(Thirtieth Sunday of the Year (C): This homily was given on October 25, 1998 at St. Pius X Church in Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Luke 18: 9-14.)
"The difference between pride of the Pharisee and the pride of the modern world."
This morning I would like to give credit where credit is due. This morning, within the context of this homily, I want to commend the Pharisee we just heard about in this parable from Luke 18. Now I realize that I may be the first person in Church history to do this, but no matter--they say there's a first time for everything.
Fr. Ray, how can you possibly offer any kind of praise to this repulsive character?
Well, before I give my word of commendation, let me say that there are plenty of legitimate criticisms that you can level against this Pharisee: he was proud; he was arrogant; he was condescending; he was lacking in self-knowledge (because he was completely out of touch with his own failings and sins); he was also judgmental, in the sense that he not only condemned evil actions (which is what we are supposed to do)--he also condemned other people by pretending to know what was in their hearts (which is what we must never do). In this regard, Bishop Sheen used to say, "We can always know with certainty the worst that is within ourselves, but we can only SUSPECT the worst that is in someone else." Unfortunately, the Pharisee had it backwards: he was completely blind to the worst in himself, and he thought he knew with absolute certainty the worst that was in other people. You know, it's interesting--his prayer would have been perfectly acceptable if he had said, "I give you thanks, O God, that BY YOUR GRACE I have been able to avoid certain sins in my life. I praise you Lord, for your goodness and mercy." That would have been a legitimate prayer of gratitude to God. But instead, his prayer consisted of condemning people like the tax collector and patting himself on the back (as if he had been able to avoid certain sins by his own power).
And yet, in spite of all these negatives, I must give this Pharisee credit for one thing: at least he was only proud of his virtue! In this parable, he commends himself for avoiding certain sins, for fasting and for paying tithes--all of which are praiseworthy endeavors. It's good to avoid sin (I highly recommend it!); it's good to fast; and it's good to give one-tenth of your gross income to charitable causes. Now please don't misunderstand me--I'm not approving in any way of this man's pride. His pride was clearly sinful. But I am saying that at least he was proud of doing things that were good! Believe it or not, that makes him quite different from many contemporary proud people--because nowadays it's very common for men and women to be proud of their VICES as well as their virtues! In other words, what was once a cause for shame is now considered by some to be a cause for boasting! For example, I saw a leader of the Ku Klux Klan interviewed on TV the other night, and it was very clear from the things he said during that interview: he is proud of being a racist! He is proud of his hatred of black people. (Can you imagine if this guy had been in the Temple that day with the Pharisee and the tax collector? His prayer would have been, "Dear Lord, I thank you that I'm such a bigot. How wonderful it is that I love only white people!") Now that's bad enough, but unfortunately the contemporary problem doesn't stop with racism. For example, I've often heard people (young and old) brag about their drinking--"I was so wasted the other night! It was great! I drank two six packs in two hours!" Some businesspeople will boast about cheating their customers; some students will boast about how they cleverly cheated on an exam. And then we have those who happily boast of their lust. This is a very common occurrence in our world today. I hope you realize--one of the biggest industries in this country right now is the pornography industry. It used to be that people who made porno films and appeared in porno magazines maintained a very low profile. Now, however, they're considered media celebrities. They are extremely proud to advertise their vice to the world with the help of a Howard Stern or a Jerry Springer. I'm sure that many of us remember a time when it was considered scandalous to be pregnant out of wedlock. That is no longer the case. Now many unmarried women are proud to tell you that they INTEND to become pregnant outside of marriage. Others, like Senator Jack Reed and his fellow pro-abortion politicians are proud to say that they support the killing of babies when they are 3/4 of the way out of the womb! To them, it's a badge of honor! It shows how far we have fallen.
So, my brothers and sisters, before we point our finger at this proud Pharisee, we need to take stock of the condition of our own house. Are we proud of our virtue in the same sense that the Pharisee was--forgetting that it's ONLY by the grace of God that we can do ANYTHING good?! And are we infected with this modern type of pride which actually leads us to boast of our vices and sins? We all need to examine our consciences on this matter, because pride is the most subtle and the most prevalent of all the deadly sins. Consequently it's often overlooked, and not repented of. St. John Climacus, who lived back in the 7th century, tells a story that illustrates just how difficult this sin can be to identify. I will leave you with his words. St. John wrote: "An old man, very experienced in these matters, once spiritually admonished a proud brother who said in his blindness: 'Forgive me, father, but I am not proud.' 'My son,' said the wise old man, 'what better proof of your pride could you have given than to claim that you were not proud?'"