Word to the Wise
Saturday, March 14, 2015 - 3rd Week of Lent - Sat
[Hos 6:1-6 and Luke 18:9-14]"O God, be merciful to me a sinner." [Luke]
In a interview he gave shortly after his election as pope (two years ago yesterday), Pope Francis responded to a question about what kind of person he is by saying, "I am a sinner." He did not say anything like, "I am the successor to Peter," or "I am the supreme pontiff." When he made his initial appearance on the balcony after the election, he referred to himself simply as "bishop of Rome." It is this kind of humility that has gained the world's attention, not the triumphalism usually associated with the papal court in Rome. The truth of the gospel for today is amply expressed in the leader of our Church.
Jesus directed the parable in today's gospel to "those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else." The contrast between the two men who went to the temple to pray is sharp. One is a Pharisee, a Jewish layperson who by definition would be concerned with an exacting observance of the Mosaic law. Not all Pharisees demonstrated the attitude of the one in the parable, but the danger of their position is demonstrated in the way this Pharisee prayed. The tax collector would have been seen by the Pharisee as "unclean" because he would have worked either for the Romans or for Herod.
At the end of the story, it is the prayer of the tax collector that is worthy. He simply asks for God's mercy. The Pharisee doesn't think he [Pharisee] needs anything at all! His gratitude for his status as a Pharisee seems to give him all the credit! Jesus warns all of us with the words: "[F]or everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." It might be a good Lenten exercise to ask ourselves what we think of when we consider "humility" and "exaltation." AMEN
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