..although Jesus found himself ..literally found/discovered his real self.. reluctantly/obediently taking a lead part in the evolution of the NT story of salvation history, remember he would have read & prayed our 1st rdg just as you & I are about to hear it & pray it.. ..& when in his ministry he met a wasp..Canaanite woman desperate for cure for her dying daughter, when Jesus initially snubbed her then called her a house dog, I wonder if he struggled in his conscience between what he had read & prayed earlier that week, & how his attitude & behaviour fell well short of what he knew to be better..
for times we too fall into the same trap; hearing praying then misbehaving badly.. “..the humble womans prayer pierces the clouds..” ..& pierces Jesus’ lukewarm heart.. ; Lord have mercy “..until it arrives she is inconsolable..” ..she pleaded then & we now..“Lord help me”.. ; Christ have mercy “..nor will she desist until the Most High takes notice of her..”.. “woman you have great faith” ; Lord have mercy May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins & bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
the “some people” Jesus spoke parable to were in grave spiritual danger; two diseases infirmities each life threatening; they prided themselves on being virtuous, & they despised everyone else..they loved themselves inappropriately & hated their neighbour.. however, their potentially life-saving grace, their life-saving opportunity, was that they met Jesus; he spoke & they listened, fertile ground fertile souls..the self centred, leeching grace for so long as they sucked out & fed on the goodness/benefits from their regular observant temple worship, but for so long they hadn’t given anything back; I don’t mean a £20 note on collection plate or tins soup into food bank crate..it is the fertiliser this field of harvest/ opportunity we call a parish needs, where each & everyone of us put in those few more grains of goodness & prayer than we take out; making us a sustainable credible & creditable faith community; the Pharisee bless him was a devout man of prayer, thanking God but notice not asking of God..he was too self sufficient/independent for his own good ”I am not grasping unjust adulterous like the rest; I fast I pay tithes on all I get” ..I pay my own way towards my ultimate reward of a place in Heaven..someone we know very well..self employed discipleship & a hard earned final salary pension to die for..does he truly give thanks to God, or does he simply, self congratulatory, delight in himself?..& poor man his infirmity disease worsens by his attitude towards his neighbour..he doesn’t just ignore him, he despises him..he spends chronos time breeding bitterness, festering hate, & wallowing indulgently/addictively..wasting what should be his saving grace, in kairos time, the sacrament of the present moment..its time to change his clocks, as he loses himself instead of finding himself, his real self, in spiritual time rather than in the meantime he’s been taught & timed/assessed on thus far..self assessed religion..someone we know only too well..& the answer/solution seems to come in person of tax collector.. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner”..the appropriate Christian model of the personal “me” self emptied of self performance & self righteousness, & instead reliant/dependent on the loving mercy of God “hesed” in Hebrew..the loving kindness of God or of love for each other..”hesed” a word & sound which calms /soothes..the grounded humility that allows/ enables power grace & love of the divine to enter, & conceive within us..in me..the person/character of Jesus himself..the pre-Communion prayer of the real presence “Lord I am not worthy to have you under my roof; only say the word & my soul shall be healed”.. the real me meets the real Christ, heart to heart, body to body..”from a distance” yes but now respectful reverential..”not daring to give eye contact” devout humility..so few of us prepared to give priest the blessing of eye contact as we approach the real sacrament of the present moment..eye to eye..”& beat his breast” true sorrow/repentance..a prodigal son/daughter moment; even a true saint is & remains a sinner who must remember their fallen state, & be open receptive & thankful for Gods intervention through unmerited & unearned gift of grace..the poor Pharisee can receive no grace, impotent/ignorant to his need for it..as with most gospel stories, especially in Luke & his mantra of “hesed” spirituality, the ending/last chapter is left for you & I to imagine pray, to bring it into print & to real life 26/27 Oct 19..I would like to see it in the context of the sculpture Pope Francis blessed in Rome on 29 Sept 19; World Day of Prayer for Migrants & Refugees.. ”angels unaware” it depicts an open boat full of migrants young/old huddled together; the boat with shallow sides, vulnerable to slightest swell of sea..overloaded & in danger of capsizing..& there perhaps is the Pharisee, at front/ the bow, thinking himself the captain on bridge..ignorant/unaware that real coxswain is tax collector at very back who, with “hesed”, unseen below the radar, holds rudder & steers the boat towards safety & salvation, reading the true compass for life..following a star as did the migrants to the manger, remember?..avoiding tragedy of the Pharisees who took their eye off the star “astra” & suffered ultimate fate of a “dis-aster”..distancing themselves from the star & the way..do please pause to look at image of sculpture at back of Church as you leave, & look for one important traveller/migrant on it, as it heads for the safety of the promised land..& notice someone you know very well.. [30thSunYrC Lk18;9-14]