"O God, be merciful to me a sinner."
Sunday Word: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102316.cfm
Early in
my discernment towards priesthood I spent a few years in the Vincentian Fathers
as a high school seminarian, novice, and first college seminarian. During the novitiate
year, I clearly remember a monthly spiritual exercise we all were required to
take part in. It was called, “Charity
Schedule.” I hope we were all charitable outside of the “schedule” as
well.
Now, the
point of that monthly time was, when gathered in the Chapel for prayer, as we
sat next to one of our fellow brothers, we slowly went through the pews, two by
two, as we stood up. Then, in front of
God and our fellow novices we were asked to name, out loud, three qualities we
recognized as works of charity or complimentary traits in our brother. Likewise, after naming those positive traits,
we would name three areas in which we felt our brother could yet grow. So, it
was a kind exercise in fraternal correction, done in a spirit of true charity –
at least our intentions were sincere.
The
majority of us were only 18 or 19 at the time so we could not help but see
things through those later adolescent eyes.
Still, the concept was a good one. It was meant to be a potential way to
grow in respect and trust for one another. That is, unless you were like the
Pharisee in this Sunday’s Gospel - nothing to correct in him - the prayer of “Mr.
Perfect.”
For the
last several Sunday’s Jesus has given us a kind of mini- catechesis on prayer
in the Gospels we’ve heard. He teaches
us to pray with faith, even as small as a mustard seed (Lk 17:
5-10). That we must pray with
gratitude in our heart, like the one leper who returned to Jesus for his
healing (Lk 17: 11-19). That we must be persistent in our prayer like
the widow who pleads before the heartless judge (Lk 18: 1-8) and today we hear
that we must pray with humility before God, like the repentant tax
collector in (Lk 18: 9-14). The stories Jesus told are rich with meaning and
easy to remember through the characters presented.
Once again
though, it presents a common trait of the Gospel writers as they nearly in all
cases, would present the Pharisees in a negative light. Were none of them good and righteous in the
best sense? They seem to be the constant
bane of Jesus in his relationships with them.
Yet, in fact they were likely closer to Jesus’ own teaching than distant
from it.
The
Pharisees were similar to our present day religious orders or lay societies. They were men who lived a kind of community
life, attempting to support one another in the purity of living the Jewish
faith. The population generally looked
to them for both example and leadership. They dressed with certain dignity and
cleanliness; they carried with them, attached to their outer garments, symbols
of the Jewish faith – maybe we could say a kind of religious habit.
However,
apparently enough of them became so enamored with their own position and
obvious external signs of Jewish purity, that they misplaced the heart of the
law they lived. In the laws of diet and
cleanliness, Sabbath regulations, and many other burdensome legalities, and the
near slavish following of it, they exaggerated the importance of such man made
laws to the detriment of the sacred law of love, humility, and charity which God
asked of his people in the original Covenant.
I
It was
that misplaced priority of importance that Jesus so railed against, which led
to hypocrisy. They suffered from too much emphasis on external appearance which
created a kind of spiritual blindness to the deep relationship of love that God
was seeking. So we hear of their self-aggrandizement, their superior righteous
attitude, and their quick judgement on those they felt were beneath their level
of religious purity. We must know, however, that not all had fallen into this
trap.
In the
Gospel this Sunday we hear how far this sense of self-importance had gone for enough
fo them as Jesus used one of them, in a general sense, to display the danger of
their misguided spirituality. As the
Pharisee in the Temple begins to pray, Jesus said he “spoke this prayer to himself.” Although he felt God would hear his
prayer and reward him for being “such a good boy,” Jesus reminded us that his
prayer was empty. Empty enough that God
did not listen – the Pharisee only “spoke
to himself.” His “prayer” was about everything he had done to make himself
feel righteous.
By
contrast an equally unpopular figure appears; a tax collector. Generally despised by the population for
their greedy way of collecting taxes and the Roman occupiers they
represented. Now, unlike the Pharisee,
here’s one guy who couldn’t possibly recognize his sin. Yet, to all who heard this story for the
first time, he became, like the Good Samaritan, the one who got it right!
Unlike the
Pharisee, the self-complimentary perfectly religious, the tax collector’s prayer
was heard by God. Why? - because his prayer was simple, deeply
sincere, humble and truthful. His only
desire, as he “stood off at a distance” from
the Pharisee who stood and proudly proclaimed his goodness, the tax collector “would not even raise his eyes to heaven.” He prayed from his heart: “O God be merciful to me a sinner.” It wasn’t what he had done right, but how
he prayed that mattered.
The tax
collector recognized his sin and asked for nothing but God’s mercy and
forgiveness. Jesus reminds us, “I tell you the latter (tax collector) went home justified, not the former” (Pharisee). To be justified means to be in right
relationship with God; to be in proper Covenantal order and goodness before
God. True humility is the key here it
seems. Like the tax collector we are taught how to pray with honesty and
humility. “God, this is who I am, with all my faults, sins, and blemishes. I haven’t been what you call me to be so I
ask in all humility for your mercy, that I can start again.”
The tax
collector didn’t grovel or think of himself as worthless. Yet, he was realistic and honest about his
own sinfulness and accepted responsibility for his less than virtuous
behavior. This is true conversion and a
prayer that is heard and answered by God.
So this
leaves us with rich lessons on prayer:
pray with faith, no matter how small. Pray with gratitude in your heart
for blessings received, begun primarily through the death and resurrection of
Christ. Pray with persistence and don’t
give up. Pray with humility and realism
before the loving God of mercy and redemption.
Faith,
Gratitude, Persistence, and Humilty.
Every Eucharistic celebration contains these qualities in our
participation. May God give us eyes and
hearts to see this.
O God be merciful to us.
Almighty ever-living God
increase our faith, hope and charity,
and make us love what you command,
so that we may merit what you promise.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
(Collect of Sunday)
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