Oct. 23, 2022 – Sirach 35:12-14, 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18 and Luke 18:9-14
One of the lessons of today’s readings is that God listens especially to the sinner and the poor. Jesus’ attitude is well expressed in the First Reading, from the Book of Ecclesiasticus. Perhaps we find it rather strange. Shouldn’t he listen more to “good” people who try to keep his laws? This was certainly the attitude of the Pharisee in today’s gospel. When someone offends us, how do we feel? We are often likely to feel angry and hurt. Do we want to take some kind of revenge, to punish that person? At the very least, we want to make sure that he or she does not behave that way toward us again.
Sirach 35:12-14
Sirach, a Jewish sage, teaches how faithful Jews should live good lives, what spiritual choices they should make, and what behavior would be honorable in religious people:
– Follow the law,
– keep the commandments
– Do works of charity,
– give alms
– abstain from evil and avoid injustice.
Furthermore, Sirach states that the righteous God has no favorites. On the contrary, He always hears and answers the humble prayers of widows, orphans, the lowly, the weak and the oppressed.
2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18
Paul sees his impending martyrdom in terms of sacrificial worship. This is what he means by the expression, “I have already been poured out as a libation.”
Paul recounts his successes: he humbly acknowledges the source of strength for the success of his apostolate: “The Lord has been close to me and given me strength.” He is realistic in predicting that he is destined for the Lord’s heavenly kingdom, ending his life’s run as a humble “apostle to the Gentiles.”
Moreover, Paul’s humility is expressed in his confidence in God’s presence and action in the face of Paul’s suffering and imprisonment.
Luke 18:9-14
The parable has a twofold meaning:
– a warning against pride and contempt for others
– a warning to approach God with a humble and repentant heart.
The parable was mainly meant to condemn the Pharisees who, on the one hand, proudly claimed to obey all the rules and regulations of the Jewish Law, while on the other hand ignoring the Mosaic precepts of mercy and compassion. The Pharisees were considered devout, law-abiding citizens and models of righteousness. But they were proud and hypocritical. Tax collectors, on the other hand, were the most hated group in Israel because they collected taxes for a foreign empire and enriched themselves by cheating people, often threatening them with false accusations. In other words, they collaborated with the Romans and stole from the Jews. So they were regarded by their fellow Jews as traitors, unclean and sinful. The parable, however, shows that both men were sinners: the difference was that the publican realized, acknowledged and repented of his sins, but the Pharisee did none.

1. “He told this parable for some who thought themselves righteous…” (Luke 18:9)
When to pray? Always, answers the parable of the unjust judge and the persistent widow (cf. Lk 18:1-8), proclaimed last Sunday in the liturgy. How to pray? Like the publican, answers the next parable, the one that interests us most closely. Jesus deals, yes, with two different attitudes in prayer, but actually through them he broadens the horizon a great deal: he teaches us that prayer reveals something beyond itself, it concerns our way of life, our relationship with God, with ourselves and with our neighbor.
– Initial situation (v. 10), already evoked: the Pharisee and the publican.
– Prayer of the two men (vv. 11-13): the Pharisee and the publican
– Final situation, Jesus’ judgment (v. 14): the publican and the Pharisee.

2. The Pharisee’s prayer (Lk 18:11-12)
Luke uses the expression pròs heautón, “among himself,” in a deliberately ambiguous way: it may refer to the Pharisee’s prayer, presented as a kind of monologue between himself and himself, as an address to himself; or it may connote his standing among himself, his standing alone in the background, thus accentuating his disdainful separation from others.
the Pharisee substitutes his “self” for “God,” and thus ends up giving thanks to himself! St. Augustine finely notes, “He had gone up to pray; but he did not want to pray to God, but to praise himself” (Sermons 115:2).
3. The publican’s prayer (Lk 18:13)
– “stands at a distance,” he does not dare to approach the Holy of Holies, there where God’s presence dwells: literally, he “stands afar off” (makróthen), like the younger son in the famous parable when his father sees him and runs to him (makrán: Lk 15:20); like Peter (makróthen: Lk 22:54) and the other disciples and disciples (makróthen: Lk 23:49) who follow Jesus from afar during his passion;
– “he dares not even raise his eyes to heaven,” but keeps them down, feeling ashamed of his own condition;
– “he beats his breast,” a typical gesture of one who does penance, like the crowds facing Jesus’ death on the cross (cf. Lk 23:48).
“The publican had stood at a distance,” but nevertheless he was close to God. Remorse kept him at a distance, but faith drew him near. “The publican had stood at a distance,” but the Lord was watching him closely. For “exalted is the Lord but he looks on lowly things, the exalted on the other hand,” as that Pharisee was, “he knows them from afar” (Ps. 138:6) … But it was not enough that he stood at a distance: “he dared not even look up to heaven” … Remorse oppressed him, hope lifted him up. Listen again, “He beat his chest.” He knew he deserved punishment, but he hoped to receive forgiveness, as he was aware of his sins (Sermons 115:2).
SIN: Crisis-Platform
To know our sinfulness may be seen as one of the greatest gifts in life and therefore can be an opportunity to grow and mature.
Sin is a failure to love, a failure to work for the well-being of others. At the judgement the Lord will say, “I was hungry, thirsty, lonely, struggling to get along, obviously in trouble – and you did not abuse me, attack me, get angry at me or hurt me. No, you did absolutely nothing at all! I was in desperate need and you walked by, away from me!”
Moreover, deep awareness of sin does not separate us from God. On the contrary, it is a sign that God is very much part of our lives and that we wish to partake of that love he is reaching out to us.