the pharisee and the publican

Homily on the pharisee and the publican 

Once a woman, having locked her keys inside her car, prayed to God for assistance. Just then a man walked by saw the situation and immediately without any tool opened the car door for her. She said, “Thank you God for sending a very nice person to help me”. The man said, “I am not nice and just now got out jail for auto theft”. 

She then said to God, “Thank you God for even sending me a professional”. 

Dear friends in Jesus, 

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only son of God is the way, the truth and the life. And anyone who puts His faith and trust in Him will have more of everything. He will be given life that will never end. Everything comes from Christ and ends in Christ. Jesus is our life-giver who does great things for us. 

Once a man came to Christ and said, “O Lord, which is the best of all commandments?’ and Jesus said, ‘You should love the Lord your God with all your mind, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength”. This is the best of all commandment. 

And in today’s gospel, we meet with a pharisee who keeps the first commandment so well. He loves the Lord our God with all his heart, mind, body and soul. He prays to God saying, “God, I am a holy man. I pray five times a day and fast twice a week and give ten percent of all my income to the synagogue”.  

He was a perfect holy man. That was their only aim and goal in their lives doing their religious duties so well. They never missed anything religiously. They strongly believed in God almighty. There was nothing wrong with them religiously. 

Then what was their challenge? Why were they often criticized and even been called ‘Hypocrites’ by Christ our Lord? 

It’s because their religious life was not translated into their social life. Their religious pride took them away from everyday people and events.  

Once a man said to the master, “Master, I was the only one reading the holy bible and meditating on it while my six brothers were sleeping”. The master said, “Son, if your worship of God consists of accusation against your own brethren, then you too had better be asleep”. 

The purpose of prayer is to purify oneself and not to find fault with others. 

The Pharisee had a great connection with God. His religious life was awesome, but that life did not translate well in His every day social life. And Christ who then added to the commandments said, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. This is the second commandment”.  

On the other hand, the pharisee who was doing everything so well, made a mistake of comparing himself with the other saying, ‘I am far better than that man who is a sinner”. 

And thus, Jesus Christ our Lord says, “the other man went down to his home justified rather than the other” 

Our coming to Church, receiving churches sacraments should reflect on how we look at others and how we accept others. How do you look at your children and grandchildren who don’t come to church? How do you look at your friends and family members who do not pray the way you pray? 

God is in them and it’s in them, we find the light of Christ. If we do not see God in others, we cannot find God in anywhere. God is not hiding in the sky but is living in our brothers and sisters. So, let us pray like the pharisee and be humble like the publican and thus we will find God everywhere. Amen.