Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C) [Lk 18:9-14]
23.10.2022
The
Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector
1. Theme in brief
Dangers of self-righteousness
2. Focus Statement
Self-righteousness, trust in oneself and regarding
others with contempt makes one unacceptable before God, and acknowledgement of
oneself as a sinner makes one acceptable.
3. Explanation of the text
The main theme of today’s parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector is given in the beginning itself: Some people trust in themselves that they are more righteous than others and regard others with contempt (18:9). This parable poses the question: Actually who is righteous (or virtuous), who is unrighteous, and who is self-righteous. In this parable, the Pharisee is projected as highly self-righteous. At the end he turns out to be unrighteous in God’s sight, and the tax-collector whom the Pharisee considers unrighteous, goes home justified (or made righteous, 18:14). Quite a topsy-turvy depiction indeed!
The Pharisee prays not to God but to himself. He boasts of his good deeds and achievements, and places his merits before God. Actually, the he does not bluff in his prayer: As he claims, he really fasts twice a week (18:12). (Biblical commentators tell us that Pharisees used to fast on all Mondays and Thursdays). Though the law requires that Israelites should offer a tenth of their income to the Temple only from the produce of their fields, this Pharisee claims that he gives a tenth of not only his farm produce, but also his total income (18:12). Since he is really practising all the virtues narrated by him (18:11-12), he thinks God is bound to listen to his prayers and grant all the favours he asks as a reward for his good deeds. Not only that, he uses his virtues and merits as a justification to look down or despise sinners like the tax-collector. Look at the contemptuous way he refers to others: they are all thieves, rogues and adulterers (18:11). In his way of praying, he commits two blunders: (1) he wants God to reward him by all means for a job well done; (2) he has contempt for that tax-collector who is a swindler and a traitor in his opinion.
On the other hand, the tax-collector has no achievements or merits to place before God. He is aware that his job of collecting taxes from the public puts him in a constant temptation of committing fraud. He realizes that he has succumbed to this temptation. He has nothing to repay. All he can do is to rely on God’s mercy and ask his pardon. Unlike the self-righteous Pharisee, he trusts not in his merits but solely on God’s mercy and considers himself a sinner toward God and people. His posture of gazing to the ground instead of heavenwards is a sign of humility or nothingness, and beating his breast a sign of repentance (18:13). He judges no one except himself as a sinner, and recognizes his need of God’s mercy. Whereas the Pharisee thinks God needs him to keep his laws and teach them to others, the tax-collector knows how much he needs God and his mercy to live a virtuous life. It is shocking to observe Jesus pronouncing the ‘bad guy’ a ‘good guy’ and vice versa (18:14).
4. Application to life
There are two main characters in today’s parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector; the former represents the story of self-righteousness and the latter sinfulness. In fact, it is very humiliating to admit that we have lived this story of the Pharisee not only as individuals but also as a Church, community or nation.
Individually, there is a Pharisee lurking in each of us. The first main point of this Pharisee is: “I am not like other people”. His second point is: “I am not like this tax-collector’’ (18:11). The Pharisee in a parish priest thinks: “I’m not like other priests who create scandals and ruin the parish, especially like that particular priest”; in a religious Sister who thinks, “I’m not like other Sisters who disobey their superiors and are regularly absent for community prayers, especially like that so and so Sister”; in married couples who think, “We are not like those whose marriages are breaking up within a year, especially like that so and so who divorced his wife”; in parents who think, “Our children are never caught for any mischief like others’ children, especially the children of so and so; in Catholics who think, “I’m not like other Catholics, especially like so and so who attends church only on feast days and goes for Communion shamelessly in the front line”; etc. Collectively, this Pharisee lurking in our Church is that Church which considers she alone is holding the keys of the Kingdom of God; that community or group which thinks its moral standards are much better than others and it is holier than others because of its regular attendance in prayers, worship, devotions and piety. On the contrary, today’s gospel invites us to pray like the tax-collector as often as possible: “God, be merciful to me, an imperfect person!”
The Pharisee and the tax-collector are stereotypes of
those whom we consider as ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ or good people and
bad people. The Lord asks those of us who are good Christians whether we
succumb to the common temptation to compare ourselves with others or present ourselves
as better, and judge or condemn others (as ‘bad’ people). He cautions us
against falling into the temptation of perfectionism – faithfully holding on to the
dictum, “I’m
ok, you are not ok.” There is a tendency among some of us who have
gone through the rigours of higher education, training, long years of religious
formation and strict discipline to think we are already perfect. Now our job is
to correct everybody else except ourselves. Sometimes in our preaching,
teaching and prayer we tend to draw the attention of people to ourselves,
instead of the Lord. If so, again we cannot but pray as often as possible: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
There is another tendency in many good Christians – to fill their subconscious mind with all sorts of negative thoughts, bitterness and complaints about others whom they consider as “tax-collectors” (that is, ‘bad’ people). Today we should ask ourselves whether we are throwing a lot of emotional garbage and negativity such as hatred, revenge, anger and jealousy into our subconscious mind even without being aware of it. This sort of negativism stored up in subconscious mind jumps back into conscious mind and creates impulses, urges and inordinate passions. Therefore, we need to consciously cultivate the habit of becoming positive thinkers by substituting each negative thought with a positive one whenever it crops up in the mind. We need to pray: “God, be merciful to me, a negative thinker!” Today, the Lord invites us to respect others and accept them with their differences and opinions. Another remedy to negativity is self-criticism. Have you criticized yourself any time? Learn to say: “Never to find fault in myself is my greatest fault”. We need to see ourselves as God sees us, not as we would like to see ourselves.
Another strong enemy of our spiritual growth is self-righteousness and self-trust. First of all, we have to ask ourselves if we are living a holy, righteous and virtuous life, is it because of our achievement or merits? If not for God’s grace, we all would have been like the persons whom we are despising and condemning, or worse than them. Those who think they are virtuous and righteous because of their own merits and resources, are like the Pharisee. If we (and our prayer) have to be acceptable to God we have to be convinced of God’s mercy, acknowledge our sinfulness and should not despise our neighbour.
Unless we acknowledge ourselves as sinners, weak and powerless to avoid sins, we cannot experience God’s mercy. God despises no one. If He loves all the sinners, outcasts and the scum of the earth, how can we despise or label them? All of us (priests, religious, married couples, parents, jobholders, the youth, etc.) often fail to live up to our ideals, deviate from our life’s real purpose, and live a life unbecoming of our vocation and mission like the tax-collector. We have to struggle constantly to become better persons. Is it not a sign of our pride to label others as sinners and bad people and judge them severely? God accepts (justifies) those who acknowledge their sinfulness and powerlessness to avoid sins and rely solely on his mercy. Our helplessness, insufficiency and dependence on God open us to God’s grace.
No person who trusts in himself/herself and despises others can pray in the proper sense. Self-righteous people ultimately no longer need God, since they think they can manage their lives by themselves, and God will have no other choice than grant them salvation based on their ‘merit certificate’.
5. Response to God's Word
Do we realize that excessive trust in self leads us not to trust in God and to the contempt of others? What are the symptoms of pride and self-trust in us? Do we trust in ourselves and our own achievements more than trusting in God? What are the ways in which we despise others and judge the weak people severely? As the Pharisee thought, do we think, except “us” (a limited circle of people), all others are good for nothing? What are the pharisaic traits in us for which we need to repent – pride…..self-trust….self-righteousness….perfectionism….negativism….?
6. A Prayer
God, be merciful to us, sinners. We repent for the pharisaic traits in us such as self-trust, self-righteousness, perfectionism and negativism. Due to our pride, we quite often label others as sinners and bad people, and judge them severely. Grant that we may consciously cultivate the habit of becoming positive thinkers and self-critics. We acknowledge our powerlessness to avoid sins and rely solely on your mercy and grace. Have mercy on us and deliver us from our negative mind-set that regards others with contempt. Amen.
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