Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
St. Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy 3:10-15
TIMOTHY, my son, you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, my sufferings, what befell me at Antioch, at lconion, and at Lystra, what persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.
[St. John Chrysostom: Two consolations appear here, says Paul: I displayed sufficient steadfastness, and in doing so was not forsaken. It cannot be said that God abandoned me. Rather he rendered my crown more radiant.]
Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived.
[St. John Chrysostom: Here he calls afflictions and sorrows “persecutions.” Anyone who pursues the course of virtue should not expect to avoid grief, tribulation and temptations.
If the road is narrow and difficult, how can it be that “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” [as Christ Himself said]? He says difficult because of the nature of the trials but easy because of the willingness of the travelers. It is possible for even what is unendurable by nature to become light when we accept it with eagerness. Remember that the apostles who had been scourged returned rejoicing that they had been found worthy to be dishonored for the name of the Lord.
St. Leo the Great: I am amazed that your charity is so overcome with tribulation from scandals, no matter from what occasion they arise, that you say you desire to be freed from the labors of your bishopric and prefer to live in silence and leisure rather than continue handling those problems which were entrusted to you. But, as the Lord said, “Blessed is he that perseveres to the end.” From what will this blessed perseverance come if not from the virtue of patience? For, according to the teaching of the apostle, “All who want to live piously in Christ will suffer persecution.” Persecution is to be reckoned not only as that which is done against Christian piety by the sword or fire or by any torments whatever, for the ravages of persecution are also inflicted by differences of character, the perversity of the disobedient and the barbs of slanderous tongues.]
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
[St. Jerome: Read the divine Scriptures constantly. Never, indeed, let the sacred volume be out of your hand. Learn what you have to teach.… Do not let your deeds belie your words, lest when you speak in church someone may mentally reply, “Why do you not practice what you preach?” He is a fine and dainty master who, with his stomach full, reads us a homily on fasting. Let the robber accuse others of covetousness if he will. The mind and mouth of a priest of Christ should be at one.]
Questions to consider:
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What does St. Paul say here that can help you today?
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What does St. Paul say here that can help people you know?
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St. Paul wrote this to Timothy, the man he ordained to lead a community in his place. What lesson does he provide here that is most useful to priests and other church leaders?
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Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (cont’d)
St. Luke 18:10-14
Then the Lord gave this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
From goarch.org
The theme of this parable is repentance. Repentance is the door through which we enter Lent, the starting-point of the journey to Pascha. To repent signifies far more than self-pity or futile regret over things done in the past. The Greek term metanoia means “change of mind.” To repent is to be renewed, to be transformed in our inward viewpoint, to attain a fresh way of looking at our relationship with God and with others. The fault of the Pharisee is that he has no desire to change his outlook; he is complacent, self-satisfied, and so he allows no place for God to act within him. The Gospel depicts him as a man that is pleased only with himself who thinks that he has complied with all of the requirements of religion. But in his pride, he has falsified the meaning of true religion and faith. He has reduced these to external observations, measuring his piety by the amount of money he gives.
The Publican, on the other hand, truly longs for a “change of mind.” He humbles himself, and his humility justifies him before God. He becomes, in the words of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3), “poor in spirit.” He acknowledges that he is a sinner, and he knows that salvation is only found in the mercy of God. Here we find an example of true humility, an essential aspect of repentance. A “change of mind” and the transformation of our lives can only happen when we humble ourselves before God, acknowledge our willingness to turn from sin, and receive His grace into our lives.
From Vassilios Papavassiliou (Meditations for Great Lent)
The lessons of the entire liturgical life of the Church from this point warn Christians to avoid hypocritical fasting, to fast spiritually as well as physically, and to abstain from wrongdoing, from pride, from judging one another. The first lesson is the Gospel reading for the Sunday that begins the season…
Many Orthodox Christians make the mistake of thinking we are absolved from fasting during that week in order to gorge on meat and dairy before Lent begins, but this is not the reason at all. Indeed, if this were the reason, the Church would have appointed the following week— the week before Cheesefare week, when limited fasting begins— to suspend these fast days. The reason the Church suspends fasting for this week is to warn us not to imitate the Pharisee, who boasts before God, “I fast twice a week.” Thus the Church reminds us— not only through the lessons of the Gospel and of the Triodion, but also through its injunction not to fast during that week— that it is better not to fast and to be humble than it is to fast and be proud. Thus the Sunday of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee gives us the first lesson of Lent: Physical fasting is a means to an end, not the end in itself. If our fasting makes us prideful, we are better off not fasting at all. Lent is thus announced as a quest for humility, which is the beginning of true repentance and the root and strength of the Lenten effort.
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What is the main lesson you get from this Gospel?
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What is the main lesson from this Gospel that you think might help others?
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Why does Christ use a religious leader as his example of pride?
