WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.660 More important than that event, which just encompasses 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:09.380 all the vanity of the world, but of course we're 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:12.480 all drawn to it like a moth to a flame, more 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:17.460 important is the Sunday of the publican, the 00:00:17.460 --> 00:00:24.219 tax collector, and the Pharisee. To those who 00:00:24.219 --> 00:00:26.800 see me, maybe not to those who know me so well, 00:00:26.899 --> 00:00:34.130 I'm the Pharisee. Looking good, dressed wonderfully, 00:00:34.329 --> 00:00:40.130 religious, saying the right things. But brothers 00:00:40.130 --> 00:00:43.409 and sisters, I want to be like that tax collector 00:00:43.409 --> 00:00:47.270 that had an encounter with the living God and 00:00:47.270 --> 00:00:51.390 saw himself in the light of God's love. He was 00:00:51.390 --> 00:00:54.030 illumined, and he could say what he needed to 00:00:54.030 --> 00:00:58.750 say rather than boast. Let me start with these 00:00:58.750 --> 00:01:02.350 words. From Father Alexander Schmemann. On this 00:01:02.350 --> 00:01:06.510 day in which we're now not ending a football 00:01:06.510 --> 00:01:09.530 season, but we're beginning the season of trying 00:01:09.530 --> 00:01:12.890 to enter into the mystery of our salvation, which 00:01:12.890 --> 00:01:15.549 is the resurrection, so that we can proclaim 00:01:15.549 --> 00:01:19.329 on that glorious evening, that night, that morning, 00:01:19.390 --> 00:01:21.870 just before the sun comes up, that Christ is 00:01:21.870 --> 00:01:26.269 risen, that our souls are illumined and bright, 00:01:26.489 --> 00:01:32.409 and in them is the living, resurrected, glorified 00:01:32.409 --> 00:01:36.090 Savior that we've been waiting for and that we 00:01:36.090 --> 00:01:39.810 glorify, that changes us, that transforms us. 00:01:40.069 --> 00:01:43.109 That's the road we're starting now. That's what 00:01:43.109 --> 00:01:45.790 this Sunday is all about, the beginning of that 00:01:45.790 --> 00:01:51.269 path. Yes, the path is narrow, but that's just 00:01:51.269 --> 00:01:54.049 because we don't want to fall off of it. We want 00:01:54.049 --> 00:01:56.750 to follow the light. Here's what Father Alexander 00:01:56.750 --> 00:02:01.129 Schmemann says. It is almost impossible to put 00:02:01.129 --> 00:02:07.230 a cross to the modern man fed on publicity, self 00:02:07.230 --> 00:02:12.710 -affirmation, and endless self -praise that all 00:02:12.710 --> 00:02:16.590 that which is genuinely perfect, beautiful, and 00:02:16.590 --> 00:02:22.669 good is at the same time naturally humble. For 00:02:22.669 --> 00:02:25.530 precisely because of its perfection, it does 00:02:25.530 --> 00:02:30.129 not need publicity, external glory, or showing 00:02:30.129 --> 00:02:35.969 off of any kind. God is humble because he is 00:02:35.969 --> 00:02:40.729 perfect. His humility is his glory and the source 00:02:40.729 --> 00:02:44.110 of all true beauty, perfection, and goodness, 00:02:44.210 --> 00:02:47.330 and everyone who approaches God and knows him 00:02:47.330 --> 00:02:50.330 immediately partakes of the divine humility and 00:02:50.330 --> 00:02:55.750 is beautified. This is true of Mary, the mother 00:02:55.750 --> 00:03:00.509 of Christ, whose humility made her the joy of 00:03:00.509 --> 00:03:04.770 all creation and the greatest revelation of beauty 00:03:04.770 --> 00:03:07.810 on earth, true of all the saints and true of 00:03:07.810 --> 00:03:11.490 every human being during the rare moments of 00:03:11.490 --> 00:03:22.110 his or her contact with God. Humility. St. Mark 00:03:22.110 --> 00:03:24.710 the Ascetic, a Desert Father, said this. He said, 00:03:24.789 --> 00:03:29.430 he who is humble in his thoughts and engaged 00:03:29.430 --> 00:03:33.590 in spiritual work, when he or she reads the Holy 00:03:33.590 --> 00:03:37.069 Scriptures, will apply everything to himself 00:03:37.069 --> 00:03:43.340 and not to his neighbor. Yes. I know all about 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:46.759 that, right? Hearing this story about the Pharisees' 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:49.659 pride, does it not occur to you to wish that 00:03:49.659 --> 00:03:52.879 a certain person was here today to hear about 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:58.780 it? That's the perfect example. No, rather, as 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:02.400 St. Isaac the Syrian wrote, always consider yourself 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:07.280 as needing instruction so that you may be found 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:09.800 wise throughout your life. There's plenty of 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:14.939 easy targets. Put the light on yourself. This 00:04:14.939 --> 00:04:17.160 Sunday of the publican and the Pharisee, by the 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:19.980 way, the word publican in our English translation 00:04:19.980 --> 00:04:23.519 comes from the Latin meaning public contractor, 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:26.600 who would collect taxes for the Romans. You know 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:30.100 all that. You get this every year. None of that's 00:04:30.100 --> 00:04:35.759 new. St. Luke, what I want to remind you about, 00:04:35.819 --> 00:04:39.579 writes that our Lord told a parable, this parable, 00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:46.259 while teaching about prayer. Lesson number one 00:04:46.259 --> 00:04:49.939 as we enter in to the doors of repentance, which 00:04:49.939 --> 00:04:55.100 are humility, prayer. And he told this parable 00:04:55.100 --> 00:04:59.439 to those who trust in themselves. That's us. 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:06.000 That's all of us. Trust in themselves, but especially 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.879 those... who feel they are righteous, and those 00:05:09.879 --> 00:05:16.060 who look down upon others, despising them. That's 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:20.860 who this parable is addressed to. And so it's 00:05:20.860 --> 00:05:25.860 so colorfully and beautifully illustrated by 00:05:25.860 --> 00:05:28.519 the Savior when he describes the Pharisee at 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:33.519 prayer. This man who is a zealot, who loves the 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:39.019 law and the whole Old Testament. And the love 00:05:39.019 --> 00:05:44.779 of God. And he's doing what he ought to do. Prayer. 00:05:45.980 --> 00:05:50.100 Fasting. Almsgiving. These are all things that 00:05:50.100 --> 00:05:52.500 we're enjoying, commanded to do by the church 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:57.240 during Lent. And he does them well. He cannot 00:05:57.240 --> 00:06:02.879 be faulted. But he tells the Most High God how... 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:06.720 Great he is because of his fasting and doing 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:09.579 works of mercy and studying the scriptures and 00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:13.939 praying, which means his whole life rests upon 00:06:13.939 --> 00:06:17.839 a very rickety structure, which is going to come 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:21.540 crashing down because he misses the most important 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:29.959 piece. It's not about him. He looks down on the 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:34.629 man at the back of the temple. We could do that 00:06:34.629 --> 00:06:38.769 today. Any one of us could have that feeling 00:06:38.769 --> 00:06:45.790 of superiority. Sirach says, in the wisdom of 00:06:45.790 --> 00:06:48.769 Sirach, he asks this question. Listen carefully. 00:06:50.410 --> 00:06:55.670 How can he who is made of earth and ashes be 00:06:55.670 --> 00:07:02.129 arrogant? Because even while living, his insides 00:07:02.129 --> 00:07:07.959 are decaying. Just as the Pharisee would be shocked, 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:12.439 would be shocked as we would be if somebody told 00:07:12.439 --> 00:07:20.379 him he was arrogant, uppity, prideful. So too, 00:07:20.500 --> 00:07:25.439 we don't see in ourself the same thing. And we 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:29.259 would probably be shocked and be humbled in the 00:07:29.259 --> 00:07:33.790 bad way. Until we come to understand and experience 00:07:33.790 --> 00:07:40.470 our mortality, and more important, the experience 00:07:40.470 --> 00:07:46.329 of how gracious our Savior is, how humble he 00:07:46.329 --> 00:07:52.649 is to restore us back from any sin. On the other 00:07:52.649 --> 00:07:55.649 hand, I think the publican would probably agree 00:07:55.649 --> 00:07:58.949 with the Pharisee's assessment and bowed his 00:07:58.949 --> 00:08:05.019 head even further. I guess we could say that 00:08:05.019 --> 00:08:09.819 today is about self -justification or divine 00:08:09.819 --> 00:08:15.100 justification. I'm okay, but you're not okay. 00:08:16.060 --> 00:08:20.160 Or the more realistic thing, God be merciful 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:25.079 to me, a sinner. St. Maximus points out that 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:29.160 pride, the opposite of humility, and the predominant 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:34.460 sin of mankind. consists of two forms of ignorance. 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:38.539 Now think about this. The first is the ignorance 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:43.860 of divine power. The second is ignorance of human 00:08:43.860 --> 00:08:50.019 weakness. The humble one has faith in divine 00:08:50.019 --> 00:08:55.539 power and recognizes his weakness and loves God. 00:08:58.350 --> 00:09:01.710 So we want divine justification, and it will 00:09:01.710 --> 00:09:05.090 come as a result of our experience with the Most 00:09:05.090 --> 00:09:07.970 High God. Now one might be confused. We hear 00:09:07.970 --> 00:09:11.570 this story, and it ends with the words, for everyone 00:09:11.570 --> 00:09:15.590 who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who 00:09:15.590 --> 00:09:20.230 humbles himself will be exalted. You may think, 00:09:20.289 --> 00:09:25.419 ah, yes. This is the Sunday. in which we are 00:09:25.419 --> 00:09:28.659 supposed to feel bad about ourselves because 00:09:28.659 --> 00:09:36.240 we are so prideful. That's not it. Sunday school 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:39.559 kids may say, if I would ask them about this 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:44.240 parable, well, the Pharisee thought he was good, 00:09:44.259 --> 00:09:47.519 but he was actually bad. The publican thought 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:50.340 he was bad, but he's actually good. No, Jesus 00:09:50.340 --> 00:09:54.769 doesn't tell such superficial stories. He challenges 00:09:54.769 --> 00:10:01.409 us. This is not the Sunday in which we are supposed 00:10:01.409 --> 00:10:04.330 to feel bad about ourselves. This is the Sunday 00:10:04.330 --> 00:10:06.950 in which we are supposed to consider humility 00:10:06.950 --> 00:10:12.429 and how it gives wings to prayer. The answer 00:10:12.429 --> 00:10:15.850 about humility, Father Alexander Schmemann says 00:10:15.850 --> 00:10:18.830 in his book, Great Lent, how does one become 00:10:18.830 --> 00:10:21.169 humble? He says the answer for a Christian is 00:10:21.169 --> 00:10:27.539 simple. By contemplating Christ, the divine humility 00:10:27.539 --> 00:10:31.360 incarnate, the one in whom God has revealed once 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:34.919 and for all his glory as humility, and his humility 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:37.899 as glory. Today, Christ said on the night of 00:10:37.899 --> 00:10:40.480 his ultimate self -humiliation, the Son of Man 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:45.519 is glorified, and God is glorified in him. That's 00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:48.080 why the cross has that inscription at the top. 00:10:48.259 --> 00:10:53.240 Not Jesus, the Son, king of the Jews, but king 00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:57.980 of glory. Humility is learned by contemplating 00:10:57.980 --> 00:11:01.460 Christ who said, learn from me, for I am meek 00:11:01.460 --> 00:11:05.360 and humble in heart. It is learned, finally, 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:08.840 by measuring everything by him, by referring 00:11:08.840 --> 00:11:14.139 everything to him, for without Christ, true humility 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:17.620 is impossible. You can dress up and look the 00:11:17.620 --> 00:11:24.740 part. but inside be decayed. For without Christ, 00:11:24.779 --> 00:11:28.200 true humility is impossible, while with the Pharisee, 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:31.840 even religion becomes pride in human achievements 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:37.620 and a sickness, a form of Pharisaical self -glorification. 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:44.259 The very first lesson we are to learn on this 00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:47.899 path of entering into the mystery of our salvation, 00:11:47.980 --> 00:11:51.940 the resurrection, And Great Lent isn't complicated. 00:11:54.659 --> 00:11:57.919 Try this exercise today, if you would, with me, 00:11:57.980 --> 00:12:00.639 to measure yourself in the light of Christ. Try 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:04.879 this as you approach the chalice today in order 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:09.440 to receive the Holy Eucharist. Each one of us 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:13.759 makes the same confession. We share collectively 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:16.820 in the same preparatory prayer, I believe, O 00:12:16.820 --> 00:12:19.950 Lord. and I confess that thou art truly the Christ, 00:12:20.070 --> 00:12:23.330 the Son of the living God, who came into the 00:12:23.330 --> 00:12:29.889 world to save sinners, of whom I am first. Don't 00:12:29.889 --> 00:12:33.809 compare yourself with somebody else. Confess 00:12:33.809 --> 00:12:37.490 your sinfulness before God. You can compare yourself 00:12:37.490 --> 00:12:41.970 to the villains of history quite easily. Place 00:12:41.970 --> 00:12:44.269 yourself differently on the scale of who are 00:12:44.269 --> 00:12:48.809 sinners. We come off looking as good, decent 00:12:48.809 --> 00:12:52.830 human beings. That does not mean that we are 00:12:52.830 --> 00:12:55.470 less in need of the saving grace of the gospel. 00:12:55.570 --> 00:12:59.070 Do I need less grace than the great sinners of 00:12:59.070 --> 00:13:03.990 history and contemporary life? Because I'm comparatively 00:13:03.990 --> 00:13:08.659 not as bad? That God sends contrition when we 00:13:08.659 --> 00:13:11.879 are honest. He sends not guilt, but contrition. 00:13:11.940 --> 00:13:15.840 He sends us assurance of his love and his providence, 00:13:15.940 --> 00:13:20.120 not despair at our own helplessness. And he sends 00:13:20.120 --> 00:13:25.320 us, if we are truly contrite, tears which wash 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:30.419 away those sins. Tears which bring joy of heart 00:13:30.419 --> 00:13:34.299 to know that God loves us. unconditionally, as 00:13:34.299 --> 00:13:37.620 I said last week. And then we come boldly to 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:40.080 the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:45.279 and find grace to help in need, in time of need. 00:13:47.159 --> 00:13:51.240 To our Lord be glory now and ever, to ages of 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:53.039 ages. Amen.