The Pharisee and the tax collector

Today’s Gospel reading is a story that is known to all Christians because it is the way that our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us how we ought to pray and the proper demeanor or attitude we ought to have while we are praying. You can see this passage in Luke 18:9-14.

[Jesus] addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. 10 “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

What a fascinating story! It’s so simple, so direct so pure. Surely when we read this passage we can readily understand it. I once read a book where the author suggested that the best way to read parables is when we internalize the entire story to the point that we should become one of the characters of the story we are reading. So in this particular case, you can either choose to be the Pharisee or the tax collector.

So for the sake of this exercise, let’s start emulating the Pharisee. This priest of ancient times was undoubtedly full of himself. He was proud to be a Pharisee (whom Jesus once said loved their tassels and their special places of honor in banquets) and was therefore considered as part of the temple. So when he prayed to God, he virtually thanked the Lord for being given that special blessing that freed him from the filth of humanity’s wretched ways where greed, corruption and lust were the order of the day. That despite his being connected with the Holy Temple, he still paid full tithes while other Jews failed to do so. This fellow, no doubt, exalted himself in his prayer to God.

Now let’s move on to the other character in this story. This fellow is a tax collector and in ancient Palestine under the Roman Empire, he was considered an unpleasant man, the least respected in the Jewish world, for tax collectors collect money from their Jewish brethren in order to serve their Roman masters. Most tax collectors were considered rich as most of them were corrupt. But this tax collector also went to the Holy Temple with a very simple prayer, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

Clearly, between the two, it was the tax collector who acknowledged before God that he was a sinner and was seeking only mercy from God. The Pharisee too thanked God, but loathed the presence of the tax collector. He had already judged the tax collector. The key phrase to remember is what our Lord Jesus Christ said, “for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

So let’s ask ourselves… do we still see these two characters today, 2000 years after this parable was taught by our Lord Jesus Christ? I’m sure that most of you already think that the role of the Pharisee is akin or parallel to that of our priests today. You are right… after all, there are many bishops and priests who despise Lay organizations (especially the ones who talk a lot about the Bible) because the bishops and priest studied years in college or in the seminary, while the lay faithful only studied in a Bible class. This parable ought to teach our bishops and priests that their role is not to despise the sinner, but counsel them and evangelize them.

But there are many Pharisees in our midst who are not necessarily a member of the clergy. These people believe that they are special kind of people, just like that Pharisee. I’m sure that you already read in the news that the deposed Pres. Joseph “Erap” Estrada had been granted a presidential pardon and clemency by Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. This decision has caused uproar with those who believe that in this nation where justice is elusive, another grave injustice has been done because Erap got that pardon even without his admission of guilt. What about those who are languishing in jail for lesser crimes? Shouldn’t they also be granted a presidential pardon?

This parable teaches us that God admires those who confess their sins before him. Therefore, when we are inside the church, when you look around and see a sinner, please do not judge that person. He or she might just be inside the church asking God for his mercy and admitting that he or she is a sinner. After all, Jesus came into this world to save the sinner while the righteous ones who believe they are unblemished… have no need for God.