Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

 

Deacon Dave · Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Homily for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Oct. 26, 2025. Gospel of St. Luke 18:9-14. Theme: Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector 

 In today’s gospel a Pharisee and a tax collector go to the Jerusalem Temple to pray. These two men stand in stark opposition to one another and it seems that Jesus intentionally chose such a contrast of characters to emphasize that salvation is not something that we can earn or deserve. Rather, it’s a free gift of God that is given to the humble of heart and not at all the result of our efforts and religious practices. So, let’s take another look at these two men and see what they have to say to us. 

 On one hand we have a Pharisee. That name means “the separated ones” because the Pharisees prided themselves on remaining away from and untouched by the pagan influences all around them. Their idea of devotion to God was found in observing every little detail of the many religious rules and rituals that filled up daily Jewish life. Thus, they defined holiness in legal terms and their approach to God was like carrying out the various stipulations of a contract. The Pharisees represented the epitome of spirituality and righteous living to the people of Israel. So Jesus’ listeners would quite naturally assume that this man was the “good guy” of the story, the one who would obviously please God the most. 

 On the other hand we have a tax collector. Now, they were considered to be the most vile of Jewish men because they had turned their backs on the God of Israel in order to work for the pagan emperor-god of Rome. They were considered traitors who sold out their people for the sake of personal gain. Not only did they collect the unjust Roman taxes, but they padded their accounts to make sure that they got a nice fat commission off the blood, sweat and tears of their fellow Jews. They were despised in their villages and rejected by their own families. Those who heard Jesus speaking this parable would have been sure that there was no way that such a scoundrel could possibly be favored by God. But Jesus is always full of surprises! 

 As we just heard in the Gospel, the Pharisee entered the Temple and stood tall and proud as he confidently rattled off all his religious achievements. He was laboring under the false impression that he could sway God and purchase holiness with the currency of his spiritual practices and financial contributions. Now, his fasting and alms were both excellent deeds, but their religious value got spoiled when he turned them into a spiritual résumé that he assumed would win for him a divine pat on the back! 

 The parable then moves on to the tax collector who dared to enter the temple area. I say “dared” because it was a risky venture as he was not supposed to be there. You see, tax collectors were not allowed to enter the Jerusalem Temple since they were excommunicated from Jewish worship. But his inner desire to set things right with God made him take the risk. So, even before we hear his humble prayer for mercy, his actions reveal the deep yearning for God that was in his heart. Then once he was successfully inside, he wouldn't lift his eyes to gaze upon the sacredness of the Temple, for he felt himself unworthy to even look upon what was holy. Instead, he struck his chest in a gesture of penitence as he repeated: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” That’s all. No résumé of spiritual works. No excuses for his bad choices and selfish behavior. No promises that he might not be able to keep. He didn’t pretend to be anything other than what he was: a sinner in need of redemption. And because of his stark honesty with God he went home justified, which means “being put into a right relationship with God.” 

 Jesus astounded his listeners by making this tax collector the “good guy” instead of the Pharisee. What made him the hero of the parable was what we call “humility of heart”, which is an honest assessment and a truthful awareness about who and what we are in relation to the glory and holiness of God. The Bible tells us from beginning to end that it is precisely this interior disposition that attracts God’s mercy to us sinners like iron shavings to a magnet! In fact, humility of heart is really the only way to open the door to living life with God. Otherwise we shut him out because we are so full of ourselves that there is no room left for him! 

 While humility enables us to see and fully admit that we are sinners it doesn’t stop there because that’s not the whole story of who we are. Humility goes on to remind us that yes, although we are indeed sinners, we are nevertheless passionately and personally each loved by God our Father who is rich in mercy. Humility opens our eyes to the truth that we are all in need of his grace and that none of us is greater than another in God’s sight. It enables us to acknowledge our sins and so receive forgiveness. It expands our hearts so that we can have patience and be understanding of others because it reminds us that they too are sinners who stand in need of redemption. Humility moves us to forgive others just as God has forgiven us and to accept others just as Christ has accepted us. 

 I think that one reason why Jesus told this Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector is because he knows that there’s a bit of both men inside each one of us. Sometimes, if we are honest about it, we pray like the Pharisee saying: “O Lord, thank you that I’m not like that inconsiderate person at work… Thank you that I am not like that annoying neighbor next door… Thank you that I am not like that dirty bum on the street…” But then at other times we become more aware of our true moral status. Like the tax collector, we clearly see our spiritual poverty and so we cry out : “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. Jesus invites each one of us to choose to walk on the challenging pathway of humility. And to help us better do so he has given us the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Eucharist so that through the grace bestowed by these sacred rituals, the Pharisee within us will shrink and the tax collector within us will grow until finally, he is the only one left standing and praying in the temple of our hearts.

Seven Washings for Seven Sacraments

 

Deacon Dave · Seven Washings for Seven Sacraments

Homily for the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Oct. 12, 2025. 2 Kings 5:14-17 (for the full story read 5:1-19). Theme: Seven Washings for Seven Sacraments 

Today’s first reading from the Old Testament about Naaman the Syrian took place around 850 years before the birth of Christ. Unfortunately, for some reason our Liturgy has us dropping into the story almost at its end! But if we don’t know the whole story then we’ll miss out on some extremely important details that enable us to better appreciate how Naaman’s cure, through the seven washings in the Jordan River, has meaning for us today. So, let’s take a quick look at the missing back-story. 

 Naaman was the prestigious commander of the great and powerful Syrian army. In one of his many raids upon Israel, he had captured a young girl whom he gave as a slave to his wife. After he contracted leprosy, this slave-girl told him about Elisha, a powerful prophet of the One True God back in her homeland. She assured him that through this holy man he could be healed. So, Naaman, filled with hope, set off for the land of the Hebrews seeking the cure. 

 Being a pagan he was used to a lot of fanfare and frenzy in religious rituals. And so, Naaman imagined that the God of Israel would manifest himself by means of dazzling displays of power and might! However, no such spiritual fireworks were connected with his instructions for a cure. Elisha simply told Naaman to go and immerse himself seven times in the Jordan River if he wished to be healed. This high and mighty soldier was insulted by such a lack of attention to what he thought should be a proper religious ceremony! He grew furious because he felt like he'd been treated disrespectfully and made to look like a fool. In his wounded pride, Naaman refused the offer, packed up his things and intended to head back to Syria. 

 However, Naaman’s servants convinced him to at least give it a try. They reasoned that if Elisha had told him to do some bizarre things, such as jumping up and down and chanting magic incantations, he would have surely done so. Then why not do as the prophet said and wash seven times in the Jordan River? What did he have to lose? What harm could that do, they reasoned? They encouraged him to at least give it a try and to see what happens. It’s at this point that we enter into the story in our first reading. And as we now know Naaman was indeed healed of leprosy and through this miracle was converted to faith in the One True God. 

 So, why do we Catholics bother to remember this story of an ancient Syrian and include it in our sacred Liturgy? Well, because it was foreshadowing, a prophecy in actions rather than in words, about how God’s healing presence and power enters into our own lives today. We see Naaman’s experience of God’s presence reflected in our seven sacraments that make use of ordinary things to bring the divine into our lives. Like Naaman, it’s easy for us to doubt that Heaven can touch earth through such seemingly ordinary things as the water of baptism, the oils of Confirmation and Anointing, the bread and wine of the Eucharist, the laying on of hands at Ordination, or the words of mutual love exchanged by bride and groom at Matrimony. 

 We understand Naaman’s initial doubt because at times we also find it in ourselves. I mean, it takes faith to imagine that simply through the pouring of water in baptism, we are healed of our spiritual emptiness and put into a right relationship with God. And it sounds incredible to say that ordinary bread and wine at Mass are truly transformed into the very Body and Blood of the Risen Lord Jesus! And we might even balk at the thought that through our simple apology to God in Confession our deepest sins are completely erased and our darkest past is totally forgiven. And yet this is precisely what happens to us and for us through the celebration of the Sacraments. They become the ways by which we share in the miraculous seven washings of Naaman in the Jordan River. 

 And so Naaman's story teaches us how we should approach the Sacraments if we hope to benefit from their blessings. He wasn’t cured by simply going through the action of seven washings. Naaman was healed because along with “the doing” he had “the believing” even if it wasn't a totally perfect belief. But it was enough to show God that he was humble and sincere. And it’s the same for each one of us in regards to the Sacraments. We know that their spiritual power doesn’t depend solely upon saying the right words or doing the right actions. That would be a superstitious pagan approach to religious ceremony every bit as much as Naaman did in the beginning. But if we receive the Sacraments with faith then God will surely reach out to us and touch us through these sacred rituals, just as surely as he once reached out to touch and heal Naaman through the seven washings in the Jordan River.

That Amazing Mustard-Seed-Sized Faith!

 

Deacon Dave · That Amazing Mustard-Seed-Sized Faith!

Homily for the 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Oct. 5, 2025. Luke 17:5-10. Theme: That Amazing Mustard-Seed-Sized Faith! 

In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches us about the power of a genuine faith and how it can bring about amazing and unexpected results. He uses the very tiny mustard seed that his listeners were all familiar with to illustrate this truth. Just as that mustard seed contains within it the potential of bringing forth a huge bush, so does an act of confident faith contain within it the power to do the impossible and accomplish much good in the world. But quite often this requires that we be willing to step out of our comfort zones to do something that we did not plan to do or even something that we do not think we can do. But this is where trust in God comes into play and once we take that first step in faith, God’s grace rushes in and enables us to do amazing things. Two inspiring examples of this mustard-seed sized faith at work happened right within the lifetimes of many of us. 

 In 1948, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was just an ordinary nun like so many others who spent their days teaching wealthy girls in India. But every day she had to come face-to-face with the destitute poverty and ravaging hunger of the poor outcasts in the city’s dirty streets. Her mustard-seed sized faith told her that God was asking her to do something about it. It was telling her to move out of her comfortable convent, to exchange her fancy nun clothes for a typical poor Indian woman’s sari, and to go live among the poor as one of them. 

 Mother Teresa trusted and then she began to do what God seemed to be asking of her even though she didn’t fully understand it. She took that first step of faith into the scary unknown and dedicated herself to a life of service among the poorest of the poor. At first she was all by herself but soon other women came to join her. Many of them had once been her wealthy students but now they had become her Sisters in a brand new religious community called the “Missionaries of Charity”, which is just another way of saying, “Ambassadors of God’s Love”. 

 Many years later, after she was world famous as a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Mother Teresa was asked how it all started. She replied, “I never thought of doing anything big. I just saw one poor abandoned dying man lying in the street and so I picked him up and brought him home.” Today, there are over 4,000 Missionaries of Charity Sisters and Brothers, as well as lay Co-Workers of Mother Teresa, relieving the suffering of hundreds of thousands across the globe. All of this good happened because of God acting through one person’s mustard-seed-sized faith that was built upon confident trust in him. 

 On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a devout Christian black woman in Montgomery, Alabama, was on a segregated bus-ride home after a long day at work. At one of the stops, 4 black passengers were told to give up their seats for the newly boarding white passengers. Three of them got up. But Rosa stayed put. She was tired from a long day of work and and was even more tired of giving in to injustice and discrimination. Her mustard-seed sized faith inside her told her not to move. It reminded her that she had dignity as a human being, as a child of God, redeemed by Jesus Christ just like anyone else. The police were called and Rosa was arrested on the spot. She then lost her job. 

 Once word of what she did spread, the entire black population of Montgomery boycotted the bus system for 381 days. They brought it to a stop-still, causing it to fall right down on its financial knees. This protest eventually resulted in a Supreme Court decision of opening up the doors to racial equality to all Americans, no matter who or what they are. It jump-started the civil rights movement that became a tidal wave of justice washing across the entire nation. All of this good happened because of God acting through one person’s mustard-seed-sized faith that was built upon confident trust in him. 

 What small act of charity or justice, needing the power of a mustard-seed sized faith to jump-start it, might God be asking each of us? Is there something that we know we could be doing but don’t have the courage to step out of our comfort zones to do? Is there some person or group that needs our help but we are hesitant to get involved or change our schedule to do so? Whatever it might be, don’t fall for the lie that it has to be something great and significant in order to make any real and lasting difference in the world. 

 Mother Teresa never had the slightest clue that picking up one dying man off the streets of Calcutta would result in an international movement of charity on behalf of the poorest of the poor. And Rosa Parks had absolutely no idea that her refusal to give up her seat on that segregated bus in Montgomery would become the catalyst for a worldwide awareness of racial equality and justice. Each one of them was simply activating their mustard-seed sized faith and started off by doing just one seemingly little thing that they thought needed to be done at that time and in that place.. But it just goes to show us that it’s absolutely amazing what God can do through one person’s mustard-seed-sized faith when we have confident trust in him.

Mother Teresa & Rosa Parks, 1981