Homily on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
Luke 18:10-14.
In today’s Gospel there is the account of the tax collector and the Pharisee both praying in the temple. Why is this story important? What is Christ trying to teach us? Well for one thing if one listens to what the Pharisee is saying in his prayer it is evident that he is more interested in how righteous he is because of what he does than actually being humble before God! In fact, his prayer is rather shallow as he prays:
“God, I thank you that I am not like other men-extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week,and give tithes of all I possess.”
Juxtaposed next to him we have the tax collector whose prayer is simple:
“God, be merciful to me a sinner”.
This is a man who in first century Israel was seen as unclean, corrupt and a traitor to Jewish society (as he was the person who collected the taxes for the Romans). However, what is striking in his prayer is that he is humble of heart and recognises that he is a sinful man. Remember that God knows the desires of our hearts and God also knows what our motivations are better then we do. If one approaches the All Holy Trinity with a pure and humble heart then the All Holy Trinity will hear our prayer!
As a priest I have a great love for all the prayers of the church especially the Divine Liturgy and the prayers of the hours (these are the official prayers that monks and nuns pray to punctuate the day). One thing that the All Holy Trinity has taught me is that whilst it is important to have the formal prayer of the Church it is equally important to have that personal prayer! What I mean by personal prayer is prayer which comes from the heart - which can be as simple as “Lord I Love you”. It is in this personal prayer that we truly open our hearts to the All Holy Trinity. Think of it in this way with one’s best friend one is always open and honest one can talk about anything and everything- by being open and honest one shows one’s love and respect for one’s friend. If one does not trust someone one will not be open and honest with that person but rather one will seek to conceal one’s innermost thoughts from that person! So to it is with the All Holy Trinity if one trusts the All Holy Trinity one will seek to be open and honest with the All Holy Trinity and in so doing one will show one’s love and trust for the All Holy Trinity.
Oftentimes we can distance ourselves from God and it can seem that the All Holy Trinity is miles away and distant! However, in these moments rather let us have the courage and humility to approach the All Holy Trinity and offer our prayer to Him – even if that prayer is simply “Lord I love you.” This is why the tax collector’s prayer is more acceptable to God as he is offering his prayer from his heart whereas the Pharisee is simply keen to point out to God how righteous he is! There is a massive difference here one prayer comes from the heart (coming from a place of love and humility) and the other comes from a place of arrogance and self-importance!
Finally remember it is better to pray a prayer from the heart than to ramble off long unthinking prayers – God knows our heart and will always accept prayer coming from a heart full of love and humility!
Let our prayer this week be that we always approach God from a place of love and humility even if our prayer is simply – “Lord I love you”.
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