Ordinary Time - Week 30c
Parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector
(From Conversation with God, Fernandez Carvajal)The purpose of the parable in today's Gospel is to teach us the difference between true piety and false piety. Saint Luke points out that the Lord told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. The Lord uses two figures who were familiar to his audience: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. Right from the start of the parable we can see that the men share an external purpose but have entirely different agendas. The Pharisee did not come to pray to God. He is really talking to himself instead. There is no love for God in his words, nor any vestige of humility for that matter. The Pharisee stands before God and gives thanks for his own rectitude. He compares his upright behaviour with that of other people and finds himself justified. It would appear that he does not really need God after all.
The tax collector stood afar off because he did not thrust himself forward, God was able to approach him the more easily. He who would not lift up his eyes to heaven now had the Lord of the Heavens within him. Whether the Lord is near or far actually depends on you. Love, and He will approach. God is very attentive to everything we say to him. The tax collector won God over through his humility and trust, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. The parable teaches us that our prayer should be full of humility, attentive and trusting. We should avoid acting like the 'praying' Pharisee with his self-centred monologue.
Jesus reminds us that humility has to be the foundation of our dealings with God. He wants us to pray like needy children desirous of his mercy. Saint Alphonsus advises us: "God wants us to go to him with confidence. Bring to him your work, your projects, your fears and whatever interests you. Act with a trusting and open heart. For God does not speak to those who never speak to him." Let us flee from the prayer of self-sufficiency, which is evidenced by complacency in our apostolate and pride in our interior struggle. Let us also avoid negative attitudes which reflect a lack of trust in God's grace. Pessimism may be a manifestation of hidden pride. The time spent in true prayer should always be a time of joy, confidence and peace.
Nothing is more important than our daily appointment with Jesus. He is waiting for us. At all costs, the decision to persevere in devoting a set time to private prayer daily must be made inflexibly. It does not matter if one can do no more than remain on one's knees for the period and only battle with complete lack of success against distractions; one is not wasting time. When we spend time with the Lord, we will always in the end be the richer for it. Let us ask Our Lady that she teach us how to deal with her Son. We will follow her example in Nazareth and the years of Christ's public life. Let us firmly resolve never to neglect our prayer, and simply do our best to overcome distractions in this time of personal conversation with the Lord.