Hi everyone. Welcome back to the logical.
Bible study podcast. Thanks again for tuning in and
we're going to take a look as always at the Gospel reading
from today's mass. Today, we're looking at Luke
18:9 to 14. Jesus spoke the following
Parable to some who prided themselves on being virtuous and
despised. Everyone else, two men went up
to the temple to pray one, a Pharisee the other a tax
collector, the Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to
himself. I thank you God that I am not
grasping unjust adulterous like the rest of mankind and
particularly that I'm not like this tax collector here.
I fast twice a week. I paid tithes on all I get.
The tax collector, stood some distance away.
Not during even to raise his eyes to heaven, but he beat his
breast and said, God be merciful to me a sinner.
This man, I tell you when home again at rights with God, the
other did not. for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the man who humbles himself will be exalted, So the focus on
Jesus teaching hear this parable of the tax collector in.
The Pharisee is basically about prayer and in context, Jesus has
just said another parable about prayer which is the parable of
the Widow and the judge and that's quite a common theme in
Luke. Jesus does a lot of Parables
about how to pray in. Luke so verse 9, we start at
Jesus spoke the following Parable to some people who
prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone
else. So really clearly here we know
the audience and we know the purpose of this Parable, Jesus
is speaking to people who Pride themselves on being virtuous and
despised everyone else. So basically, this Parable is
directed to those in Jesus audience, who have a false
notion of what God desires. Now notice this Parable is not
directed to the Pharisees. There's a lots of other Parables
where that it is directed to the Pharisees, but this is directed
to people in general. Who who Pride themselves on
being virtuous? Now, the Pharisee appears in the
parable, but it's not actually directed at Pharisees.
Verse 10, two men went up to the temple to pray.
So we have an image here of them.
Both going up at the same time to the temple.
It's probably some sort of public prayer service, they're
going to, which might be the evening or the morning
sacrifice, which happened at the temple.
So in the parable, it appears the two main can see each other.
Praying, one of them is a Pharisee and in that culture,
the Pharisee was considered to be the most righteous and holy
kind of Jew in the eyes of the Jews that is and the other is a
tax collector and they're considered to be the worst of
Sinners by the Jews because they work for the Romans.
So the collaborators with evil and they tax people heavily and
they take people's money. So the Jews viewed Tax
Collectors as almost the worst of the worst.
So to Trust a Pharisee with the tax collector is like the most
holy being contrasted with the worst kind of Sinner in the
Jewish mind. So this is why the parable is
surprising because in the end, the Pharisee is the one who said
to be not in the rights in God's good books and the other man the
tax collector is considered righteous by God.
So the Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself.
Now notice he's saying it to himself and not to God.
So it's a fairly selfish sort of prayer.
It's not allowed public prayer. Like in other Parables, you have
the Pharisees depicted as being on street corners and stuff
here, it's actually a private prayer, but it's one.
He's saying to himself. He says, I thank you, God, that
I am not grasping unjust adulterous like the rest of
mankind. So some of the Jews particular
the Pharisees did consider the rest of mankind.
The Gentiles the non-believers to be just unjust adulterous
people that was a common Jewish way of thinking about the rest
of the world. So the Jews particularly the
Pharisees saw themselves as the only holy ones since only they
follow God's law and the rest of the Gentiles don't so that
filthy evil people. He goes on particularly that I'm
not like this tax collector here.
So again, it's like, thank goodness.
I'm not like the worst of the worst, this tax collector so he
can see the tax collector as he says this.
The Pharisee goes on in the parable verse 12.
I fast twice a week. Now that's actually above and
beyond what's expected. So it is quite a holy righteous
thing to do based on the evidence we have apparently holy
Jews, dude. Fast on Mondays.
Thursday's every week he says, I pay tides on all I get so Jews
were expected to give some of their money to the temple, as an
act of Devotion to God. Apparently, the Pharisees went
above and beyond with their tithing, which is actually a
good thing and they expected to get blessings from God for that
reason. The problem is, is kind of
boasting in those good acts. So here is an example of a
person who is doing the externals very well, but not the
internals this Pharisee. It's a fictional Pharisee but
it's one who's he hasn't had an internal change.
Or in the language of Matthew, he's forgotten the weightier
matters of the law. He's doing the externals, but
he's forgotten things, like mercy and compassion, which are
the more important things verse 13, the tax collector, stood
some distance away. So his further back in the
temple he probably feels he isn't worthy to be close to the
inner part of the temple. So he stands right back.
And he's not even during to raise his eyes to heaven.
So he's feeling shame, he fears God, and he knows that he is a
sinner. So he beat his breast and that's
a sign of a men, sort of sorrow and repentance.
So this is evidence that the man truly is repentant.
This is a truly repentant tax collector and he says to God God
be merciful to me a sinner. So the tax collector recognizes
that he's a sinner, his honest about his own status.
And that's why he's considered. Humble.
He's honest about his own status in the eyes of God.
Now, the word, interestingly, that's youth here for merciful.
God, be merciful to me a sinner. The Greek word is hylas Khmer
and it's only found one other place in the New Testament,
which is the book of Hebrews. So it's not the same word as
other places in the gospels, where it talks about showing
Mercy. This is a different word that's
used here and it carries the connotation of expiating or
Making atonement for sin. So it appears in the parable
that the Pharisee is asking Jesus to make atonement for his
sin. Verse 14.
Jesus says this man. I tell you went home again at
right with God. So in other words, he went home
being right in God's eyes. Now, interestingly this
prefigures the Kia. So in the very next chapter of
Luke, Luke chapter 19, Zacchaeus is a real tax collector who is
said to go home Justified because of what he does.
So Jesus is probably setting up his audience so that they're
Ready for the story of Zacchaeus by telling them this Parable
first. So he goes home Justified or
writing the eyes of God which is quite profound.
You can imagine Jesus here is going what a tax collector
considered, right in the eyes of God.
Whereas the other man, the Pharisee does not, and that's
really scary. Because the man, the Pharisee
himself thinks he is right in God's eyes but his attitude
makes him not right, in God's eyes and that's somewhat scary
because it means we can think that we're being righteous in
God's eyes, but actually, God doesn't consider us righteous So
Jesus, now goes on to summarize what he's just said and he
repeats something. He said earlier, in Luke, in
Chapter 14 verse 11, he says it again.
Now, for everyone who helped, sorry for everyone who exalts
himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be
exalted. So this applies to everyone.
Now, this is the point, Jesus is making in the, in the parable.
So let's pull it apart a little bit, everyone who exalts
himself, so that's anyone who tries to make himself greater
Others will be humbled. So will be brought Low by God.
God is going to do something to them, to bring them low in the
kingdom of God, that is where, as the man who humbles himself.
So, this is a man who knows his own status and does not magnify
himself before God, he will be exalted, so he's going to be
made great in the kingdom of God by God.
Now, notice this Parable is not. Well, let's put it back this
way. Jesus is not commending the tax,
A collector for being a sinner. Jesus, is not saying this guy is
great because he's a tax collector and he's also not
condemning the Pharisee for his righteous actions because
clearly on the external level, the Pharisee is doing more,
righteous things than the tax collector, but the focus and the
condemnation from Jesus comes into their attitude.
It's their attitude that he's criticizing, not their external
actions. This Parable is not about
salvation, it's not about getting into the kingdom of God,
or getting to Heaven. It appears to be a Peril parable
about those who are going to be made low in the Kingdom.
So that's those who try to exalt themselves versus those who are
going to have a higher place in the Kingdom.
So that's those who humble themselves.
So let's keep that in mind. So what's Jesus overall message
with this Parable? It's his messages to those who
Pride themselves on being virtuous and those who despise
everyone else and he's messages humble yourself and then God
will see you as truly great. That's the message.
Humble yourself and then God will see you as truly great.
Now, this Parable has been a rich source of information about
Catholic teaching, so it is reference quite a few places in
the catechism, particularly in connection with prayer.
So I want to read out a few of these paragraphs paragraph 2559
in prayer. As God's Gift says, prayer is
the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting
of good things from God. But when we pray, do we speak
from the height of our pride and will or out of the depths of a
humble? Contrite heart.
He who humbles himself will be exalted, humility is the
foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge
that, we do not know how to pray as we ought.
Are we ready to receive freely? The gift of prayer, man, is a
bigger before. God?
There's a reference to it in paragraph. 2 6, 1 3.
It says, three principal Parables on prayer transmitted
to us by Luke the third. Parable is the Pharisee and the
tax collector which concerns the humility of the heart.
The praise God, be merciful to me a sinner.
The church continues to make this prayer.
Its own key real, a saint. So, a rough translation of
Curie. A lace on, which you might hear
in mass, or say, in mass is basically, God have mercy on me
and that comes largely from this parable.
Paragraph 588. We hear Jesus scandalize the
Pharisees by eating with tax collectors and sinners as
familiarly as with themselves against those among them who
trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despise
others. Jesus affirmed.
I have not come to call the righteous but Sinners to
repentance. So you'll hear the other quote
from Luke chapter, 18 paragraph, 26 31, It says, the first
movement of the prayer of petition is asking forgiveness,
just like the tax collector in the parable, God be merciful to
me a sinner, it is a prerequisite for righteous and
pure prayer. A trusting, humility brings us
back into the light of communion between the father and his son
Jesus Christ and with one another.
So that we may receive from him, whatever we ask.
So you can hear there's some really awesome paragraphs here
about how we're supposed to approach God.
Prayer just like the tax collector does in the parable
and there's a couple more really good ones to paragraph. 2667
says the symbol. This simple invocation of Faith
developed in the tradition of prayer.
Under many forms in the East and the West.
The most usual formulation transmitted by the spiritual
writers of the Sinai Syria and mount Athos is the invocation
Lord. Jesus Christ, have mercy on us.
Sinners, this combines the christological him.
In Philippians 2 with the Cry of the Publican and the blind man
begging for light by it. The heart is open to human
wretches and wretchedness and the savior's Mercy So that there
is a commentary on particular prayer, that's offered to Jesus.
And then, lastly, in paragraph, two eight, three nine, which is
a commentary on the line of the Our Father, forgive us.
Our trespasses. It says, with bold confidence,
We Begin praying to our father in begging him that his name be
hallowed. We were in fact asking him that
we ourselves might be always made more holy but though we are
clothed with the baptismal garment we do not cease to sin
to turn away from God. Lord, now in this new petition,
we returned to him, like the prodigal son and like the tax
collector, recognize that we are sinners before him.
Our petition begins with a confession of our wretchedness
and his Mercy, our hope is firm, because in his son, we have
Redemption, the Forgiveness of sins.
We find the efficacious and undoubted sign of his
forgiveness. In the sacraments of the church.
So that last paragraph is particularly important to us, as
we're all Sinners. And as the line in the, Our
father says, forgive us. Our trespasses as the church
says. In this paragraph, We need to be
like the tax collector of the parable and forgiveness is
offered to us, primarily through the sacraments of the church.
So I'll put all those paragraphs in the show notes.
Thanks again for listening and hopefully you'll tune in again
tomorrow.