Save as PDFIn the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!
Today the Holy Church begins to prepare us bodily and spiritually for the Great Lent. This Sunday is called the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee because the parable of the Publican and Pharisee is read during the Liturgy. And next week the fast will be cancelled on Wednesday and Friday to cover Pharisaism with shame. At vespers there will start repentant singing from the Fasting Triodion which begins with the words “Brethren, don’t pray as Pharisees do”.
The church calls us not to pray Pharisaically because there is no more abominable thing in the world than Pharisaical prayer and there is no more loathsome state of the soul than pride. It’s better to be any villain than an arrogant man. From the point of view of our society everything is quite the contrary: pride is extolled, every man likes to say only good things about himself, every man tries to be true to be praised by people around.
Human soul created by God is capable for love but the Devil having tempted the man led him into sin and the man distorted a chance for love given to him, and began to love not God but himself. The man fell apart from God, so there is nothing more awful than sin. Pride is Mother of all vices because the source of any sin is pride.
A man thinks about himself that there is something behind him. But in fact even a small microbe is enough for him to fall ill; a small life disorder is enough to burst into tears; a small quarrel is enough for a family to break up. A man is very feeble and weak. But why doesn’t he see it? Because pride has such quality that it dazzles and this is dangerous. That’s why the Lord forgave, healed, felt sorry for all sinners, but said about the Pharisees “Woe to you, Pharisees and hypocrites”.
In today’s parable we heard how two men had entered the Church, the Pharisee and the Publican. The righteous man entered who hadn’t committed adultery, hadn’t appropriated anybody else’s property, had never violated the law, had given money for the church, had fasted, had known the Holy Scripture by heart, had devoted a lot of time to prayer. And suddenly the Lord says that this man left the Church less justified than despised by all publican who was greedy for money, stole his people and had a lot of other sins because the Publican beat his breast and couldn’t even raise his eyes to the sky because of shame, but looked down and said “o, God! Be merciful to me, a sinner”. This Publican despite all his heavy sins went home more justified than the Pharisee.
What must we do? We must cleanse our soul from sin. One can learn not to steal, not to commit adultery, keep silence and observe many commandents, but it doesn’t mean to become a Christian, it doesn’t mean to be justified by God because God doesn’t need our outward forms, God wants to know our inner essence.
A man only thinks that he worships God; in fact he worships himself, his wishes, passions, habits, attachments. He serves himself, he has everything for himself: a house, a husband or a wife, children, a job – everything is for himself.
Why was Christ crucified? Why did it so suddenly happen that such literate, clever people observing fast and the law didn’t see in Christ the Son of God but shouted “Crucified Him?” Why did it happen? Because pride dazzles completely. Why do we often have nothing to repent at the confession? Why don’t we die under the weight of our own sins? Why don’t we turn grey from horror how we live? Pride makes us completely blind. We have turned into ants which carry everything for themselves considering the environment only for themselves. It’s not important for us how a man behaves; it’s not important what is there in his soul, only one thing is important: what is his attitude personally to us? If his attitude to us is good, he is a good man, if his attitude is bad, he is bad, we condemn him irrespective of the fact what kind of man he is in fact. And maybe before God he is hundred times cleaner and better than we are, but we can’t even assume this idea – pride prevents us from it.
The Holy Church begins to prepare us beforehand for the Great Lent which ends with Easter, New Life where there are absolutely other relations, where everything is based on love to each other. Because love must be always directed not on yourself but from yourself. Let’s try to forgive, understand and love let not all our enemies, but if only one our enemy and this will be our small victory over ourselves. And let’s say today not as the Pharisee but as the Publican “o, God, be merciful to me, a sinner”. Amen.