Why the Pharisee's prayer was not heard
A proud Pharisee and a humble Publican go up to the Temple—but only one goes home justified. Fr Coleridge unpacks why the Pharisee's prayer did not please God.
A proud Pharisee and a humble Publican go up to the Temple—but only one goes home justified. Fr Coleridge unpacks why the Pharisee's prayer did not please God.
Editor’s Notes
On the 10th Sunday after Pentecost, the Church reads Our Lord’s Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican.
Christ tells he parable during his final journey towards Jerusalem, following other parables on prayer (e.g., the Unjust Judge and the Widow), and before his encounter with the Rich Young Ruler.
It offers a warning against pride, and a revelation of the true attitude towards God which we should adopt in prayer. The prayer of the Publican is, famously, used by Christians of the Byzantine rite in “The Jesus Prayer”:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Coleridge also suggests that Our Lord was recounting a real event, rather than merely a story – an idea which he also addresses a few chapters later in relation to Christ’s encounter with Zaccheus.
In this first part, in addition to mentioning the link between this parable and the sacrifices of the Temple, Coleridge treats the prayer of the Pharisee – the next treats of the Publican’s prayer, and a list of dispositions necessary for Catholics.
The Pharisee and the Publican
The Preaching of the Cross, Part III, Chap. VI
St. Luke xviii. 9–14
Story of the Gospels, § 123
Burns and Oates, London, 1889
Headings and some line breaks added.
Object of the ‘parable’—Probably a true ‘anecdote’
St. Luke now subjoins another parable, to which also, as to the last, he prefixes the particular intention with which our Lord delivered it.
‘And to some who trusted in themselves and despised others, He spoke also this parable.’
It does not seem that he means us to understand that our Lord addressed the persons who are described as trusting in themselves and despising others. The parable was aimed at them, and was concerning them, and without the opening remark of the Evangelist we might be ignorant of this. But it need not be thought that the disciples, to whom the discourse seems to have been delivered, were so to be characterized, although there may have been some among our Lord’s followers to whom the description would apply.
And indeed, there is never a time when warnings such as that contained in the parable, and in our Lord’s words at the end, can be inopportune.
It is probable, moreover, that this is a real story. There is nothing in the circumstances of the time to make it improbable, and the final words, ‘I say to you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other,’ seem to come from Him as the Judge of all, the Reader of the secrets of hearts, and this makes it more likely that it was a real incident.
The words explained
‘And to some,’ or about some, ‘who trusted in themselves as just, and despised others, He spoke also this parable. Two men went up into the Temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee standing prayed thus within himself, God, I give Thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
‘And the publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards Heaven, but struck upon his breast, saying, O God, be merciful to me a sinner. I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other, because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled, and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.’
The Greek text suggests a few explanations which may make the sense more plain.
The Pharisee is said to have stood, and prayed with himself. But it appears rather that it should be said that he stood by himself, and prayed. Standing was the customary attitude of prayer, and what was remarkable about his action was that he took a place of his own, probably a conspicuous place, but certainly a place apart from the rest of the worshippers.
Again the words, ‘I give tithes of all that I possess,’ might give the idea of an offering of a tenth part of his property, whereas the words mean ‘all that I acquire,’ that is a tithe of his income.
Another thing that is better for some explanation is that the words which are rendered ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner,’ are more properly ‘God, be propitiated to me the sinner.’ The word ‘be propitiated’ is the ritual and sacrificial word, and implies atonement by virtue of a sacrifice, and the word sinner has before it the definite article.
Thus we are reminded that the hours of prayer in the Temple were the hours at which sacrifice or incense was offered, which to devout Jews would be a pleading for propitiation by virtue of the great Sacrifice of our Lord.
The prayer of the Pharisee
We have now to examine the prayer of the Pharisee, and see what it contains that justifies our Lord’s condemnation of it.
Our Lord does not condemn it altogether, or indeed absolutely, but He gives us to understand that it did not contribute in anything to the justification of him who made it. What He says against it is that it was the prayer of a man who exalted himself, and He makes its inefficiency consist in that. But we may be sure that He could have pointed out many positive defects besides that want of contrition, humility, and reverence, which would have given it a justifying power.
It is hardly necessary to say, in the first place, that there was no fault in the Pharisee because he fasted twice in the week, or gave tithes of all that accrued to him. These were good works, and the Pharisee is not to be supposed to have attributed them to himself falsely. And if they were good works there would be no harm in thanking God for them, as all good comes from Him and is the fruit of His grace, if there is real gratitude to Him and if they are not attributed to ourselves.
Salmeron tells us that it was…
‘… here that the Pharisee went astray, and that his words show that he attributed his good works to something specially good in himself, by which he was better than other men, as the reward of his own merits in a peculiar and singular way.’
And in truth, it may be questioned whether any one who was alive to his own entire dependence on God, his own nothingness as a creature, his own tendency to spoil everything that he received from God, his own capacity of sinning more viciously than the worst of sinners, would have indulged in his contemptuous description of others as extortioners, unjust, adulterers, and much less in his evil judgment of the poor publican before him.
Its defects
There are also other defects to be noted in his prayer.
He does not ask for pardon for the sins of which he has been guilty, for he knows of none. He does not acknowledge that he may have many unknown sins, or have given scandal to others. The saints of God are fond of imputing the sins of others to themselves, but there is nothing of that here.
He does not ask for any continuance of grace to prevent him from falling for the future, indeed, he makes no prayer at all for grace, as one who has no need of it, nor of any increase of enlightenment or of virtue, for he does not think himself capable of improvement. The sins of others are not warnings to him, they only increase his self-satisfaction. He does not even compassionate them.
And he passes a severe and unwarranted condemnation upon the publican, whose conscience he could not have known.
These are grave faults at any time and in any place. But they were committed by him as he stood praying in the house of God, where he should have been full of reverence, humility, self-abasement, and above all, of charity.
But what of the prayer of the publican – what was it in his prayer that pleased God, while the Pharisee’s did not? See the next part for more:
Subscribe now to never miss an article:
The Pharisee and the Publican
See also:
Here’s why you should subscribe to The Father Coleridge Reader and share with others:
Fr Coleridge provides solid explanations of the entirety of the Gospel
His work is full of doctrine and piety, and is highly credible
He gives a clear trajectory of the life of Christ, its drama and all its stages—increasing our appreciation and admiration for the God-Man.
If more Catholics knew about works like Coleridge’s, then other works based on sentimentality and dubious private revelations would be much less attractive.
But sourcing and curating the texts, cleaning up scans, and editing them for online reading is a labour of love, and takes a lot of time.
Will you lend us a hand and hit subscribe?
Follow our projects on Twitter, YouTube and Telegram:
Thanks for sharing this explanation of the parable. I'm really looking forward to part 2.
There is such a temptation to self-righteousness, not only amongst the modern pagans, but also amongst the daily communicants of St Typical's where I attend mass. Many contributors, EMs, and Ushers, and Lay Ministry leaders have an attitude that they own the Temple and have every right to tell Fr Cheerful or the celebrant of the day what to do. With the Modern Pagans, one can at least dismiss the attitude as arrogance, and even ignorance of Jesus' teachings.