Proximity to God
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
Gospel: Luke 18:9-14
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032925.cfm
Luke sets the stage in today’s gospel by describing who Jesus is speaking to. Jesus was always mindful of his audience and challenged their way of thinking. In some stories, the crowd around Jesus was of a mixed group of people, that was not the case today's story. Jesus had a very specific audience so the message was more direct. He’s speaking to people who saw themselves as holy and looked down on others.
In the parable, Jesus compares the behaviors of a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisees were seen as holy, disciplined thought leaders. Tax collectors were seen as secular swindlers who used their societal power to take advantage of others for their personal gain. The Pharisee positioned himself in close proximity to the holy areas in the temple, whereas the tax collector stood off at a distance and didn’t raise eyes to heaven.
The Pharisee prayed in gratitude to God for not being like others, people like the tax collector, who are greedy, dishonest, and adulterous. He then goes on further to highlight his religious practices of fasting and tithing. The Pharisee had a merit-based understanding of earning favor with God. It’s as if God maintains a log to compare people to one another. His view focused on his appearance and how he compared to others instead of focusing on doing what was right.
We too can struggle as the Pharisee did. When we think and act with the intent of making ourselves better than others, we lose sight of doing what is actually right and good. We’re not doing it for its own value, but for what it will get us. We care more about the image than the substance. This view sees others as competition. It is insecure because our value is limited to how we appear in comparison to others.
Then we hear about the tax collector. He didn’t feel worthy to be closer to God in the Temple and didn’t even look to heaven as he prayed. He was praying to God from a distance. His God was not limited to a space but was inside of him. His prayer didn’t compare himself to others. He knew who he was. He recognized his distance from God through his sin. His prayer was very simple. He asked God for mercy and humbly and honestly saw himself as a sinner. He was genuine and prayed from the heart.
May we find a way to be honest with ourselves like the tax collector. May we see where we can fall trap to the self-righteousness of the Pharisee and find ways to move beyond it. God’s love isn’t to be earned, it’s something we must be open to receive. Our goal shouldn’t be personal transformation to earn God’s love, but to allow God’s love to transform us.
