30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
 October 23th, 2022

First Reading:  Sirach 35:15-17, 20-22Psalm # 34 R: The poor one called and the Lord heard

Second Reading:  2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Gospel Acclamation Verse: In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, and entrusting the
                                               message of reconciliation to us. (2 Corinthians 5:19)
Gospel:  Luke 18:9-14
Theme:  Jesus praises humility in prayer. Do not compare yourself to others.

Commentary by Jane Prini

Have you ever tried to build a super high tower with Lego? How high did it get before it fell over? Lets imagine, that each brick placed on that tower is something good we have done. Do you suppose it could reach to heaven before it fell over? Of course not! It may not even reach the ceiling.

This is what Jesus is teaching us in today’s gospel. We cannot do enough good to be as high as God. Jesus tells a story about two men who went to the temple to pray. A temple is where Jewish people worship God. One was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. (See Father Tony’s commentary for this week for an explanation of who these men were).

The Pharisee bragged about all the good things he had done and thanked God that he was not like other sinners. The tax collector would not even raise his head, and asked God to be merciful to him, a sinner. Jesus tells us that the tax collector went to his home justified but not the Pharisee.

Jesus was not in the least impressed with all the bragging. He was impressed that the tax collector knew he needed God, while the Pharisee showed no need for God. The Pharisee even compared himself to others, making himself feel better than others. Jesus tells us that if we do the same, we will soon be humbled by other situations. We need to only compare ourselves to the person we were yesterday. Are we more kind, compassionate, thoughtful then yesterday? Have we chosen to love others even when it was hard? 

This takes a lot of what is known as the virtue of humility. Humility is not putting yourself down, it is recognizing and being grateful that all you are and have is a graceful gift from God. It is being truthful about who we are, like the tax collector was. It is knowing that God loves us even when we mess up…and we mess up a lot, don’t we? It is admitting when we do not love and asking God to give us his grace and mercy, like the tax collector did, to help us make better choices next time. Jesus wants us to be the kind of person who needs him in our lives. He wants to be our best friend who is always there for us. He wants to hear our concerns and he wants us to ask him for help to get better at being humble.
Prayer for Families: Heavenly Father, help us to remember that when we build our lives upon our own goodness, we are headed for a fall. Help us to always remember that we need you because you are so good. We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and resigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.  Amen.

Discussion starters: (Choose one or more of these after reading today’s scripture readings)

1. Discuss what it means to be humble instead of proud or boastful. 
2. Discuss how our relationships between our family, friends and Jesus are better when we are humble. How does being humble instead of proud or boastful, make life good for those around you?

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