RSS FeedAs for me, I am already poured out as a libation, and the moment of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness with which the Lord, the just judge, will reward me on that day; and not only me, but all those who have longed for his glorious coming. At my first hearing in court no one supported me; all deserted me. May the Lord not hold it against them. But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength to proclaim the Word fully, and let all the pagans hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will save me from all evil, bringing me to his heavenly kingdom. Glory to him for ever and ever. Amen!
Jesus told another parable to some persons fully convinced of their own righteousness, who looked down on others, “Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and said: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people, grasping, crooked, adulterous, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give the tenth of all my income to the Temple.’ In the meantime the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying: ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ I tell you, when this man went down to his house, he had been set right with God, but not the other. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.”
II Timothy 4:6-8,16-18 and Luke 18:9-14 - Proper of the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost (year C)
The Bible (Pastoral Community Version)
Not so long ago... I was a child, but that is not much time ago! There was in Brazil a TV commercial about Disney scissors, on which a boy (with Mickey's scissors) and a girl (with Minnie's scissors) used to sing, well, used to yell together: "I have! You don't!"... A little bit like this:
I HAAAA-VE! YOU DOOOON'T
Thirty seconds of televised torture in its simplest form, and a repetitive song that echoed in all children's voices, avid Disney school supplies consumers. Of course, parents were not very happy with that, and the ad piece was considered so abusive that Disney and the Advertising company that developed it were sued, and I think, lost the case.
However, even if we think that this behavior is childish, it is still very common in churches nowadays. Have you ever remembered sentences like: "when I WAS in the vestry, this did not happen", "when MY FATHER was the rector of this parish, things were not like this", "when I WAS part of the altar guild, the church was gorgeus", "now this is organized because I AM doing it, and not that other person". You do not have to say... this is really common.
I HAAAA-VE! YOU DOOOON'T
That pharisee, according to his own words, had everything and did everything. He was perfect to his own eyes: he fasted and pledged more than necessary, he went to the temple and said loud prayers with a pompous intonation... He was very bold to say he considered himself superior, purer, holier and more acceptable than the others around him.
The religious jewish scenery at that time allowed this type of attitude. After the questions related to the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem, the Hellenistic period and the independence re-conquest by the Maccabees, some religious parties appeared in Israel.
The Sadducees claimed to be the descendants of Saddock, and the only ones allowed to pursue the priesthood. They had power over the Temple and the Synedrium, even having lost the monopoly over the latter. They were pragmatistic, elitistic and unpopular. Sometimes they would cede to Rome, sometimes to the people. However, the only reason that would force them to cede would be a possible loss of their privileges.
The Zealots were fundamentalists, and usually violent, who did not tolerate concessions to the Roman power and foreign governors. They would be somehow similar to the religious terrorists we see nowadays.
The Essenes, in a certain way, were also radical, but preferred to live in closed and isolated communities, dedicating themselves to their own purification, and hoping that a Messiah would save Israel.
Finally, the Pharisees were the ones en vogue at that time. They believed that personal life should also be guided by personal purification and respect to the Law. They thought it was important to educate the people, and synagogues - houses of study and prayer - were practically dominated by this party. Since they were so close to the people, they ended up shocking more with Jesus' followers. The Pharisees' power also attracted several dishonest and false people, who were interested in that party's ascension.
This brief description shows how fragmented the Jewish religion was at that time. The Temple itself was divided in areas for the High-Priest, for the other priests and Levites, for men, women, children and foreigners... Also, together with religious parties, popular piety movement were widespread. And since the priesthood was hereditary, what truly existed was a highly elaborated chaste system, which helped some families to hod the power indefinitely.
When Jesus inverts the popular perception of what is holy (the pharisee) and what is profane (the tax collector), He shows that, to God, such divisions are human perversions. The Kingdom of God should not have any barriers, whether they are ethnicity, sex or richness. Penitential acts are only valid to God's eyes when they turn into streams of justice, love and humbleness. It is much more valid, then, when that man regarded as an outcast strikes his chest with a contrite heart, than the fasts and fancy prayers of the Pharisee, who was seen by the people as a holy man.
The dream of a fraternal community of sisters and brothers, where there are no barriers of sex, nationality or social class is what St. Paul the Apostle tried to implement among early Christian communities. By walking from city to city, struggling to sustain himself by his own work, and proclaiming the message of hope in God through Christ, he built small family-churches, where all shared the same eucharistic meal, where the poor and the needy were supported by the richer ones and where all had the same importance. This radical proposal of peoples' equality towards God was so defying that he knew, while writing II Timothy, that his end was near. The perverse authorities of this world, and in many situations, of the Church itself, could not tolerate a faith that destroyed barriers and reduced privileges of the powerful for the sake of the poor...
In sub-saharan Africa, there is a philosophical concept expressed by the word ubuntu. It is curious to notice how ubuntu (and its variations) is a word used by many African nations, such as the Zulu, the Xhosa and the Bantu. Ubuntu literally means "humanity towards others", and outside of the African context, it is very difficult to explain. However, it is possible to say that a person with ubuntu knows how to support the others, help with their needs and share their pain. Ubuntu means to give the most of himself towards the others, without expecting anything from them.
St. Paul had ubuntu. Despite all persecutions, he came to the end of his life in this world happy for having fought the good fight, hopeful for the crown of righteousness and certain of Christ's victory over the darkness. We need to have the courage he had, and proclaim the Kingdom of God - here and now, to all nations. In this Kingdom, there are no divisions. There are no religious parties. There are no powerful and no oppressed. In this Kingdom, the humble are elevated and the powerful are overthrown. And we can experience drops of this Kingdom even in our days. All we need is courage, faith and a little bit of ubuntu.
I HAVE, AND YOU ALSO DO.
Let us not be convinced by the hypocrites' beautiful words, which, at the end, intend to create barriers for God's grace. I would also like to cite St. Ignatius, one notable early father, who said:
"Observe those who are heterodox concerning Christ Jesus' grace, which came to us, how contrary they are to God's will. They have no regard for a love feast, none for the widow or the orphan, the oppressed, the bound, the freed, the hungry, or the thirsty... they exhibit enmity and deceit in their dealings with one another. They have no regard for love; they despise the good things we expect hereafter; they regard present things as if they were durable; they ridicule him that is in affliction; they laugh at him that is in bonds."
May we have the discernment not to tolerate, or take part, of this kind of behavior.
Sermon preached at Christ the King, a parish of the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janeiro, in 10/28/2007.
