The Pharisee in the parable in today’s Gospel reading could easily be mistaken for a Catholic.  He went into the Temple and “took up his position” in the way that some Catholics make a territorial claim on their favorite church pew.  Comfortable in his customary place, the Pharisee confidently recounted his careful observance of the Hebrew kosher laws.   

Although often misunderstood as religious codifications of physical hygiene practices, the kosher laws, with their various ritual washings and the avoidance of certain objects and acts, are instances of ritual boundaries.  The religious boundaries between the ritually pure and the ritually impure are expressions of the Israelites’ unique vocation as God’s Chosen People; by God’s favor, they are “set apart” from the world for service to God. (Ex 19:5) The ritual boundaries of the kosher laws maintain an awareness of being set apart. 

Sadly, this Pharisee thought of himself as set apart from the rest of humanity because of his own actions rather than because of God’s favor.  He practiced the rituals associated with the Covenant but did so without any of the interior dispositions required by true faith.  This self-righteousness was what Jesus disapproved of in the behavior of some of the Pharisees.  They were dishonest with themselves, other people, and God; no worse sin or self-deception is possible. 

The tax collector who stood at the back of the Temple worship area might also be mistaken for a Catholic.  He probably appeared to be positioning himself to get back to his car as fast as possible when prayers were concluded.  In his prayer, the tax collector acknowledged fully that he had failed to set himself apart from the pagan world.   

The tax collector’s behavior made him indistinguishable from gentiles.  He collaborated with the Roman oppressors in Judea, he cheated his fellow Jews, and he did all of this with a blasphemous currency that depicted the Roman emperor as a god.  The tax collector knew that he had failed utterly to keep the commandments of the Covenant, but he was, at least, honest about his lack of righteousness. 

Like the parable last Sunday, this parable compares diametrically opposed examples in order to pose the rhetorical question, “If this person can abandon worry and choose to trust unreservedly in God, why can’t you?”  Last Sunday, the trusting person was the widow; this Sunday, the trusting person is the tax collector.   

The parable also prompts us to reflect on the nature of trust in God.  Last week’s widow and this week’s tax collector trusted in God’s righteousness even though they knew they had no merits on which to claim righteousness.  The corrupt judge and the Pharisee trusted only in themselves.  Faith means trusting entirely in God and not at all in anything or anyone else, including oneself.  The consequences of misplaced trust are as common today as they were in Jesus’ time. 

The highly polarized nature of politics and the fragmented nature of western society are the direct results of misplaced trust.  The complaints, judgments, and threats that individuals and groups freely hurl at one another are the result of trusting in created things.  Created things, whether material wealth or values systems, are finite; consequently, they are incapable of uniting people in the universal community of faith that Jesus preached. Relying on created things as the objects of one’s trust leads unavoidably to envy, self-righteousness, and violence.  On the other hand, relying on God as the object of one’s trust leads unavoidably to reconciliation and peace. 

If faithfulness to the One, True God is a guarantee of forgiveness and peace, one might wonder why anyone would place their faith elsewhere; the two parables offer some insight about this.   

The corrupt judge was fully satisfied with showing respect neither to God nor people because he thought doing so maintained his tenuous hold on political power.  The Pharisee was fully satisfied with self-congratulatory religion because he thought it gave him enviable social status.   

The widow and the tax collector were dissatisfied with the limitations of the world, but they refused to give in to fear or self-pity.  Their trust in God’s power rather than their own led the widow to bear the burdens imposed on her by her culture and the tax collector to bear the burdens imposed by his behavior.  In the teachings of Jesus, true faith allows one to live with the limitations of oneself and the world without falling into bitterness or despair. 

The purpose of faithful religion is to make people less worried, more merciful, and more trustworthy.  Those whose religious practice makes them like the corrupt judge or the self-righteous Pharisee have put their trust where it doesn’t belong.  The widow and the tax collector trusted unreservedly in God despite their difficult circumstances; if they can avoid anxiety and live faithfully, anyone can.