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“The Pharisee and the Publican”
Artist and date are unknown |
Readings for Saturday of the Third Week of Lent [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading I: Hosea 6:1-6
“Come, let us return to the LORD,
it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;
he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
He will revive us after two days;
on the third day he will raise us up,
to live in his presence.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth.”
What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your piety is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that early passes away.
For this reason I smote them through the prophets,
I slew them by the words of my mouth;
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
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Commentary on Hos 6:1-6
Hosea portrays the people of Israel as the faithless harlot. Repenting past sins she thinks to return to God who will raise Israel up to salvation after three days in the tomb. The image prefigures the Messiah. The prophet continues with the voice of God. Recognizing their faithlessness, he calls for authentic love, not empty sacrifices.
CCC: Hos 6:1-6 2787; Hos 6:2 627; Hos 6:6 589, 2100
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab
R. (see Hosea 6:6) It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness
by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem;
Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices,
burnt offerings and holocausts.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
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Commentary on Ps 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab
The psalm response is taken from the end of Hosea. The psalm itself is a lament, asking God for compassion as a consequence of the baptismal bath (“Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.”). It then echoes the need for the spirit of authentic worship, not empty sacrifices.
CCC: Ps 51:19 1428, 2100
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Gospel: Luke 18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity -
greedy, dishonest, adulterous - or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
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Commentary on Lk 18:9-14
The Gospel story is the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (tax collector). Here we find Jesus addressing those who think of themselves as closer to God, and therefore better than those who are not so scrupulous in their worship. It is the second of two consecutive parables on prayer. In this one, the Lord takes a critical stance against the prideful Pharisee, telling his disciples that, like the tax collector, their prayer must recognize that all have sinned, and all must be humble before God. The parable carries a message and image similar to the earlier parable (Luke 7:36-50) where Christ forgives the sinful woman in the house of Simon.
Jesus points out that the Pharisee, who focuses on pious acts to demonstrate his own holiness, misses the point of God’s desire for authentic worship, while because of his humility and authenticity, the tax collector will be “justified.” It is easier to hear in the Jerusalem Bible version which says; “This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not.”
CCC: Lk 18:9-14 2559, 2613; Lk 18:9 588; Lk 18:13 2631, 2667, 2839
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Reflection:
The readings, starting with Hosea, moving through Psalm 51, and concluding with the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican from St. Luke’s Gospel have one focal theme. The Lord wants BELIEF, not just a demonstration.
There is a temptation that we may experience at this point in our Lenten journey. For those of us who have been faithful to the discipline of Lent, it is easy to look at what we have done to this point with a sense of accomplishment. We have, after all, been rigorous in observing meatless Fridays. We have stalwartly maintained our self-denial (holding fast to what we “gave up” for Lent). We may have attended Stations of the Cross each Friday or some other part of a self-imposed discipline. Having done these things, it is easy to look back at three weeks of “holiness” and say, “How good am I? I’m so much better than those who have fallen away, or than those who are so casual about their faith that they do not even observe the Lenten fast.” Placing the reminder of the need for humility contained in Scripture at this point in our journey was a stroke of genius by the compilers of the Roman Missal.
What we do for the sake of our faith must be done for God and God alone. It should not be done for others to see. We should not be tempted to the sins of pride or vanity because we have been given the gift of religious freedom and the luxury of time to be able to follow the discipline of our faith.
Our worship must be for the greater glory of God and with a clear recognition that it is with the utmost humility that we should approach the Lord of the universe. We who claim to know him best through our prayer and devotion should be the most awed by his beneficence, not believing we have some special insight and privilege to God’s favor.
When we start feeling “full of ourselves,” let us remember how far we have to travel to reach the level of understanding of the saints whom we hope to join one day. We leave you today with the words of Saint Augustine, quoted by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in his encyclical Spe Salvi:
“The turbulent have to be corrected, the faint-hearted cheered up, the weak supported; the Gospel's opponents need to be refuted, its insidious enemies guarded against; the unlearned need to be taught, the indolent stirred up, the argumentative checked; the proud must be put in their place, the desperate set on their feet, those engaged in quarrels reconciled; the needy have to be helped, the oppressed to be liberated, the good to be encouraged, the bad to be tolerated; all must be loved”.
“The Gospel terrifies me”[4]
Pax
Stations of the Cross
[1] The picture is “The Pharisee and the Publican” Artist and date are unknown.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Sermo 340, 3: PL 38, 1484; cf. F. Van der Meer, Augustine the Bishop, London and New York 1961, p.268.
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