{"id":17514,"date":"2022-10-23T09:06:30","date_gmt":"2022-10-23T13:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/?p=17514"},"modified":"2022-10-23T09:06:31","modified_gmt":"2022-10-23T13:06:31","slug":"my-reflection-on-sundays-gospel-luke-189-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.splendoroftruth.com\/curtjester\/2022\/10\/my-reflection-on-sundays-gospel-luke-189-14\/","title":{"rendered":"My Reflection on Sunday’s Gospel Luke 18:9\u201314"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Luke 14:25\u201333 ESV – Bible Gateway<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

This is another parable unique to the Gospel of Luke and continues with another parable concerning prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Catechism has a nice synopsis of this series of parables:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a72613<\/strong> Three principal parables<\/em> on prayer are transmitted to us by St. Luke:<\/p>

\u2014 The first, \u201cthe importunate friend,\u201d invites us to urgent prayer: \u201cKnock, and it will be opened to you.\u201d To the one who prays like this, the heavenly Father will \u201cgive whatever he needs,\u201d and above all the Holy Spirit who contains all gifts.<\/p>

\u2014 The second, \u201cthe importunate widow,\u201d is centered on one of the qualities of prayer: it is necessary to pray always without ceasing and with the patience<\/em> of faith. \u201cAnd yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?\u201d<\/p>

\u2014 The third parable, \u201cthe Pharisee and the tax collector,\u201d concerns the humility<\/em> of the heart that prays. \u201cGod, be merciful to me a sinner!\u201d The Church continues to make this prayer its own: Kyrie eleison<\/em>!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As is often the case, Jesus presents the parable with both some humor and a twist. The twist is mostly lost on us now since the word Pharisee is now used only as a term of derision. During Jesus\u2019 time, the Pharisees were widely respected and viewed as striving to be holy and righteous. Jesus thus presents the parable as a contrast between what society viewed as a righteous man of God and someone despicable and beyond redemption like the tax collectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While tax collectors still are not seen as admirable, Peter Kreeft points this out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were empowered and encouraged by Rome to raise the taxes as much as they could, and everything above and beyond the legal minimum that Rome demanded, they could keep themselves. They were literally legal thieves. They were hated as the lowest of the low. There weren\u2019t even any jokes about them, as there are a lot of lawyer jokes in our society, because lawyers aren\u2019t really hated all that much, but publicans were. What they did was too serious for jokes.[1]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

John Bergsma looks at this central aspect of the Pharisee\u2019s prayer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus tells this parable in an almost humorous fashion. The proud Pharisee speaks his \u201cprayer to himself.\u201d He mostly talks about himself in his prayer; in fact, he is praising himself and even praying to himself! The Pharisee has gotten himself confused with God. That\u2019s the essence of pride.[2]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Brant Pitre adds to this understanding:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Revised Standard Version says that the Pharisee stood and prayed with himself, the literal Greek here is actually pros heauton<\/em>. So it\u2019s literally \u201che prayed to himself,\u201d whereas the tax collector prays to God. [3]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

To see what is so fundamentally wrong with the Pharisee\u2019s prayer, we can look at some of St. Teresa of Avila\u2019s definitions of prayer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p>

What I have come to understand is that this whole groundwork of prayer is based on humility and that the more a soul lowers itself in prayer the more God raises it up.[4]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There is no friendship with God in the pharisee\u2019s attitude. Imagine a friend coming up to you and then announcing all the good things he does and how he is more righteous than others in following the law. Patting his own shoulder at the same time in self-congratulations while pointing out others he holds in disdain. At the same time, this friend never even mentions you. This is no friend at all. His prayer is like a boomerang returning to himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning to Brant Pitre:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe prayed to himself.\u201d That\u2019s the essence of idolatry\u2014 to make oneself God and to take God off the throne.[3]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, the Publican is both humble and repentant. He is truly speaking to God as a friend and seeking forgiveness for how he has wronged him. He does not withhold anything from him and opens himself up for mercy. He does not try to justify or excuse his failures, yet he walks away justified. As Peter Kreeft writes: \u201cDon\u2019t ask God for justice; ask him for mercy. Because you will get what you ask for.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brant Pitre comments on the last line of this parable:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So in fact\u2014just to be clear here too\u2014when Jesus uses the word \u201cexalt,\u201d the Greek hypso\u014d<\/em> literally means to lift yourself up, and then tapeino\u014d<\/em> \u2014to humble yourself\u2014means to bring yourself down.[3]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

John Bergsma gives a good summation of the contrast between the two men:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus\u2019s point is not<\/em> that it is good to collaborate with an oppressive regime and cheat the poor, nor that fasting is bad and greed, dishonesty, and adultery are good. Jesus\u2019s point is<\/em> that pride can overshadow all other sins, and that if we have attained all other human virtues but retained pride in ourselves, we are like someone who has not even begun the spiritual life.[2]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

St. Francis de Sales, in his \u201cIntroduction to the Devout Life,\u201d wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vain Pharisee held the humble tax collector to be a great sinner, or even perhaps an unjust man, an adulterer, or an extortioner. But he was greatly deceived, for at that very time the tax collector was justified.<\/p>

Alas! Since the goodness of God is so immense that one moment suffices to obtain and receive his grace, what assurance can we have, that he who was yesterday a sinner is not a saint today?<\/p>

The day that is past ought not to judge the present day, nor the present day judge that which is past: it is only the last day that judges all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Returning to the Catechism:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a72559<\/strong> \u201cPrayer is the raising of one\u2019s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.\u201d But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or \u201cout of the depths\u201d of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility<\/em> is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that \u201cwe do not know how to pray as we ought,\u201d are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. \u201cMan is a beggar before God.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n