Hi everyone. Welcome back to the logical. Bible study podcast. Thanks again for tuning in and we're going to take a look as always at the Gospel reading from today's mass. Today, we're looking at Luke 18:9 to 14. Jesus spoke the following Parable to some who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised. Everyone else, two men went up to the temple to pray one, a Pharisee the other a tax collector, the Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to
himself. I thank you God that I am not grasping unjust adulterous like the rest of mankind and particularly that I'm not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week. I paid tithes on all I get. The tax collector, stood some distance away. Not during even to raise his eyes to heaven, but he beat his breast and said, God be merciful to me a sinner. This man, I tell you when home again at rights with God, the
other did not. for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted, So the focus on Jesus teaching hear this parable of the tax collector in.
The Pharisee is basically about prayer and in context, Jesus has just said another parable about prayer which is the parable of the Widow and the judge and that's quite a common theme in Luke. Jesus does a lot of Parables about how to pray in. Luke so verse 9, we start at Jesus spoke the following Parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone
else. So really clearly here we know the audience and we know the purpose of this Parable, Jesus is speaking to people who Pride themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else. So basically, this Parable is directed to those in Jesus audience, who have a false notion of what God desires. Now notice this Parable is not directed to the Pharisees. There's a lots of other Parables where that it is directed to the Pharisees, but this is directed
to people in general. Who who Pride themselves on being virtuous? Now, the Pharisee appears in the parable, but it's not actually directed at Pharisees. Verse 10, two men went up to the temple to pray. So we have an image here of them. Both going up at the same time to the temple. It's probably some sort of public prayer service, they're going to, which might be the evening or the morning sacrifice, which happened at the temple.
So in the parable, it appears the two main can see each other. Praying, one of them is a Pharisee and in that culture, the Pharisee was considered to be the most righteous and holy kind of Jew in the eyes of the Jews that is and the other is a tax collector and they're considered to be the worst of Sinners by the Jews because they work for the Romans. So the collaborators with evil and they tax people heavily and
they take people's money. So the Jews viewed Tax Collectors as almost the worst of the worst. So to Trust a Pharisee with the tax collector is like the most holy being contrasted with the worst kind of Sinner in the Jewish mind. So this is why the parable is surprising because in the end, the Pharisee is the one who said to be not in the rights in God's good books and the other man the tax collector is considered righteous by God.
So the Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself. Now notice he's saying it to himself and not to God. So it's a fairly selfish sort of prayer. It's not allowed public prayer. Like in other Parables, you have the Pharisees depicted as being on street corners and stuff here, it's actually a private prayer, but it's one. He's saying to himself. He says, I thank you, God, that I am not grasping unjust adulterous like the rest of
mankind. So some of the Jews particular the Pharisees did consider the rest of mankind. The Gentiles the non-believers to be just unjust adulterous people that was a common Jewish way of thinking about the rest of the world. So the Jews particularly the Pharisees saw themselves as the only holy ones since only they follow God's law and the rest of the Gentiles don't so that filthy evil people. He goes on particularly that I'm not like this tax collector here.
So again, it's like, thank goodness. I'm not like the worst of the worst, this tax collector so he can see the tax collector as he says this. The Pharisee goes on in the parable verse 12. I fast twice a week. Now that's actually above and beyond what's expected. So it is quite a holy righteous thing to do based on the evidence we have apparently holy Jews, dude. Fast on Mondays.
Thursday's every week he says, I pay tides on all I get so Jews were expected to give some of their money to the temple, as an act of Devotion to God. Apparently, the Pharisees went above and beyond with their tithing, which is actually a good thing and they expected to get blessings from God for that reason. The problem is, is kind of
boasting in those good acts. So here is an example of a person who is doing the externals very well, but not the internals this Pharisee. It's a fictional Pharisee but it's one who's he hasn't had an internal change. Or in the language of Matthew, he's forgotten the weightier matters of the law. He's doing the externals, but he's forgotten things, like mercy and compassion, which are the more important things verse 13, the tax collector, stood
some distance away. So his further back in the temple he probably feels he isn't worthy to be close to the inner part of the temple. So he stands right back. And he's not even during to raise his eyes to heaven. So he's feeling shame, he fears God, and he knows that he is a sinner. So he beat his breast and that's a sign of a men, sort of sorrow and repentance. So this is evidence that the man truly is repentant. This is a truly repentant tax collector and he says to God God
be merciful to me a sinner. So the tax collector recognizes that he's a sinner, his honest about his own status. And that's why he's considered. Humble. He's honest about his own status in the eyes of God. Now, the word, interestingly, that's youth here for merciful.
God, be merciful to me a sinner. The Greek word is hylas Khmer and it's only found one other place in the New Testament, which is the book of Hebrews. So it's not the same word as other places in the gospels, where it talks about showing Mercy. This is a different word that's used here and it carries the connotation of expiating or Making atonement for sin. So it appears in the parable that the Pharisee is asking Jesus to make atonement for his sin. Verse 14.
Jesus says this man. I tell you went home again at right with God. So in other words, he went home being right in God's eyes. Now, interestingly this prefigures the Kia. So in the very next chapter of Luke, Luke chapter 19, Zacchaeus is a real tax collector who is said to go home Justified because of what he does. So Jesus is probably setting up his audience so that they're Ready for the story of Zacchaeus by telling them this Parable
first. So he goes home Justified or writing the eyes of God which is quite profound. You can imagine Jesus here is going what a tax collector considered, right in the eyes of God. Whereas the other man, the Pharisee does not, and that's
really scary. Because the man, the Pharisee himself thinks he is right in God's eyes but his attitude makes him not right, in God's eyes and that's somewhat scary because it means we can think that we're being righteous in God's eyes, but actually, God doesn't consider us righteous So Jesus, now goes on to summarize what he's just said and he repeats something. He said earlier, in Luke, in Chapter 14 verse 11, he says it again.
Now, for everyone who helped, sorry for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted. So this applies to everyone. Now, this is the point, Jesus is making in the, in the parable. So let's pull it apart a little bit, everyone who exalts himself, so that's anyone who tries to make himself greater Others will be humbled. So will be brought Low by God.
God is going to do something to them, to bring them low in the kingdom of God, that is where, as the man who humbles himself. So, this is a man who knows his own status and does not magnify himself before God, he will be exalted, so he's going to be made great in the kingdom of God by God. Now, notice this Parable is not. Well, let's put it back this way. Jesus is not commending the tax,
A collector for being a sinner. Jesus, is not saying this guy is great because he's a tax collector and he's also not condemning the Pharisee for his righteous actions because clearly on the external level, the Pharisee is doing more, righteous things than the tax collector, but the focus and the condemnation from Jesus comes into their attitude. It's their attitude that he's criticizing, not their external
actions. This Parable is not about salvation, it's not about getting into the kingdom of God, or getting to Heaven. It appears to be a Peril parable about those who are going to be made low in the Kingdom. So that's those who try to exalt themselves versus those who are going to have a higher place in the Kingdom. So that's those who humble themselves. So let's keep that in mind. So what's Jesus overall message
with this Parable? It's his messages to those who Pride themselves on being virtuous and those who despise everyone else and he's messages humble yourself and then God will see you as truly great. That's the message. Humble yourself and then God will see you as truly great. Now, this Parable has been a rich source of information about Catholic teaching, so it is reference quite a few places in the catechism, particularly in connection with prayer.
So I want to read out a few of these paragraphs paragraph 2559 in prayer. As God's Gift says, prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God. But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will or out of the depths of a humble? Contrite heart. He who humbles himself will be exalted, humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that, we do not know how to pray as we ought.
Are we ready to receive freely? The gift of prayer, man, is a bigger before. God? There's a reference to it in paragraph. 2 6, 1 3. It says, three principal Parables on prayer transmitted to us by Luke the third. Parable is the Pharisee and the tax collector which concerns the humility of the heart. The praise God, be merciful to me a sinner. The church continues to make this prayer.
Its own key real, a saint. So, a rough translation of Curie. A lace on, which you might hear in mass, or say, in mass is basically, God have mercy on me and that comes largely from this parable. Paragraph 588. We hear Jesus scandalize the Pharisees by eating with tax collectors and sinners as familiarly as with themselves against those among them who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despise others. Jesus affirmed. I have not come to call the righteous but Sinners to
repentance. So you'll hear the other quote from Luke chapter, 18 paragraph, 26 31, It says, the first movement of the prayer of petition is asking forgiveness, just like the tax collector in the parable, God be merciful to me a sinner, it is a prerequisite for righteous and pure prayer. A trusting, humility brings us back into the light of communion between the father and his son Jesus Christ and with one another. So that we may receive from him, whatever we ask.
So you can hear there's some really awesome paragraphs here about how we're supposed to approach God. Prayer just like the tax collector does in the parable and there's a couple more really good ones to paragraph. 2667 says the symbol. This simple invocation of Faith developed in the tradition of prayer. Under many forms in the East and the West.
The most usual formulation transmitted by the spiritual writers of the Sinai Syria and mount Athos is the invocation Lord. Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Sinners, this combines the christological him. In Philippians 2 with the Cry of the Publican and the blind man begging for light by it. The heart is open to human wretches and wretchedness and the savior's Mercy So that there is a commentary on particular prayer, that's offered to Jesus.
And then, lastly, in paragraph, two eight, three nine, which is a commentary on the line of the Our Father, forgive us. Our trespasses. It says, with bold confidence, We Begin praying to our father in begging him that his name be
hallowed. We were in fact asking him that we ourselves might be always made more holy but though we are clothed with the baptismal garment we do not cease to sin to turn away from God. Lord, now in this new petition, we returned to him, like the prodigal son and like the tax collector, recognize that we are sinners before him. Our petition begins with a confession of our wretchedness and his Mercy, our hope is firm, because in his son, we have Redemption, the Forgiveness of sins.
We find the efficacious and undoubted sign of his forgiveness. In the sacraments of the church. So that last paragraph is particularly important to us, as we're all Sinners. And as the line in the, Our father says, forgive us. Our trespasses as the church says. In this paragraph, We need to be like the tax collector of the parable and forgiveness is offered to us, primarily through the sacraments of the church. So I'll put all those paragraphs in the show notes.
Thanks again for listening and hopefully you'll tune in again tomorrow.