Year C – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Introduction:

Spirituality does not consist in following some rituals or doing some spiritual exercises such as vocal prayers, novenas, pilgrimages etc. Limiting oneself to these things will lead to religiosity. Today’s readings invite us to begin or continue our journey from empty religiosity to fruitful spirituality. Let us ask God’s pardon and mercy for all the times we have remained complacent with mere religiosity.

I am third

Drop it

– Importance of humility in prayer
– Christ and the Church truly appreciates humility in prayer, we see it in two occasion in the Holy Mass prayers:

o Centurion : lord I am not worthy to have you under my roof…
o Publican: O God, be merciful to me a sinner. Striking his breast. (I confess)

– The posture and prayer:
o The Pharisee’s posture described briefly and prayer is long.
o The Publican, pray is brief and posture is lengthy.
o The Pharisee sin of pride
o The Publican humility highlighted.

– The Publican:
o Standing off at distance (in the Eucharist is praised and remembered.)
o He resembles the lepers
o He beats his breast: has become a regular part of the penitential act at Holy Mass.
o THEREFORE, here, Jesus exults, blesses and heals him.

– When we come in front of God and in His mighty presence we need to DROP IT.
o Drop not the works and achievements we have accomplished…but drop the one who brought them…that is the self.

– The Pharisee was telling God about all the good things he was doing for him; praying, fasting, tithing, keeping laws. [ self righteousness and egoistic]

– The Pharisee a sincere man…not lying. But went wrong in his attitude to God and towards neighbors.
o Two things wrong in the Pharisee prayer:

§ He wasn’t really parsing God for his mission. He was taking credit for himself. He was doing better than the other.

§ By comparing he was presuming to judge others. (I am not like….)

– The Pharisee went to the temple, not to pray, but to inform God about his good deeds.

The Publican, went, not to boast about himself, but to pray to God to have mercy upon him.

In the Eucharist we learn this:

– To be humble in our prayers
– To think of others
– To respect the others
– To pray and not to compare

Find it in Jesus:

– I thank you father for you have given me these …that they maybe one as we are one.
– Garden of Gethsemane: not my will but your will be done
– Gave his life for all
– Humbled himself to come down to us.

Different prayers:

Woman.. Thank you Lord, that I have been able to stick to the religion I was brought up in, unlike a lot of my neighbors.

Some are like the ox and the ass of the crib… they appear in the church only once a year.

I do not take communion in hand, but when Mrs….. takes in hand, it sends a shudder down my spine…. She think she is the BVM and next wants to be an Eucharistic minister.

Another man did not even go inside the church. He said this prayer as he passed by: “Lord, I thank you that I am not like the crowd who go in there every Sunday to worship you. They are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites, if you ask me. Inside there they give each other a sign with folded hands as a sign of friendship by the way, and I know for a fact that when they come out some of them won’t even talk to one another. They say they worship you but I know it is a lie.

Religiosity is a means to arrive at a deep and fruitful spirituality. We find six differences between religiosity and spirituality:

a) Religiosity is operated from outside (verbal prayers etc), spirituality is operated from within (silence and meditation).

b) Religiosity is observed from a sense of duty (Martha), spirituality is observed from a sense of love (Mary)

c) Religiosity forces a person to make sacrifices (Pharisee), spirituality inspires a person to make sacrifice (Apostles and saints who left everything willingly).

d) In the case of religiosity one is waiting to finish the task since the task becomes boring, burdensome and killing. In the case of spirituality one is waiting for the next task because the task is interesting and life-giving.

e) In religiosity joy is found at the end of a prayer exercise whereas in the case of spirituality one enjoys the whole process of prayer.

f) A ‘religious’ person is enslaved by the externals (novenas, miracles etc). a ‘spiritual’ person is liberated from within (peace, joy, serenity).

The Pharisee thought that because he was doing good works, God owed him salvation.

The tax collector has nothing to rely on. He knows he is a sinner. So he throws himself on the mercy of God. His words are few, but the attitude of his heart makes him pleasing to God.

God prefers the broken and contrite heart that knows its failures to the complacent and arrogant one that claims never to have sinned.