Chapter
2
by Fr. Thomas Keating
The Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee
"Two people went up to the temple to
pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by
himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people:
thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a
week; I give a tenth of all my income.' But the tax collector, standing far
off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying,
'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his home
justified rather than the other." (Luke 18:10-14a)
The parable of the
publican and the Pharisee reinforces one of the central themes of the parable of
the good Samaritan. The coming of the good Samaritan down the road to Jericho
signals the end of the social landscape and map of the kingdom of God as
perceived by Jesus' contemporaries. This point is somewhat obscured by the
manner in which Luke introduces and concludes this parable in his gospel. He
predisposes the reader to look upon the Pharisee as prideful. In fact, the
Pharisee only did what the temple map required of those who were considered
insiders and members of the religious elite of the time. In fact, the social
context of the temple, as we now know it from other historical documents, would
depict him as the ideal pious Pharisee! His speech is repeated almost word for
word in other examples we have of pious prayers from the same period. His
conduct and prayers are typical of the devout Pharisee.
The same map
determining the proper conduct of one belonging to the sacred precincts of the
temple as an insider also determines the place, the stance, and prayer of the
publican (tax collector). He belongs to the group outside the bounds of the
temple. He stands apart because he knows such is his proper place as an
outsider. The place that he took was not a manifestation of his humility, as
Luke hints, but simply of his awareness of his proper place as a sinner.
Thus the two men
described in the parable manifest their relative places and status in the
accepted culture of the time. One belongs to the sacred precincts of the temple
and is an insider. The other belongs to the secular world and is an outsider.
The social map calls for him to pray apart from the Pharisee who represents the
holy. Thus from the text there is no evidence of merit or blame in the conduct
or prayers of the two men.
The storyteller
stuns the hearers with his conclusion: "The publican went home to his house
(to the secular world) justified. The other man did not." These words come
like a peal of thunder to the crowd. Luke attributes this statement to the
humility of the publican and to the pride of the Pharisee, but the publican did
not even make restitution for his extortions as Zacchaeus did (Luke 19:1-9) and
the Pharisee thanked God for his good deeds, as was customary in the prayers of
a devout Pharisee of his time.
Thus the main point
of the parable emerges with stark clarity. The social map of the time is being
abandoned and the kingdom of God is no longer to be found in the temple. The
holy is outside and the unholy may be inside. The activity of the kingdom of God
has moved from the sacred precincts of the temple to the profane arena of the
secular world. The Pharisee represents well the piety of the temple. The
publican represents well the secular world. The sacred place is no longer the
place of the sacred. The sacred has moved to everyday life.
