Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Jesus addresses his parable in the Gospel today to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. To be blunt, He is talking to you. He is talking to me. I’m not proud of it, but the truth is that I am often convinced of my own righteousness and sometimes am so convinced that I look down my nose at others. Most of us are this way, and most of us act this way, from time to time. In a very simple parable, Jesus illuminates the problem and provides a remedy.

The Pharisee engages in a form of prayer that is not foreign to human experience. Every so often, it’s nice to recognize your virtue, to take note of strengths, gifts, or talents. But honest assessment of our positive qualities easily becomes prideful boasting when we think that our good traits set us apart, or above, other people. Very simply, the focus of our prayer ought not be on telling God how great we are or that we’re better than others. On the other hand, the tax collector has the right disposition. This is surprising, for, as you know, a tax collector was regarded as the worst kind of sinner. The title implies more than an occupation. A tax collector is one who has betrayed his own nation, has signed up to work for and cooperate with an evil empire (the Romans), who steals from the poor and the widow, who destroys lives, families, and communities. A tax collector knows better and so is worthy of the harshest condemnation. Thus, this man’s prayer in the parable is not a boast, but instead a humble petition for forgiveness. “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

From this simple parable, we can glean some practical tips. Like the tax collector, we ought to acknowledge that we are sinners in need of mercy. The best place for us to do this is in the sacrament of confession. In the confessional, we do not need to tell God (or the priest) about how good we are: the whole point of the sacrament is to humbly confess our sins and ask forgiveness. Sometimes a Pharisee shows up for confession, though. “Father, I don’t lie and I haven’t stolen anything, and I’ve never committed adultery. I guess I could be more careful about my language sometimes, and I should probably be more patient.” While I’m all for not lying, stealing, or cheating, the purpose of confession is not to list the bad behavior you have not engaged in, but to confess the sins actually committed. When you come to confession, start by asking forgiveness for the sins you’ve committed, and name them plainly. No euphemisms are necessary in the confessional. Don’t try to sanitize your sin, and don’t think that you need to confess the sins of others who, if they were just better people, wouldn’t have made you so sinful. If Jesus can be blunt with us (convinced as we are of our own righteousness) we can be blunt with Him!

Lest this all seem like fire and brimstone, condemnation and guilt, Jesus ends the parable by telling us that the tax collector, the sinner, went home justified and forgiven. His humility before God is what raises him up. It will be the same for us. With the humility of knowing our need for mercy, we can appreciate our virtue and our good qualities differently. Now our strengths will not be cause for boasting but cause for wonder and awe before God. How wonderful that God could take a sinner like me and still make me patient, or charitable, or honest, or chaste, or kind! What an amazing work of God’s grace it truly is that this sinner can also do something holy and good. Do you want to go home justified and forgiven? Do you want to be raised up and exalted? Let us begin with humility, with the confession of our sins. When our first prayer is the sinner’s prayer – “O God, be merciful to me a sinner” – the Lord in His goodness and mercy will do the rest. We will go home – both to our earthly home, and one day to our eternal home – truly justified, healed, and forgiven.

Peace,

Fr. Sam