30th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C
Though today’s gospel reading from the gospel of Saint Luke 18:9-14 talks about Pride and Humility; It is important to note that our gospel readings for the past few Sundays have been emphasizing the importance of prayer. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus continues to emphasize the importance of prayer, while presenting to us the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. In this story, Jesus teaches us that prayer is of great importance in our lives, but He goes on to point out that our disposition when we pray also matters.
In the story of the two people who went up to the temple area to pray, we can see that the Pharisee pridefully praises himself by pointing out his righteous acts, but the tax collector or publican sorrowfully humbled himself in shame for his sins, stood off at a distance, would not even raise his eyes to heaven and asked God for forgiveness. Yes, we are reminded today by Jesus to be humble when we pray and not prideful in our prayer and even in our spiritual lives as Christians.
In that story of the Pharisee and Tax collector or publican who went to the temple to pray, we can see that Jesus never condemned the Pharisee for the good acts he had done or his practice of his Jewish faith, rather, Jesus praised the tax collector for his disposition of humility in prayer and remorse for his sins. Of course the Pharisee is what you can call an ideal christian today because he practiced his faith to the fullest by living out the commandments, by not being greedy, dishonest or adulterous as well as praying always, fasting twice a week, and paying his tithes on his whole income.
The Pharisee lived a righteous life but he was prideful as he bragged and boasted about not being like the rest of humanity and comparing himself to the tax collector or publican. Many of us here today do the same thing, as we judge others, criticize them, pick on them, persecute them and sometimes compare ourselves to them in different ways like in our spirituality, fame, fortune, gifts, talents and even our looks!
Jesus intentionally presented these two figures - the Pharisee and the tax collector or publican to us today because He wanted us to learn from the two of them. Jesus wants us to learn to practice our faith in God by being obedient to His Word, His commandments and the teachings of the Church like the Pharisee but never ridiculing or looking down on others. Jesus also wants us to learn how to be humble, remorseful, sorrowful and contrite for our sins and to ask God for mercy and forgiveness like the tax collector or publican.
So my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us imitate the Pharisee’s good works by living out our faith in God, by being obedient to His Word, and by obeying His commandments and the teachings of the Church. And let us also imitate the tax collector’s spirit of humility by being remorseful, sorrowful and contrite for our sins and by asking God for mercy and forgiveness. Remember no true love of God can exist in a proud heart, but only in a humble and contrite heart.
