Parable
of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
(Luke 18.9-14)
Jesus then 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 everyone who exalts himself
will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Pope Francis’s Commentary
The parable teaches us that a person is just or sinful not because of their social class, but because of their way of relating to God and how they relates to their brothers and sisters….
If the Pharisee asked for nothing because he already had everything, the tax collector can only beg for the mercy of God. …[A]cknowledging himself to be a sinner, the tax collector shows us all the condition that is necessary in order to receive the Lord’s forgiveness. In the end, he is the one, so despised, who becomes an icon of the true believer.
(General Audience, June 1, 2016)
The parable teaches us that a person is just or sinful not because of their social class, but because of their way of relating to God and how they relates to their brothers and sisters….
If the Pharisee asked for nothing because he already had everything, the tax collector can only beg for the mercy of God. …[A]cknowledging himself to be a sinner, the tax collector shows us all the condition that is necessary in order to receive the Lord’s forgiveness. In the end, he is the one, so despised, who becomes an icon of the true believer.
(General Audience, June 1, 2016)
Examination of Conscience
In the end,
the only people who need mercy are those who, like the tax collector, are
imperfect and sinful.
Can you think
of instances in which you withhold mercy from others because at some level you
feel better than them—more faithful, less sinful, more deserving or righteous?
Today’s Prayer
Divine God of
Mercy, help us always remember that you care for us as a mother cares for her
children, even when we least deserve it. Help us to be merciful to others inspite of
our righteousness.
The parable says the Pharisee did not go home justified ( = righteous). So the prayer should say " Help you s be merciful to others in spite of our self defeating presumption of righteousness." No?
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