Luke 18:10-14, 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Last week we began our spiritual makeover, before the season of the Great Fast and we explored the topic of ambition. This week, our Church continues this “makeover” theme by introducing us to another way to perfect ourselves as Christians by adding another virtue to our list of goals for Lent, and this is humility. In today’s Gospel we see two different men with two different methods of standing before God in prayer.
Let us first examine the Pharisee. The term comes for the Hebrew word for “separate”. Pharisees were men who were members of one of the four main parties of Judaism at the time of Christ. Their main goal was to function as legal consultants for the Jewish people. They were to study and interpret Mosaic law and then give instruction to Jews so that they could live in accordance with it. Often, they got so carried away with adhering to the particular wording of a law, that they forgot to care for the person who strove to follow it. They began to think of themselves as having the last word about what was and was not pleasing to God, and grew very smug. We see this clearly in the gospel account above.
“…The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself…”
Praying this to HIMSELF? A big red flag. A very, very big red flag. Usually, when someone recites a big long list of their own virtues, one usually IS speaking to oneself, is he not? The poor soul is trying to convince himself that he truly does have those very traits that he is listing, particularly because he is not entirely sure of himself. Perhaps this is the case with our Pharisee?
Other accounts in scripture tell us that Christ may think this is true as well. He was not happy with Pharisees at all. Because of their strict adherence to Mosaic law, often at the expense of love and mercy for their neighbors, Christ often spoke harshly of them.
Matthew 3:6-8 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Matthew 5:20 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 15:11-13 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.
Matthew 16:11-13 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Matthew 23: 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
Matthew 23: 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Luke 11:38-40 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
This last verse may tell us all we need to know about how Christ does NOT wish for us to behave. We need to attend to our “inside” as well as our “outside”. What we are is more important than what we do.
Let us now turn our attention to the other person who entered the temple to pray, the Publican. A Publican was a tax-collector at the time of Christ, for the Roman government. It was his job to collect money from his fellow Jews and give it to the Romans, exacting and keeping a portion of his own calculation for himself as his pay. Many of them cheated their fellow Jews out of ridiculous sums and grew very, very rich, leaving no recourse for the Jews, but to pay. For this reason they were, as a group, despised. Scripture makes this abundantly clear.
Matthew 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
Matthew 9:10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.
Matthew 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
Matthew 18:17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Mark 2:16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Luke 5:30. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Let us look at what the account has to say about the way this obvious sinner conducted himself in the presence of God.
…But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus tells us that this man had but one request of God…MERCY! He recited the Jesus Prayer, with true contrition and humility, and received forgiveness that day. He did not recite a litany of every good thing he had ever done, as if the Lord has need of a reminder. He KNEW that God knew his virtues as well as his sins, and saw no need to elaborate. All that was necessary was to ask for mercy.
Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Luke 10:36-38 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
James 2:13-14 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
It must also be noted that the publican did not resort to wordy or lengthy petitions, full of poetry and eloquence. He simply asked. This is how we should pray, unceasingly, simply and full of love and obedience. There are many levels of prayer, and a definite progression in the practice of it, yet it is necessary to begin simply and humbly and allow God to lead the way and take care of the rest. St. Isaac the Syrian wrote in one of his homilies (#49), "When you turn to God in prayer, be in your thoughts as an ant, as a serpent of the earth, like a worm, like a stuttering child. Do not speak to Him something philosophical or high-sounding, but approach Him with a child's attitude"
So how does one seriously attempt to pray constantly? How can this attitude be achieved while attempting to do the daily tasks that are part of one’s vocation? Simply, it can’t. It isn’t expected to be done. When you are acting to fulfill your daily duties, your action becomes your prayer! St. John of the Ladder said, "From those monks who are engaged in performing obediences, God does not expect a pure and undistracted prayer. Despair not should inattention come over you! Be of cheerful spirit and constantly compel your mind to return to itself! For the angels alone are not subject to any distraction" (Step IV, ch. 93). This is the beauty of the simplicity of the Jesus Prayer! It is so easy to repeat that it is almost impossible NOT to say it properly. Consider practicing it during this Great Fast, every day, as often as you can until it becomes second nature to repeat it constantly. It will truly transform your soul. Many monastics as well as those lay people who are “monastically-minded” use chotki beads, similar to a rosary to keep track of a certain number per day, and to provide a physical focus for the repetition of the prayer. These can be carried in a pocket, or worn on the wrist for use at a moment’s notice.
For more information regarding this prayer, let me recommend a small, but wonderful book, by an anonymous pilgrim of the nineteenth century called The Way of a Pilgrim. This man shares the story of his journey to find the way to pray unceasingly, and his joy at having learned to do so. He tells how everything changes for the man who finds this treasure.
"When I prayed in my heart, everything around me seemed delightful and marvelous. The trees, the grass, the birds, the air, the light seemed to be telling me that they existed for man's sake, that they witnessed to the love of God for man, that all things prayed to God and sang his praise."
Here is something fun to do with...or, should I say "to"....your children to illustrate the point of the Gospel reading for the day. On Saturday night, bake a batch of their favorite sugar cookies. Just a simple recipe, nothing flashy or extravagant. Divide the dough in half. Prepare and bake one half as usual, with no frills or extras, but tasting wonderful! These are your Publican cookies. Now...for the fun part. Into the other half of the dough, add a teaspoon or so of garlic powder....hehehe ;) (pictures to follow)
Prepare these cookies as you did the others, but be sure to frost, sprinkle, color or bedazzle them up well! These are your Pharisee cookies! They look fabulous, but taste absolutely awful! Place them both on a serving platter and serve these to your little disciples on Sunday morning. See which ones they choose. This will be fun. Once they've figured out the prank, open up a discussion with them about appearances and substance.
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