Readings: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18; Lk 18:9-14
He Who Looks Up to God Looks Down on No One
1. “Pride goes before the fall” is a saying that means if one is too arrogant or self-important, something will happen to make one look foolish. This captures the attitude of the Pharisee, one of the two men who went to pray in the temple in today’s Gospel. Pharisees were members of a party that believed in the resurrection. They followed legal traditions ascribed not to the Bible but to “the traditions of the fathers.” They were laypeople who tried to keep God’s law as perfectly and scrupulously as possible. They went above and beyond the law in the performance of their spiritual practice. Hence, they looked down upon anyone who failed to live up to their standards.
2. The prayer in the Gospel is typical of a pharisaic prayer. “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous – even like this tax collector.” (Lk. 18:11). Rabbi Simeon ben Jocai once said, “If there are only two righteous men in the world, my son and I are these two; if there is only one, I am he!” So being puritanical and scrupulous, the Pharisee may have done all that he said he did. He may not have cheated anyone and was not adulterous. He fasted, prayed many times a day, paid tithes on all he had, and more, but he said the prayers of himself and to himself, not God. He was not humble but conceited. He was like a peacock who flashed his beautiful colored tail feathers for everyone to see how handsome he was. He was ostentatious, boastful, proud, and selfish. He called attention to himself! His was not prayer, but a list of accomplishments, expecting God to praise him. He gave his advertisement for his glorious achievements and expected to be congratulated and rewarded. He demonstrated that he had no need for God. In fact, he felt God needed him more than he needed God to show the world what true holiness looks like. True prayer should be directed to God and God alone. God does not require a record of our good works. He knows them all. Instead, He needs us to have a contrite heart that is forgiving, caring, loving, compassionate, and merciful. Not condescending, boastful, arrogant, and spiteful. Such a heart is loathsome to God. That is why the Pharisee was not justified before God.
3. The proud place themselves at a distance from others; seen through that distance, others perhaps appear little to them, even contemptible, as the tax collector appeared to the Pharisee. “I thank God that I am not like…this tax collector.” How morally contemptuous his words are! Moral contempt is far greater indignity and insult than any crime. We can feel good about our gifts, but genuine self-esteem is ruined by arrogant self-righteousness that judges others. “The prayer of the humble pierces the cloud and does not rest till it reaches its goal.” (Sir. 35:17).
4. This brings us to the tax collector and his prayer. Tax collectors, though Jews, were public employees of the Romans. They collected taxes and sent them to Rome, but they had to pay themselves by collecting more than stipulated. They made quite a decent living for themselves but also gained a bad reputation. They were despised, hated, and considered public sinners. The tax collector knew who he was and was aware that God knew him too. Since he had no friends, he depended on God for everything, so with a heavy heart, he went in to pray. The poor man could not raise his eyes to God, unworthy as he was. He knew that he who looked up to God would receive mercy and forgiveness. He cannot afford to look down on or judge anyone. He beat his breast and prayed for mercy. He saw himself as ‘the sinner.’ It was that heartbroken, self-despising prayer that won him acceptance before God. He was at peace with God because of his humility. For no proud man can pray to God.
5. Today’s liturgy warns us against comparing ourselves to human beings. Anyone who compares himself to God recognizes his sins, weakness, shortcomings, and limitations. He knows that he needs God’s mercy, so he is humble. We should always compare ourselves to God. Our yearning should always be how to please God, not human beings. All we are and have, are pure grace and free gifts from God. Therefore, we must look down on no one, but with the strength, we have been given by God, we should work hard to lift people up. Our unredeemed selves tend to be selfish and self-centered. But our redeemed selves are Christ-centered and people-centered. The people we consider contemptible are equally loved by God. The beggar in the street, the homeless, the poor, and immigrants deserve our love and respect. If we place our life side by side with Christ, we discover that we are not as holy as we think. Hence, we must see ourselves as God sees us, sinners, who need forgiveness and mercy. We will then see ourselves as the tax collector at prayer, and we will soon join him to say: “Lord be merciful to me, the sinner.” Our redemption begins in knowing that we are not better than anyone. We are who we are simply by the grace of God. May God be merciful to us, sinners. Amen!
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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