HOMILY 30TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH, ATTITUDE AND ACTION, NOT JUDGEMENT
Lk 18.9-14 Ecc 35.12-14,16-19 2Tim 4.6-8,16-18
As my friend Claude Mostowik MSC says: “A recurring theme in Luke is that God’s grace is received from a position of weakness, lack or destitution. We saw this last week as the widow confronted the unjust judge from a position of social powerlessness, and today the tax collector… seeks God’s mercy from a position of moral unworthiness, whereas the Pharisee presumes his entitlement.”
So now it’s time for today’s parable, another one we’ve all heard often before. Who’s up front and who’s down the back? And who’s the better person? The Pharisee here is not a hypocrite, as he seems to have done all the right things, or so he says! At the same time, he can’t help himself in being critical of the chap behind him, without really knowing all the facts for one thing, and then making a harsh and negative judgement of him.
The tax collector has done much wrong in his life and work, but he has come to a point of realization that there’s time to acknowledge his sins and to repent, relying on a God of mercy and forgiveness, which is at the heart of our own faith.
The main trouble is with the self-righteous boaster. Pharisees cop bad press all the way in the Gospels, but not all! This one seems to have done his best to practise what he preached, but still, that’s not good enough. To lead by example is one thing, but the follow up is to encourage, praise, perhaps correct, rather than criticise and look down condescendingly. He can’t see anything good in the tax collector, stereotyping him as nothing but trouble, confirming the hostile view that others generally have of him. It could be imagined that his self-confidence and self-image would be rather low. At the same time, he is looking upwards, acknowledging a God of love, life and forgiveness, so there is hope for a better future.
Last Monday I celebrated a graduation Mass for 150 or so Year 12 St Columba’s young ladies, and their parents and teachers. The task for me is always to try to engage with their thnking and outlook on life and the future, as they look forward to new challenges and opportunities, meaning and purpose in life.
The Gospel chosen was from Matthew’s Gospel about being salt of the earth and light of the world, but I extended it to include the preceding teaching of Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, where he presents the Beatitudes as a charter for Christian life and love. We hear them often enough, and don’t they sound lovely, but do we look further at what they really mean? I see them as positive attitudes to be taken up and applied to our own lives, as we face up to the day to day routine of life, doing the little things well.
The images of salt and light remind us that we are to try to be enthusiastic in living the Christian life, and reflecting the light of Jesus in the way we lead by example, and demonstrate his love in action.
Stan Grant, theologian, author and journalist, gave an insightful lecture this week, at the Centre for Public Christianity, with the heading “In a girl’s tears, the search for our soul”, where he reflects on Kate, an indigenous teenage, girl feeling despair at the state of the world and the injustice of her own historical roots.
He tries to offer some hope to raise her perspective to looking at a better, not bitter or resentful future. Says Stan: “I am here… to talk about faith, about God, love, truth, beauty and forgiveness. Kate should be full of the possibilities of life. She should be introduced to music, art, poetry, philosophy. Her life should be one of adventure and learning grounded in her culture and her faith… Surely the aim of life is to cleanse ourselves of pain. My faith tells me: Christ took that pain on his body. That is what he died for. I have no need to put him back on the cross of history… I do not believe human life is bleak. Beauty abounds even in darkness. In a lifetime of reporting in times of war and natural disaster, I have met phenomenal people of faith and hope… “.
Then he concludes with a simple personal example: “My father needs constant care. Each night before she goes to sleep, my mother enacts her little ritual of placing a spoonful of coffeeinto two cups and filling her jug with water. This is Mum’s promise that there will be a tomorrow. That’s where we fight for the human soul: in the little things”. Hopefully, that’s the way our younger generation will see faith and life, as people of hope and action.
So I go back to our two characters in the Temple today, both of whom we can all identify at times. It’s easy to take the superior attitude that I am doing all the right things, and to be critical when and where others are not. On the other hand, we should also consider reflecting the humility and penitence of the sinner at the back, seeking forgiveness and with an intention of doing better.
Brendan Byrne SJ also has a good insight: “The application of general moral rules and norms to individual lives requires sympathy and pastoral understanding of the pressures and burdens most people have to bear. The parable suggests that God’s view, at any rate, does not always simply run along conventional lines, The divine impulse is always towards acceptance, mercy and liberation.”
The Christian perspective is about being positive and hopeful, living for others, not just for ourselves, sharing our resources, giving of our time and energy, being sensitive and compassionate to those around us, lending a listening ear, a word of encouragement, and seeking a little help from our friends when we need it.
john hannon 26th October 2025