God sees what is in us
If we try our best to live decently as good Christians who serve God well, would we still deserve a scolding from God? The message of today says yes. What is really our attitude before God? Do we think God should be grateful to us for all the things we have done for him? Do we look down on others who fail, who are weak and turn wrong? Are we aware that they also do good things? He sees what is good in them and he loves them for it. We pray that Jesus may give us an attitude of honesty with ourselves, with God and with people.
God hears the prayer of the humble who are aware of how poor they are before God.
God rejects the prayer of the self-righteous person, but listens to that of the sinner who is aware of his inner poverty.
First Reading: Sirach 35:12-14,16-18
Open your good eye if you want to give glory to the Lord. Don’t downsize your offerings; they should be the firstfruits from your land. Every time you give a gift, do it with a smile; don’t be a grouch when you turn in your tithes. Give to the Most High a good portion of what he’s given you; open your heart and give what you can afford. Do the Lord a favor and give him the gifts he deserves; he’ll return the favor seven times over. Don’t offer God gifts of questionable origin; he won’t accept them. Don’t offer money you’ve received from bribes or extortion, for example. Why? Because the Lord is the God of Justice. The poor who’ve been wronged shouldn’t complain when the prayers of the rich-but-wronged are also heard. On the other hand, the rich shouldn’t think poorly of the wails of an orphan or the cries of a widow. Don’t the tears running down their faces cry out against the killer of their father and husband? Their prayers of grief rise all the way to the heavens.
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18
You take over. I’m about to die, my life an offering on God’s altar. This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—God’s applause! Depend on it, he’s an honest judge. He’ll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming.
At my preliminary hearing no one stood by me. They all ran like scared rabbits. But it doesn’t matter—the Master stood by me and helped me spread the Message loud and clear to those who had never heard it. I was snatched from the jaws of the lion! God’s looking after me, keeping me safe in the kingdom of heaven. All praise to him, praise forever! Oh, yes!
Gospel: Luke 18:9-14
He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’
“Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’”
Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”
Prayer
Kind and merciful Father,
we stand before you empty-handed
and we feel small and frail before you.
Forgive us for the times we boast
of the good that you gave us the grace to do.
Fill our poverty with your gifts,
keep us from looking down
on any of our brothers and sisters,
and give us grateful hearts
for all that we have received from you.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Video available at: bibleclaret.org