Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

LUKE 18:9-14
HOW MANY OF YOU DRIVE A CAR? WOULD YOU SAY YOU ARE A BAD DRIVER, AN AVERAGE DRIVER, OR A GOOD DRIVER? I WON’T ASK FOR A SHOW OF HANDS, BUT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT WHEN THAT QUESTION IS ASKED, 90 PERCENT OF THOSE WHO ANSWER CLAIM TO BE BETTER THAN AVERAGE. THEY DID A SIMILAR STUDY WITH COLLEGE PROFESSORS, ASKING MORE EXPLICITLY WHETHER THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS A GOOD TEACHER, AN AVERAGE TEACHER, OR A TEACHER WHO NEEDED WORK. AS YOU MIGHT GUESS, MORE THAN 90% CONSIDERED THEMSELVES ABOVE AVERAGE.
I THINK YOU WOULD FIND THAT MOST PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES ABOVE AVERAGE WHEN IT IS ABOUT SOMETHING THEY CARE ABOUT. GARRISON KEELER NOTED THAT IN LAKE WOEBEGON, THAT FICTIONAL CITY IN MIDDLE AMERICA, 90 PERCENT OF THE CHILDREN WERE ABOVE AVERAGE.
THIS FEELING THAT WE HAVE, THAT WE ARE ABOVE AVERAGE IN THINGS WE CARE ABOUT, IS PROBABLY HEALTHY. IF I CONSIDERED MYSELF A BAD DRIVER, AND I MIGHT POINT OUT THAT MY OPINION ABOUT MY DRIVING SKILLS IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF MY WIFE, I WOULD PROBABLY NEVER VENTURE OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY; AND IF I THOUGHT I WAS JUST AN AVERAGE DOCTOR, I WOULD BE AFRAID OF TAKING CARE OF PATIENTS.
THE PHARISEE CONSIDERS HIMSELF SPIRITUALLY SUPERIOR TO MOST OF HIS FELLOW JEWS. AND HE HAS REASON TO THINK THIS. HE LISTS THE REASONS, AND HE COMPARES HIMSELF TO THE KINDS OF PEOPLE WHO CLEARLY AREN’T TRYING VERY HARD TO MEET THE MARK. THE PHARISEE TRIES TO MEET THE MARK; HE HOLDS HIMSELF TO HIGH STANDARDS, AND KEEPS ALL THE LAWS, AND GIVES GENEROUSLY. WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE? HE EVEN THANKS GOD FOR HIS SITUATION – I THINK ITS INTERESTING THAT HE THANKS GOD THAT HE IS NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN. SOME PEOPLE THINK THE PHARISEE BELIEVES THAT HIS SPIRITUAL GROWTH COMES FROM HIS OWN EFFORTS, BUT RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS PRAYER, HE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT GOD HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT – MAYBE EVERYTHING.
BUT THE PHARISEE IS NOT JUSTIFIED, HIS PRAYERS AND ALMSGIVING AND MORAL UPRIGHTNESS ARE FOR NOTHING. HIS PRAYER IS NOT HEARD, JESUS TELLS US.
I WONDER IF ANY OF US EVER THANK GOD THAT WE ARE NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN, OR EVEN SOME OF THE REST OF MEN. I THANK GOD THAT I HAVE A WONDERFUL WIFE AND KIDS I AM PROUD OF, AND GOOD HEALTH, AND A PROFESSION I LOVE. IS THAT WRONG? THERE ARE CERTAINLY A LOT OF PEOPLE AROUND, EVEN HERE IN LONGMEADOW, THAT I WOULD NOT WANT TO TRADE PLACES WITH; I’M VERY GRATEFUL TO GOD I’M NOT LIKE THEM. SHOULD I NOT THANK GOD FOR WHAT HE HAS GIVEN TO ME? IT WASN’T THAT LONG AGO THAT IT SEEMED AS THOUGH JESUS WAS DISAPPOINTED IN THE NINE LEPERS WHO DID NOT RETURN TO THANK GOD FOR THEIR HEALING. MIGHT THEY HAVE ALSO SAID, “THANK YOU THAT I AM NO LONGER LIKE THE REST OF LEPERS?”
THE REAL PROBLEM WITH THE PHARISEE IS PRIDE, NOT HIS PRAYER OF THANKS. AND WE CAN SEE WHAT THE PRIDE IS DOING TO HIM, JUST BE LISTENING TO HIS PRAYER AND OBSERVING THE SCENE. FIRST, THE PHARISEE IS LOOKING AT WHAT HE’S DONE, NOT AT WHAT HE STILL LACKS. PRIDE STUNTS SPIRITUAL GROWTH, AND OUR PHARISEE IS STUNTED. SECOND, PRIDE SEPARATES US FROM OTHERS. THE PHARISEE SEES HIMSELF AS SEPARATE FROM HIS FELLOW HUMAN BEING, THE TAX COLLECTOR. THERE IS NO ONE WHO IS NOT IN NEED OF A SAVIOR, NOT MOTHER THERESA, NOT THE POPE – NOT EVEN THE BLESSED MOTHER. THAT IS THE FACT THAT UNITES US ALL. THIRD, PRIDE SEPARATES US FROM GOD. THE PHARISEE SEEMS TO BE LAYING OUT ALL THE THINGS HE DOES FOR GOD. DOES HE THINK THIS WILL OBLIGATE GOD TO HIM? DOES HE THINK THERE IS ANYTHING HE GIVES TO GOD THAT GOD DID NOT FIRST GIVE HIM? WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HIS UNDERSTANDING OF GOD IS VERY FLAWED, AND YOU CAN’T VERY WELL BECOME UNITED TO A GOD WHO DOESN’T REALLY EXIST.
THE PHARISEE IS NOT MADE RIGHT BY HIS PRAYER, BECAUSE OF HIS OWN PRIDE, NOT BECAUSE GOD REJECTS HIM.
IN CONTRAST, THE TAX COLLECTOR SEES ONLY THAT HE IS A SINNER, THAT HE IS IN NEED OF A SAVIOR, AND THAT HE CAN’T DO ANYTHING HIMSELF. THE PHARISEE SEES WHAT HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED; THE TAX COLLECTOR SEES THAT WHAT HE HAS DONE, WHAT HE COULD STILL DO, WOULD NOT EVEN BE A DROP IN THE BUCKET WHEN COMPARED WITH WHAT STILL REMAINS TO BE DONE. THE TAX COLLECTOR IS HUMBLE; THE WORD IS RELATED TO THE LATIN WORD “HUMUS” WHICH MEANS “SOIL”. THE TAX COLLECTOR RECOGNIZES THAT HIS ONLY CHANCE IS TO GET OUT OF THE WAY AND LET GOD WORK. HE SEES THAT ALL HE CAN BE IS SOIL, WAITING FOR THE GARDENER TO DO THE PLANTING, WATERING, WEEDING, AND HARVESTING. AND IT IS THIS ATTITUDE THAT JUSTIFIES HIM, THAT MAKES HIM RIGHT WITH GOD.
I THINK IT IS ALL RIGHT TO HAVE A HEALTHY EGO. CERTAINLY A LOT GETS DONE BY THOSE PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT THEY ARE MORE CAPABLE THAN 90% OF THE POPULATION. I SUSPECT POPE JOHN PAUL II HAD A HEALTHY EGO. BUT A HEALTHY EGO IS NOT PRIDE, THE GREAT SEPARATOR. THE REAL POINT IS THAT, NO MATTER WHAT OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, NO MATTER WHAT OUR SKILLS OR TALENTS OR GOOD FORTUNE, WE APPRECIATE IN OUR VERY SOULS THAT WE ARE ENTIRELY AT THE MERCY OF GOD, AND THAT ANY HOPE WE HAVE OF ETERNAL LIFE IS BECAUSE THE FATHER GAVE US HIS SON TO DIE FOR US. THERE IS STILL SOME PHARISEE LEFT IN ME. GOD HELP ME BE THE TAX COLLECTOR.