The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time
Click here for more information.
Overview and Connections
Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
Sirach 34:21 – 36:22 speaks about true worship of God and God’s response to that worship. Today’s passage in particular focuses on God’s partiality as well as the prayer of those in need. God has an especially attentive ear for the cry of the oppressed, something we see throughout scripture.
I’m not entirely sure why v13 was left out of the lectionary, as it is such a rich verse. Likely, they did not want to dilute the focus on widows and the oppressed, which is the primary connection to the gospel reading. God hears the prayers of everyone! God is partial to the weak, and yet God is, at the same time, impartial to hearing anyone who truly calls upon him.
V14 speaks of offering God a bribe, a concept which offends most Americans. In the Middle East, ancient as well as modern, bribes are a common way of life. One of the many things that sets YHWH apart is that YHWH does not always hold to human customs.
God “is a God of justice” (v15). The Hebrew term for justice implies both legal judgments and social action.
James 2 will expand the idea in v16 that God shows no partiality into the conviction that Christians must not either.
This reading speaks of persistence in asking God for what one wants. How have you been persistent in praying for something you deeply desire?
2 Timothy 3:10 – 4:5
The letters to Timothy are like a form letter to a pastor beginning a new position of church leadership. They describe expectations and responsibilities.
Several times in the pastoral epistles, the author will call on examples of faith that Timothy can look to and follow. In today’s passage, he calls on the example of Paul himself.
The NAB translates the word in v10 as “followed,” but the idea is more like “observed.” Luke uses this word in 1:3 when he says, “With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning…” Paul has endeavored to be a good model, and Timothy has taken that to heart.
No one can accuse Paul of being a snake-oil salesman! In v12, he lays it out like it is, just as Jesus did. All too often, we approach suffering as the exception, rather than the rule. But Paul says if we live a certain way, we can expect persecution for it.
The New American Bible translates a phrase in v12 as “live religiously in Christ,” which I think is a poor word choice in our modern climate. Most other versions render it “live a godly life,” which better captures the meaning.
The word “persecuted” means to “aggressively chase, like a hunter pursuing a catch (prize).” Paul uses this word positively sometimes, for example, in Romans 14:19, where it is translated as “pursue.” But mostly, persecution has a negative meaning.
“Remain faithful” in v14 is the same word used extensively in John’s gospel, where it is rendered “abide.”
Vv15-16 (particularly v16) are often used by fundamentalists to argue for sola scriptura – the idea that scripture alone contains God’s revelation. In this view, doctrines not supported in the Bible (such as purgatory) are not accepted. One important thing to keep in mind with these verses, however, is that what is being referred to here is the Jewish scriptures, or the Old Testament. The New Testament, as such, did not exist yet in its canonical form that we know today. Paul says that Timothy has been acquainted with the sacred writings since childhood, clearly referring to the Old Testament education every Jewish boy would receive. This makes it difficult to defend the idea of sola scriptura, but it also positively commends the Old Testament as a valuable and continuing source of God’s revelation.
V16 is a key verse in understanding inspiration. The word “inspired” is a word not found elsewhere in the New Testament, and it means “God-breathed.” This points to a divine source of scripture.
“His appearing” in 4:1 is the word epiphaneia, which means the manifestation of God. It could refer to the second coming of Christ, and it also refers to the way Christ comes at every moment, bringing the kingdom to be.
4:2-3 speak of seasons, the word kairos. This is a time different from chronos, chronological time. This is a God-time, outside of time as we know it.
In v3, there is the curious phrase “itching ears.” It comes from a word meaning “to scrape.” A better translation would be tickled ears. It is used only here in the New Testament, but in other literature of the time, it described people who go seeking novelty and the latest fads rather than the truth. I think it is a great description of many people today who seek to fill their ache for God with material things and experiences.
This reading urges us to learn from faith-filled examples. Who are the examples in your life? They might be saints of old or living saints. They might be everyday, ordinary people who have profoundly impacted your life. What lessons have they taught you, and how are you being faithful to those lessons?
What was it that initially allowed you to connect to your faith? It’s good to revisit this question once in a while. When did faith become real? When did God become real?
Luke 18:9-14
The Audience
In Luke 17:22, Jesus was speaking to the disciples. The parable immediately previous to this one spoke about God’s elect, God’s chosen ones.
Some commentaries say that obviously this parable is addressed to the Pharisees. I’m not so sure about that. I think it’s addressed just as much to the innate tendency in each one of us as disciples to view ourselves as the chosen and make something special out of that, somehow make that our own doing. It’s as though Jesus is saying, now don’t go getting a big head about being chosen ones!
The Pharisee
There’s always something surprising in a parable. To the original audience, the Pharisees’ actions in v11 would have been surprising. In that culture among Jews, thanking God for one’s piety rather than taking credit for it was considered pious and humble.
Pharisees in our worldview get a bad wrap because of 2000 years of interpretation. We have to remember that in Jesus’ world, Pharisees were highly regarded. They tried to live out the demands of their religion in a very pure way, and they were generally respected for that. Even today, we all know people who live a stringent life according to the demands of the gospel, and we respect that about them. Trying to live that way is not what’s at issue here. The listeners would say that the Pharisee was righteous, and it’s true – he was not like other people. In Philippians 3:4-6, even Paul boasted about how well he had kept the law.
This Pharisee “took up his position,” which I find funny. It’s like he’s done this before! He’s sitting in his pew!
In a number of parables recently, we’ve seen the principal characters talking to themself. This pattern was first seen in the prodigal father parable. Here, it says he is praying “to himself,” which, in the Greek, is literally “toward himself was praying.” He wasn’t really praying to or looking for anything from God. He was having an inner dialogue with himself, rehearsing his good points.
He particularly notes in v12 his fasting practices. Fasting was only mandated on the Day of Atonement, but pious Jews would fast (even without water!) on Mondays and Thursdays. A century later, the Didache, an early catechism for Christians, would specifically reference this practice: Let not your fasts be with the hypocrites, for they fast on Mondays and Thursdays, but do you fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. (8.1)
The tax collector
Tax collectors were low-level bureaucrats. They were Jews employed by the Roman government to collect taxes from their fellow Jews. They didn’t receive payment for services; rather, it was expected that they would charge enough to cover their earnings. They were disliked, and they also had frequent contact with Gentiles, so they were often ritually unclean. This explains why he was standing at a distance: he was unclean and couldn’t even come into the temple area.
He “beat his breast,” which was a gesture of mourning.
Jesus’ commentary
In v14, Jesus says that the tax collector is the one who went away right with God. This would have completely befuddled the audience. To be right with God, in the religious view of the time, meant observing the demands of the Torah, which put one in faithful covenant relationship. The tax collector was disqualified on so many points, and yet Jesus says he is the one in faithful covenant relationship. Jesus has set up a new standard.
Interpretations of the Parable
This parable is a very easy one to read in a shallow or clichéd way. And the irony is that if we judge the Pharisee in the story, aren’t we doing exactly what he did?!
There’s the humorous story of the Sunday School teacher talking about this parable. She paints the Pharisee as a mean and hypocritical man and the tax collector as a good man. When she finishes the story, she says, “Now, boys and girls, let us get down on our knees and thank God that we’re nothing like that mean old Pharisee.”
We miss the point of the parable if we use it to put anyone down. And, I suspect the tendency to do so is way easier than we would like to admit. One commentary put it this way, “When the circumstances of life support our efforts to be observant, we can easily assume a superior attitude toward those whose weaknesses are only too apparent.” (Bergant)
The Pharisee asked for nothing and received nothing, while the tax collector asked that his sins be covered over, disappearing from God’s sight. The tax collector’s prayer was answered. Sometimes you can only receive what you recognize you need. The Pharisee didn’t think he needed anything; therefore, he was unable to receive God’s grace. The tax collector knew he needed everything, and he, by contrast, received God’s grace.
Prayerfully ask God to show you where you tend to define your goodness by contrasting it with the defects of others.
Which character do you most identify with in this parable and why?
What would change if you prayed the tax collector’s prayer daily?
How does this parable challenge your understanding of righteousness and being in right relationship with God?
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector Barent Fabritius Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands