The pharisee and the publican give two totally different approaches to the life of faith. The pharisee goes through the motions of faith without allowing them to penetrate into his heart. The publican allows the Lord to penetrate into his heart because he was found to be a humble man. As people of faith we cannot be like the pharisee for the actions which he does points back to him rather then being done out of love for God. Rather, we must be like the publican for he realizes his sinfulness and thus his need for God and His mercy.
The way of the publican is the way of authentic faith for nothing that he does is done for his own glorification. When we come to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we must remember that we enter into God’s presence as He offers Himself out of love for us upon the cross. We do not come here in order to glorify ourself and our own desires, but in worship and adoration of Him. In our modern world the definition of worship seems to place ourself at the center and not God.
This is a grave problem for if we take up this notion our life will never move towards God as the publican was able to do. When we receive the sacraments we receive the gift of grace as God extends grace unto us. Therefore, with complete reverence should we encounter Christ present with us in the Eucharist. Therefore, we should long for the forgiveness of sins as is extended to us in the sacrament of confession. So many receive our Lord in Holy Communion as if it is owed to them, but forget the seriousness of sin. So many do not make use of the sacrament of confession for they find no use to this sacrament in their life of faith.
The example of the pharisee leads us down such a path for in these examples faith is about me and not God. The publican realized the importance of humility and thus he struck his breast saying: “O, God be merciful to me a sinner.”
Let us stand with this publican in his humility and grow in our love and longing for God. May all the motions of faith that we undergo build up this most important of relationships. The more we enter into this humility the more we grow and are formed towards God in the ways that we approach Him and one another. Truly, let all pride be extinguished from our heart in order that we may lower ourself like the publican and join with him in exclaiming: “O, God be merciful to me a sinner.”
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