Sunday of Publican and Pharisee

Today is the second of the preparatory Sundays leading us toward the holy season of Great Lent. On this Sunday we read the Gospel parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. Our Lord tells us that two men went into the temple to pray – one was a Pharisee who was diligent in keeping the fasts and all the rules of the Jewish law and the other was a Publican, a lowly and despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood in the temple with great confidence and pride, thanking God that he was not like other men. The Publican stood in the back of the temple and could hardly raise his eyes to heaven, only crying out ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ Our Lord Jesus Christ makes the point that it was the prayer of the Publican that was pleasing in God’s sight – “for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

It is very interesting and instructive and appropriate that on this day we read the Epistle from Apostle Paul to his spiritual child Timothy. In today’s Epistle we are exhorted to follow Orthodox ‘doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions.’ We are warned to beware evil men and imposters who might lead us astray from the true path. The Apostle advises us that we ‘must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.’ Apostle Paul is urging us to hold fast to the faith, to the traditions and teachings that have been handed down to us. We are forewarned of evil men and imposters who might lead us astray from the true path. We must know our faith and our traditions and we must adhere to them with all fidelity.

Isn’t this an interesting pair of readings assigned for this Sunday? In the Gospel lesson for today we are told very clearly that preoccupation with the letter of the law and an over-emphasis on the rules of tradition will not pave our way into the kingdom of heaven and can be a cause for spiritual arrogance and pride. However, in the Epistle lesson for today we are warned to carefully hold on to the traditions which have been handed down to us, that we must beware of straying from the true path, that these things ‘are able to make us wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus’.

Our Holy Mother Church is so wise in presenting these two teachings to us now, as we prepare ourselves for the Great Fast.

How are we to understand these seeming contradictions? Are strict adherence to the traditions of our faith on the one hand and simple-hearted humility on the other hand contradictory to each other? The answer, of course, is a resounding ‘no!’… these things are not contradictory. In fact, if we approach and pursue them in the right way, they can and should serve to complement and even fuel zeal for one another. The key to both of these things is in the correct disposition of our heart and mind.

The Pharisee of today’s Gospel is a man who held to the traditions of his fathers in the faith. He prayed daily, he fasted twice a week, he donated to the church, he was honest in his dealings with men. This is not a bad man… but he was missing something critically important! The disposition of his heart and mind was completely off track… he exalted himself through his careful observance of the Law and looked down upon the simple Publican saying ‘I thank God I’m not like this man.’ All of his fasting, all of his standing in the temple, all of his donations – these good things had not penetrated the coldness and arrogance of his heart.

The Publican recognized his unworthiness and could not even raise his eyes to heaven. He stood in the back of the temple, beating his breast and crying ‘Have mercy on me a sinner!’ The disposition of his heart and mind were right… his heart was breaking with sorrow and love for God. This was the contrite heart that God will not despise.

Listen to the words of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk who states very clearly: ‘If someone should say that true faith is the correct holding and confession of correct dogmas, he would be telling the truth, for a believer absolutely needs the Orthodox holding and confession of dogmas. But this knowledge and confession by itself does not make a man a faithful and true Christian. The keeping and confession of Orthodox dogmas is always to be found in true faith in Christ, but the true faith of Christ is not always to be found in the confession of Orthodoxy…. The knowledge of correct dogmas is in the mind, and it is often fruitless, arrogant, and proud…. The true faith in Christ is in the heart, and it is fruitful, humble, patient, loving, merciful, compassionate, hungering and thirsting for righteousness; it withdraws from worldly lusts and clings to God alone, strives and seeks always for what is heavenly and eternal, struggles against every sin, and constantly seeks and begs help from God for this.’

Brothers and sisters in Christ - our approach and our attitude to standing firm in the traditions and disciplines of the Church must be humble and must be motivated and activated first and foremost by love for God.

What greater example may we have than those holy ones whom we commemorate today – the holy new martyrs of Russia? Through their sufferings they demonstrated that harmony of bold and courageous fidelity to Christ along with deep repentance and extreme humility.

May God grant us this integrated and holistic approach to our prayer and fasting. First of all, granting us a contrite and broken heart like the Publican, which cries out to God: ‘Be merciful to me a sinner!’ And may that love and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ then inspire and strengthen us to heed His words: ‘If you love me, you will keep My commandments.’ Letting our Lenten efforts of fasting, of prayer, of disciplining our lives to be in accordance with Christ’s commandments – to be an expression of our deep love and gratitude to God. And may that cycle of ‘love inspiring effort’ and ‘effort inspiring love’ cascade like a snowball, so that our love increases our efforts and our efforts increase our love.