30th Sunday of ordinary time. Today’s readings: Sirach 35:12-14,16-18; 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18; Luke 18:9-14
They were worlds apart. In the Judaism of the first century, when so much emphasis was placed on the importance of being pure, righteous and just, one could hardly envisage a starker contrast between a devout, observant Pharisee and a lax, immoral tax collector. Clearly, it was the former category that Jesus was targeting like a Javelin missile with impressive precision. His purpose was to give a good shaking to “people who were sure they were right with God” (Lk 18:9). That is no trivial attitude to the Lord. Jesus’s parable shows that such a perverse outlook both jeopardises one’s very salvation and also has a negative influence on the way one views others.
Let’s move closer to the realistic scene Jesus portrays. The Pharisee stands upright, chin raised, bearing a sense of entitlement. His flowing religious vestments must have bolstered his sense of superiority as he furtively gave a disdainful glance over his shoulder at a gnat… I mean, a tax collector. A gnat is what the latter must have seemed in his eyes. In enlisting all his merits before God, the verdict he gave himself was sounded loud and clear: Not guilty! The way he approached God was flawed through and through because he could not understand that one does not need to defend oneself before God. You will simply never win.
Recently, the nation was surprised to learn that the Degiorgio brothers had made a roundabout turn by changing their vehemently maintained not guilty plea to a guilty one. The court was quick to mete out a sentence that reflected the gravity of the crime committed. The novelty of the Gospel is that the moment one pleads guilty, instead of being given a sentence corresponding to one’s offence, one is allowed to walk away scot-free. It’s because God’s tribunal has an inbuilt mechanism called ‘Jesus’, and a simple and humble admission of guilt is all it takes to unleash the full force of his mercy and forgiveness.
The novelty of the Gospel is that the moment one pleads guilty, instead of being given a sentence corresponding to one’s offence, one is allowed to walk away scot-free
Pope Saint Paul VI once said that we must pray for salvation daily; if we don’t, we commit the sin of presumption. We ask God for several things we wish for, and at times he seems to delay answering us. Yet there is one thing that he gives us immediately, without our having to keep knocking on heaven’s door – that’s his forgiveness which, in truth, is what we need the most.
One of the first symbols early Christians used was the fish. The word for ‘fish’ in Greek, Ichthus, seems to have been an acronym which was a miniature form of the creed. Its letters were the first letters of the phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour”. The fish was a reminder of the identity and role of Jesus. In contrast to the New Age belief that one can save oneself, Christianity emphasises the need we all have for a divine saviour.
Many people today are willing to acknowledge that Jesus was a great prophet, a true example to follow, a profound teacher to learn from, or even an innocent religious martyr. But what makes him different for us Christians is that we speak of him as our only saviour, as the one who alone is capable of declaring us justified before God.
Indeed, this desperately needed ‘justification’ means that it’s ‘just as if I’ve never sinned’.
Christ’s redeeming action saves us from our sins – no matter how numerous or horrendous they are – and replaces them with the free gift of salvation. The tax collector acknowledged his sins and humbly beat his breast as we do at the beginning of every mass. If only we could have his attitude of repentance when we ask God forgiveness, trusting fully in his mercy. God promised forgiveness for sins, not for excuses.