30TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)

1st Reading               Sirach 35:12c-14, 16-18b

Psalm                          34:2-3, 17-18, 9 & 23 (R. cf. 7a)

R:// "The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him"

2nd Reading            2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Gospel                       Luke 18: 9-14

ONLY THE LOWLY RISE

Friends, Peace and Goodness! Today is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), and the last Sunday of October. We shall soon be bringing the praying of the Rosary to a close. We need to continue praying it even outside October to deepen our relationship with Mary. We also have to notice that arrival on the 30th Sunday points to the fact that we are close to the end of the liturgical year. Let us keep that in mind. 

Let us turn to the Word of God for this Sunday and say a few words about the Gospel passage (Luke 18:9-14), especially. However, the first reading is from Sirach 35:12c-14, 16-18b, and the second reading is from 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18. 

The Gospel passage from Luke 18: 9-14 is a lectio continua (continuation from last Sunday's Gospel). Last Sunday, Luke 18 opened with the issue of prayer, particularly praying without getting weary, going beyond the challenges to prayer and being persistent. Today's Gospel has Jesus giving another parable about prayer wherein two men, a Pharisee and a Tax Collector, went to the Temple to pray. While Last Sunday teaches us about praying persistently, on this Sunday, we focus on the posture for praying and the content of prayer. The image of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector are contrasts. Tax collectors are regarded as sinners because they are Jews working for the Roman government. They are seen as people working against their own people. In fact, it is considered that these tax collectors cheat even their fellow Jews. They are sinners. The tax collector has no one to speak to, except God. He comes to the Temple to pray, just as the Pharisee. In contrast, the Pharisees are considered "holy and upright", often respected everywhere. 

Let us pay attention to a few things from the text. The first thing is that Jesus is addressing those who "trusted" in themselves as rightous and despised every else (Lk. 18:9). We do not know the specific people. However, we know what they do by two facts. The first is that these people "trust" in themselves. The Greek word for "trust" as used in the text is πείθω (peithō), and it is sometimes the word used to talk about trust in God. What they are doing is that they have literally taken the place of God, competing with him over trust. They think that they should be trusted in as God is trusted in. The second fact lies in the life of the Pharisee who represents the people who trust in themselves. The Pharisee said a prayer "to himself". Although he went to the Temple to pray, all that he said was about himself and directed to himself. Prayers are directed to God. Why take that place? We are not the ends of prayer. The goodness of prayer does not reside in our assessment. It is God who assesses. This is the first danger to avoid; the danger of wanting to replace God. 

The second issue is that the Pharisee said, "O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity" (v. 11b). This is another problem. The problem is that he excludes himself from the life of the soil, where humans are taken from. Only a divine being is not taken from the soil. The man is saying that since he is not like the rest of man, he is a divine person. That is another way of attempting to assert divinity unto himself. Because he is not like others, he is not greedy, dishonest, or adulterous. He separates himself from his humanness. This is the danger of dissociating ourselves from our true human nature. The Book of Genesis reminds us that “the Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth” (Gen 2:7). To forget our dust is to forget our dependence.

The third issue is that he states some worth-emulating values — fasting and paying his tithe. In fact, he goes the extra mile in fulfilling these religious duties. However, the utterance of the phrase "...and I am not like this tax collector here" brings to the fore another damaging effect. The problem of comparing ourselves is that our religion is put into danger.  A soul that prays only to be superior to others has already left the Temple of grace. 

Now we turn to the tax collector. He stands “at a distance,” unwilling even to lift his eyes to heaven. His posture reveals his theology. He knows who God is — holy and merciful — and who he is — a sinner. He “beat his breast,” a gesture that in Jewish culture expressed deep remorse and unworthiness. The direction of his gaze — downward — is very symbolic. If his eyes are not raised to heaven, they are fixed on the ground, the soil, the dust from which he came. Unlike the Pharisee who dissociated himself from humanness, the tax collector embraces it. He does not pretend to be divine. He acknowledges his dust.

Then comes his prayer: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” The word “merciful” recalls the Hebrew rechem (רֶחֶם), used in Exodus 34:6 when God reveals Himself as “compassionate and gracious.” Rechem literally means “a mother’s womb.” Thus, divine mercy is not abstract pity but womb-like love — the place where life is conceived and nurtured. When the tax collector asks for mercy, he is, in effect, asking to be reborn — to return to that life-giving space where sin is forgiven and new existence begins.

Therefore, "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled". This is surely about the Pharisee. He has to be reminded that he is human. When he understands this, then all other businesses can follow. Sometimes, the answer to our prayers is delayed because God needs to remind us of our humanness before anything else takes places. He humbles us to heal us.

"The one who humbles himself will be exalted". This is about the tax collector. He acknowledges his own humanness. Therefore, something can take place. 

Pax et Bonum