it may seem, that’s exactly what happens in the parable that Jesus gives us in today’s Gospel. The Pharisee and the tax collector both go to the temple to pray. However, the Pharisee, instead of presenting himself humbly before God asking for God’s help and grace, he lists the faults of others, and also complains about the tax collector praying nearby. The Pharisee was simply checking in with God to remind him how wonderful he was, that he fasts as prescribed by Jewish Law, that he gives even more than the prescribed amount, and that he was grateful that he wasn’t like other sinners; speaking as though he deserved and was expecting a gold medal.
On the other hand, the tax collector goes to the temple in repentance. Even his body language displays his repentance; he stood away at a distance, didn’t raise his eyes, and he beat his breast. But it’s above all in his prayer that we see his repentance, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” He didn’t try to conceal who he was or hide his real self from God. He came to God as he was. He was aware of his own unworthiness and realized that he does need God. Therefore, God met him where he was, lifted him up and he went home justified.
The Pharisee and the tax collector both received from God what they deserved. The Pharisee came to God complaining about others’ sins and did not go home with God’s grace and peace in his heart. But the tax collector came before God in complete humility, admitting who he really was, and went home at peace with God. The tax collector is really living the first beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” He was poor in spirit just like another tax collector, Zacchaeus, whom we’ll hear about next Sunday, who humbly meets Jesus in a spirit of repentance and is also saved.
Throughout scripture we see God coming to those who know their need of God. Our first reading today from Sirach reminds that God does not have favorites. He hears the cry of the oppressed and that the prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds.
In our second reading, Paul is also poor in spirit before God. Paul knows he will soon be martyred so he says he is already being poured out as a libation. A libation of wine was poured over sacrifices so Paul is indicating he knows his life will end in the sacrifice of martyrdom. All Paul’s witnesses abandoned him when he had to defend himself. So, he is left with only the Lord to be with him. St. Paul also is living the attitude of the tax collector. He has no masks.
So, what about us? Surely Jesus is saying to us in the parable that we have nothing to fear in approaching him just as we are. In fact, it is the correct and only way to approach him, otherwise we block him out from our life. Let us humbly admit our nothingness before God and admit our dependence on God just like St. Paul and the tax collector. It’s when we realize that we have nothing that we are ready to receive God’s grace. Humble repentance before God opens us up to God’s graces.
Most of us can probably identify with both the Pharisee and the tax collector. We see ourselves as both a saint and a sinner. Each of us to some degree is called by Jesus, in today’s Gospel to make that journey from pride to humility. At times we may feel like we’re much better than others, convinced of our own righteousness and feeling exalted…. a least in our own eyes. At other times we feel like we’re not good enough; not holy enough to even approach this altar. The Pharisee teaches us that religious practices are not enough. We must also be humble and have a goal of deepening our relationship with God. The tax collector teaches us that God doesn’t offer salvation only to the perfect, but to those who acknowledge their sinfulness and cry out for his mercy.
Today’s Gospel can be summed up this way: Two men went up to the temple to pray. They both sought God. One man brought his pride and ego. The other left it all behind. One man encountered God; one man did not.
We too, come here seeking God. Our Church is a Church in which are found both holy and sinful people. God loves all who come to him. Today’s focus is not on what we do for God, but on what God does for us. There is no need for us to huff and puff about our accomplishments to please God. Nor is there a need to wallow in our weakness and misery. We cannot comprehend the depth of the love that God has for each of us. He sees each of us for whom we are—–with all of our imperfections, yes, but also with the love, the conviction, courage, character, and virtue that is part of who we are. God sees himself in us, our unique reflection of his being, and he loves us. God is far more concerned with extending us his mercy, with lifting us up, than he is with our sinfulness. God sees us in a thousand different ways. Only by letting go of our worries can we return the favor. We are already in God’s loving embrace; we just need to realize it.
The Lord hears the cry of the poor. That doesn’t mean just those who are not wealthy. Some of us are poor in health, some are poor in friends, some are poor in companionship, some are poor in employment. Sometimes the only prayer we can utter is the prayer of the tax collector, “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.”
St. Paul reminds us that the Lord does stand by us and give us strength, that the Lord will rescue us from every evil and bring us safely to his Kingdom. The Lord does hear the cry of the poor. And when it’s hard to deal with that illness, that loneliness, that loss of a job, that loss of love, we come to this altar and put out our hands for the life-giving bread that sustains us. Strengthened by this bread we reach out and lift one another up so that we all can truly give thanks for the riches we have in the incredible mercy of God.