Friends,
today Jesus tells us of the Pharisee and the tax collector—so,
stereotypically righteous and unrighteous people—who both enter the
temple to pray. But what a world of difference in their manner of
praying!
The
entire point of religion is to make us humble before God and to open us
to the path of love. Everything else is more or less a footnote.
Liturgy, prayer, the precepts of the Church, the Commandments,
sacraments, sacramentals—all of it—are finally meant to conform us to
the way of love. When they instead turn us away from that path, they
have been undermined.
Both
St. Paul and the Gospel writers—as well as Jesus
himself, of course—are intensely aware of this danger. This is precisely
why Paul speaks of the dangers of the Law. He knew that people often
use the Law as a weapon of aggression: since I know what is right and
wrong in some detail, then I am uniquely positioned to point out your
flaws. And when I point out your flaws, I elevate myself. In short, the
Law, which is a gift from God, has been co-opted for the purposes of the
ego.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 150
The LORD is a God of justice,
who knows no favorites.
Though not unduly partial toward the weak,
yet he hears the cry of the oppressed.
The Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan,
nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint.
The one who serves God willingly is heard;
his petition reaches the heavens.
The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds;
it does not rest till it reaches its goal,
nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds,
judges justly and affirms the right,
and the Lord will not delay.
Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity --
greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.'
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
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