Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mass Celebrated by Archbishop Denis Hart
at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne,
on Sunday, 24th October, 2004, at 11.00am

Introduction

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today the Gospel gives a picture of two extremes in people’s approach to God. One, who is just and self-righteous. The other, who recognises his own sinfulness. Both have to realise that God has saved them regardless of merit.

Do we believe that firmly enough when we pray? The best revealer of God and of ourselves is still our prayer.

As we rejoice because we are searching for the Lord, let us remember the importance of prayer and reality, as we call to mind our sins and ask the Lord for healing, strength and comfort.

Homily

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today’s Gospel gives us a great contrast: A Pharisee, full of himself; a tax collector, empty, crying to God for mercy.

Carl Jung once wrote that he had been asked on many occasions why prayers to God frequently go unanswered today and why God seemed to hear prayers more easily in former times. Jung was quick to reply, “Such questions always make me think of the Rabbi, who was asked how it could be that God often showed himself to people in the olden days, while nowadays nobody ever sees him. The Rabbi replied, ‘Nowadays there is no longer anyone who can bow low enough.’”

You and I know that it is not a physical posture that we are talking about when we describe how we pray. It is a fundamental attitude, that we are nothing without what God has given us. We depend on God because of ourselves we are nothing.

Naturally, this comes out clearly in those who know that they are weak or poor or marginalised, because they look to God for their daily needs. What is significant for all of us today is that it is the prayer of the lowly that reaches to the heavens.

There is a very strong invitation in the liturgy today. “The man who with his whole heart serves God will be accepted. His petitions will carry to the clouds.” Sirach in the first Reading looks at a sincere realisation of the fact, that of ourselves we are nothing. Everything we have is what we have received. If we can depend on God for our light and inspiration, for our truth, then we realise that without him we are truly poor and we can cry to him.

Quite often in the modern world there is a strong rejection of suffering. Why does this happen to me? Why now? Why not to someone else? And yet the words of the Psalm, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. Those whose spirit is crushed he will save”, give us a strong courage, that in depending upon the Lord we can find strength.

Saint Paul saw his own life as simply poured away, when the Lord stood by him and give him power to proclaim the message.

We might well ask ourselves whether, like the Pharisee, we make a prayer with five “I”s in it, or whether our prayer is all about God – you, you, you. As Christians we know that a just person is one who has been saved by God without regard to merit. God is so generous in all that he gives. Our prayer, and therefore our life, ought speak clearly and unequivocally of joy for all that God gives and a realisation that in the midst of our weakness and confusion he will never desert us. But for us to appreciate this we need to focus our lives on him.

An ancient Rabbinic prayer sums it up well. “Where I wander – you! Where I ponder – you! Only you, you again, always you! When I am gladdened – you! When I am saddened – you! Only you, you again, always you! You!!! You above! You below! In every trend, at every end, only you, you again, always you! You !!!”

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.