In this Friendly Word, Friar Luciano Audisio leads us to the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, where Jesus teaches us the right attitude to pray: not from pride or from personal merits, but from the truth of the heart, open to the forgiveness and mercy of the Father.
Restlessness in the face of God’s silence
This Sunday’s Gospel invites us to reflect deeply on prayer and on the true relationship we should cultivate with God in our daily lives. Often, when we pray, a disturbing doubt arises in us:
“Is there anyone who really listens to me?”
Sometimes it seems that we speak in a vacuum, that our words are lost in the silence of the temple or in the silence of our own heart.
However, the parable that Jesus proposes to us today teaches us the right inner attitude to approach the Lord, an attitude that does not depend on personal merits or rituals, but on sincerity and humility of heart.
Two men, two ways of praying
We find ourselves in Luke 18, where Jesus presents two characters who go up to the temple to pray: the Pharisee and the tax collector.
Jesus resorts to parables because they offer us the freedom to enter into them or to remain outside, and at the same time they show us a mirror in which we can contemplate different aspects of ourselves.
To truly understand them we need to ask the Holy Spirit for enough humility to recognize ourselves in their words, allowing ourselves to be transformed by them and allowing them to speak directly to our heart and not only to our mind.
The Pharisee: caught in his own reflection
The Pharisee prays “turned in on himself” (πρὸς ἑαυτὸν). He thinks he is righteous, pious and superior to others, but in reality he is caught up in his own ego, obsession with perfection and criticism of others.
Even his prayer becomes an act of vanity: “I thank Thee that I am not…” (εὐχαριστῶ σοι ὅτι οὐκ εἰμὶ).
Poor Pharisee: all he can say is that “he is not,” the opposite of God’s name: “He who is.”
This contrast teaches us that faith does not consist in moral perfection or in complying with external norms, but in establishing a living relationship with God, an encounter where his mercy and transforming love are experienced.
The tax collector: prayer that touches God’s heart
The publican, on the other hand, shows us the true way. He was despised in his time, considered a traitor and exploiter, but his prayer is simple and sincere.
Conscious of his sin, he recognizes his need for forgiveness and opens himself to God’s mercy. It is in this humility, in accepting our fragility and our distance from Him, that we can encounter Him in a real and transforming way.
“God, have mercy on me, for I am a sinner.”
God is not an abstract principle, nor a moral code, nor a technique to make us feel better; he is a person who loves us to the extreme, who gives his life for us and tells us:
“I love you more than myself; between your life and mine, I choose to give mine that you may live.”
Only from this experience of being forgiven can we enter fully into relationship with Him and discover the true joy of living reconciled and at peace.
The inner Pharisee in all of us
The Pharisee is also, at heart, a thief: he appropriates privileges, praise and an idealized image of himself.
Everything he criticizes in others reflects what he cannot forgive or accept about himself. He cannot even accept God’s forgiveness, because he is trapped in his desire for perfection.
Only he who acknowledges his sin can receive mercy and offer it to others.
“I am a sinner, a needy, a poor man.”
In this confession we discover our deepest identity: that of creatures dependent on God and our neighbor, called to humility and openness of heart, aware that only in our relationship with Him do we find true meaning.
Return home justified
If we want our prayer to grow and our interior life to take a leap in quality, we must come before God asking for forgiveness, recognizing our limitations and our faults.
That is the real justification:
“He returned home justified” (Lk 18:14).
The publican returns justified, restored to right relationship with God, having discovered his mercy and experiencing the freedom to be loved and transformed.
Conclusion: praying from humility
May this Gospel help us to look at our inner life with sincerity, not to judge ourselves nor to boast of our virtues, but to recognize our need, to open ourselves to God’s love and to allow ourselves to be transformed by Him.
Let us live each day in humility, mercy and trust in his embrace that never abandons us.