The Humility of a Sinner

Homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Sirach 35.12-14, 16-18 Psalm 34 2 Timothy 4.6-8, 16-18 Luke 18.9-14

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Think back to the last time you judged someone. Unfortunately, it’s something we all do with some frequency. It might have been last night, when you were out to eat or going shopping and you made a mental judgment about a stranger you walked by – perhaps about the person’s appearance or behavior. It might have been this morning as you were listening to the daily news, judging the latest instant celebrity or politician running for office. Or it might have been just seconds ago, when you passed judgment on someone else sitting right here in this church, maybe even in the very pew you are sitting in, judging their attitude or their reverence or something you heard someone else say they heard from a friend about this person. When was the last time you judged someone, and why did you do it? Keep that in the back of your mind.

Now take the Pharisee in today’s parable. He certainly passed judgment on the tax collector he saw at the Temple – he even tried to judge the whole of humanity, calling the entire human race greedy, dishonest, and adulterous. Now, the Pharisee probably was a good person – he probably did fast and tithe, he did his best to avoid greed and dishonesty. But look at the way he judges – he judges others in comparison to the good person he is, to all the great things he has done right. This particular Pharisee boasts of what he has accomplished – personally, by his own efforts – and he judges everyone else by how they have failed to be as good as he is. It’s not just a judgment, it’s a comparison. The tax collector, on the other hand, is a sinner, and he knows it. And even more, he knows that he needs God’s mercy. And he’s not comparing his sins to anyone else.

So think back to the last time you judged someone. Why did you do it? How did you do it? My guess is that it probably involved comparing them to what you would do or the way you act – since, in our minds, we are such a better person than they are. But if we think some more, we’ll realize that we are just as much in need of God’s mercy and guidance as anyone else. Thank goodness, God is here for each one of us.