Mission Sunday
First Reading: Sirach 35:12-14;
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18;
Gospel: Luke 18:9-14
God has blessed us abundantly and in plenty. He continues to pour out his abundant blessings on us. At the same time, he invites us to be close to him and pray to him. Prayer has a prominent place in the Christian religious practice. The liturgy of today discusses some aspects of prayer and its application to life. The readings tell us that God listens especially to the sinner and the humble. Often we wonder why God is partial in his dealing with human persons.
The First Reading, from Sirach, is a perfect companion piece to the Gospel parable. In one striking image from Sirach, the writer declares “the prayer of the lowly, pierces the clouds to reach the unseen throne of God.” Such prayers are heard because they come from the hearts of people who know how much they need God. Although God has no favourites and answers the prayers of all, the oppressed, the orphans, the widows, and those who can least help themselves are His special concern. The best prayer is humble and selfless service.
In the Second Reading, the former Pharisee Paul, like the publican in the Gospel parable, humbly acknowledges his work as accomplished by the grace of God, and he thanks God for enabling him to fight a good battle — to run a good race while keeping his Faith intact and proclaiming it and requesting God’s mercy.
In today’s Gospel, we have the strange example of a Pharisee and a Tax Collector in the context of prayer. The Pharisee – we clearly have evidence to prove he is the “good” person. He carefully kept the Law of the Jews and the Commandments of God. He faithfully observed the obligations of a good Jew: he prayed, he fasted, and he gave alms. In fact, he was very generous in his attitude towards God. And yet, God was not happy with him because he was a totally self-centred person. He thanked God with the words expressing that he was not like others, especially the terrible Tax Collector who had come to the Temple to pray. He was telling God how fortunate God is having secured such a pious generous person like the Pharisee. If we look at the Tax Collector as pictured in the Gospel, he is certainly a sinner. The Tax Collectors were considered as social outcasts. Here we have one such who did not observe the Jewish law. Like any other Tax Collector, he too was a swindler and extortionist. He really was a sinner before the world but God loved him and continued to love him. Jesus says that when the Tax Collector left the Temple, he did so as a friend of God, whereas the Pharisee went away without the experience of forgiveness. The Parable tells us that even though the Tax Collector was a sinner, he confessed his sins and sought forgiveness from God. Luke, in today’s Gospel, tells us that no matter who we are, the only authentic prayer any of us can utter, is the one voiced by the Tax Collector. Even then there is no guarantee of righteousness. Here, Jesus speaks of simplicity and humility. He says that all who humble themselves will be exalted. In the Gospel of Matthew, we have the words of Jesus that whoever becomes humble like the little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. In the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, we heard how the Pharisee considered himself as righteous and condemned the Tax Collector. One thing that we can learn from this sad story of the Pharisees is that while God approves of no sin, his mercy and his forgiveness is available to all sinners except the proud. It is not that God will not forgive the sin of pride but that the proud man will not ask for God’s forgiveness. Therefore we must be on guard against this dangerous and destructive vice. It is dangerous because it can destroy us once it enters our life. It is destructive because it destroys all the good virtues we practice and all the good works we do. Charity or brotherly love cannot flourish in a proud heart, for a proud heart is so full of self, that it has no room for others. No true love of God can exist in a proud heart because a proud person practices religion and virtues for his self-glory and not for God.
Let us evict the Pharisee and revive the publican in each of us.
We become the proud Pharisee when we brag about our achievements giving no credit to God, when we seek praise and recognition from others for our accomplishments, and when we degrade others with insensitive comments, hurting their feelings. In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to imitate the humble publican (Tax Collector) by acknowledging our total dependence on God and His grace for all our achievements and blessings; by confessing to God daily our sinfulness and asking for His pardon and forgiveness; by praying for God’s continued daily support through His grace; by asking God for strengthening through the daily anointing of His Holy Spirit living within us; and by becoming more sensitive to the needs and feelings of others, serving Jesus in them as best as we can.
Let us ask for God’s unconditional love, forgiveness and mercy during the Holy Mass.
When we participate in the Holy Mass, let us first admit our sinfulness before God by saying “I have greatly sinned … through my most grievous fault,” and let us beat our breasts in sincere repentance. Let us ask for God’s mercy as the publican did by saying, “Lord, have mercy! Christ have mercy! Lord, have mercy!” Later in the Mass, when we pray the “Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,” let us passionately cry out, “have mercy on us, have mercy on us, and grant us peace!” Today’s Gospel is about God’s Divine Mercy. The Tax Collector saw this clearly: “Be merciful to me, a sinner.” We repeat this phrase at the Holy Mass and in the Divine Mercy Prayer: “Eternal Father, we offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.” This is why we are gathered together every Sunday morning. We tell God that we offer Him His dearly beloved Son in atonement for our sins. Let us conclude with the Divine Mercy Prayer: “For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us, and on the whole world.”