Our Gospel today presents us with an interesting challenge, if we complete reading it without feeling a bit self-conscious, we probably need to read it again and spend more time contemplating it. It’s really easy to simply look at the contrast between the Pharisee and the Tax Collector and walk away thinking that the Pharisee is a bit full of himself and then perhaps empathize solely with the Tax Collector. There isn’t much doubt that the Pharisee made a mistake in the way he thought of himself as being superior to the Tax Collector and even stated so in his prayer. Where he messed up was in contrasting himself with another human being, rather than humbly contrasting himself with God’s example and acknowledging how much room he had for self-improvement. The truth is, if we look at the Pharisee in the same way and compare ourselves with him, we have then fallen into the same trap.
There is literally no one that we are called to ever compare ourselves with as Christians and seek to emulate other than our Lord Jesus Christ – period. There is no other example so perfect. Nor is there anyone that we are ever called to judge by comparing their conduct with our own. This is the reason that our Lord was so adamant, and stated so often, that we were never to judge others, and that we were to conduct ourselves always with humility. He alone is the just judge, and we are the ones that need to always alert to the fact that we will one day be judged by Him.
The first reading today from Sirach paints the picture rather clearly with his opening statement – “The Lord is a God of justice who knows no favorites”. In short, the playing field is completely level in Gods eyes. No matter what our circumstance, His call to each of us is simply to obey His word, and to look to Him always for help. He will hear our cries for help and will never ignore them. He will also hear the cries of all of our brothers and sisters and will know how they are being treated. If we ignore them when they are in need, do we really think that our Lord will not be aware of this? If we oppress them, do we really think that our Lord will not see our actions? He is the God of justice, and knows their hearts and our hearts, He knows our capabilities, He knows our faults. There is absolutely nothing hidden from Him ever, and all these things will be weighed when He judges each of us.
If all this sounds a bit dire, the good news is that our Lord is also merciful. He sees not just our faults, but also our efforts, imperfect though they may be. As our Father, he loves our efforts, rather than focusing solely on our faults. He sees where we need help, and He anticipates our needs. When we ask for help, He is compassionate and generous in what He gives us. He seeks for us to understand that the love and mercy He shows us is the mercy we are called to show others, and the love that we are called to embrace them with.
The Deacons Bench 