Years ago, I saw a fascinating exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle that featured many relics from the Titanic, even a section of its hull. She was the most majestic ship of her day. 882 feet long, the HMS Titanic weighed 46,328 tons. With a crew of 400 and a hotel staff of 518, the world’s largest ship could carry 2,433 passengers.
On the night of April 14, 1912, the “unthinkable” happened to this “unsinkable” ship. Near midnight, the great Titanic hit an iceberg that ripped open five watertight compartments. Two and one half hours later, she sank, claiming 1513 lives. They died because the crew had ignored warnings that the ship was speeding into an ice field, the radio operator of a nearby ship was off duty and there were not enough lifeboats on board. Would the unthinkable have happened had the White Star Line realized that no ship was unsinkable?
With the confidence of the Titanic, we breeze through life confident that we will reach the port of heaven. After all, we are Christians and Jesus has assured us that our faith is the way to salvation. Follow the rules and you have it made. Observe the commandments, attend Mass each weekend, celebrate the sacraments, support the parish, and you will surely experience eternal life.
This is what the Pharisee believed, boasting in the temple that all his deeds ought to be pleasing to God. He was outstanding in his observance of the law. For example, Jews were only required to fast once a year on the feast of Yom Kippur, but he fasted twice a week. He set himself apart from others with his holier than thou attitude, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity, greedy, dishonest, adulterous, or even like this tax collector.” His pride was his undoing. Compared to the penitent tax collector, his attitude is arrogant to say the least.
He may have been highly regarded by others in public, but as Jesus makes clear in this parable, being self-righteous does not make one righteous in the sight of God.
Jesus cautions his listeners that the unthinkable could happen to them if they did not heed his warnings to change their attitude. So far as the self-righteous Pharisee was concerned, he was doing all the right things, unlike everyone else. So, he voiced no regrets. There was no sense of contrition in his prayer, or should I say, his speech. The tax collector, on the other hand, was quite remorseful. Too embarrassed to look up, he asked for the one thing that God wants to give us: mercy. He, not the Pharisee, went home justified. Undoubtedly, the outcome of this parable startled his listeners.
Unlike the Pharisee, the tax collector went home a changed man. He left the temple with a clean conscience, thus in good standing with God. The Pharisee on the other hand came to the temple an arrogant snob and he left for home still an arrogant snob.
Are we hearing Jesus’ warning loud and clear? However good we deem ourselves to be, do we see ourselves as sinners in need of repentance? The tax collector did. Unlike the Pharisee, he faced the truth about himself. Approaching prayer with humility, he knows that he can do nothing apart from God and if he was to change, he would need God’s help, so he confesses, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Humbling himself meant facing up to the truth.
A highly regarded biblical scholar, Fr. Raymond Brown, once said that if no change happens as a result of prayer, then we haven’t really prayed. Can you see how one prayed and the other didn’t? The manner in which we pray, the words we speak, the posture we assume, and our willingness to listen reveals how readily we relate to God.
This well-known parable challenges us to realize how vital prayer is if we really want to be with God. No matter how “holy” we become, even if we do every good thing and avoid every bad thing, we cannot save ourselves. Only God can for salvation is God’s gift to us.
Love and repentance, not self-righteousness, is what matters in nurturing our relationship with God. They increase our love of God, others and self, while self-righteousness blinds us to our sinfulness. Quite simply, we cannot be self-righteous and faithful at the same time.
If you are at a loss for what to say when you pray, consider the tax collector’s prayer. His prayer became the basis for what is known as the “Jesus prayer,” which I pray daily. “Lord Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Breathe in as you say his name, and breathe out as you express your plea. That prayer along with a good examination of conscience is a fitting way to end each day.
The tax collector was justified because he discovered, like Paul, that the race we call life can’t be finished without God’s help. Paul proclaims that God was there to give him strength in his trials and would ultimately bring him safely home to heaven. The same is true for us but first we must be willing to let God change us. The good news of this parable is that every one of us can go home justified. All we need to do is take an honest look at ourselves, repent of our sin and pride, then rely on God’s wisdom and mercy to change us for the better. With God’s help and grace, we too can fight the good fight and not allow the unthinkable to happen to us.