By Guest Writer Deacon Luke Iyengar
In the Byzantine rite, we have a series of Sundays leading up to the official start of Lent. A little while ago, I found myself preaching on one of these, the Sunday of the Publican (tax collector) and Pharisee. The Gospel for the day is this parable:
Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 18:10-14 RSV-CE)
It was my first time ever at this particular parish, so many of the people there probably missed the irony that here I was preaching on a Gospel that ends with such strong words about humility when I can tend to think of myself as God’s gift to humanity.
“Every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). I don’t know about everyone else, but I experience the truth of these words pretty frequently — perhaps more than I would like, perhaps less than I need. I’m going along, living my life, thinking of how smart and cool I am, when suddenly I trip on a perfectly flat surface, wear my dinner like a 2-year-old, and stick my foot so far in my mouth that I need surgery to get it out. Truly, those who exalt themselves end up humbled.
But the flip side is that those who humble themselves end up exalted. Our Lord gives us the example of the publican: He doesn’t talk about his accomplishments, or how great he thinks he is. He doesn’t dare to raise his eyes to heaven as he prays the prayer so dear to Byzantine Christians: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” He doesn’t raise his eyes to heaven, but his heart is turned toward God. And because of that, our Lord tells us that he went home justified — made right with God — while the Pharisee did not.
This isn’t just a story about how God finds people who boast about how great they are as tiresome as the rest of us do. If we look deeper, we can see it as an invitation to follow the pattern of life marked out for us by Jesus Christ. St. Paul reminds us in the Letter to the Philippians that Jesus Christ:
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:6-11, emphasis mine).
So, similarly, Jesus Christ invites us to humble ourselves now so that when the time comes we are ready for God to exalt us and fill us with His glory.
This doesn’t mean that we start hating ourselves. Each of us is created by God out of love; hating ourselves would be to say that what God has created is not good. But, we do have to be honest: We’re sinners. And, even if we weren’t sinners, we’re still creatures — created beings. We depend on God for everything, and it’s only proper, right, and just to acknowledge that. So, we don’t tell God how great we are. Instead, we focus on how great He is. We thank Him for creating and saving us. We ask Him to forgive our sins, heal our souls, and show us His mercy. We praise Him for how great He is, rather than focusing on ourselves.
With the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee, Byzantine Christians open up the Lenten Triodion, the book containing the services for that Sunday up until Pascha (Easter). With the opening of the Triodion, we already see the Cross on the horizon, the great act of humility by which Jesus Christ overcame Death and granted us eternal life. We already prepare to “bow before His Resurrection on the third day” (Paschal Dismissal), and He invites us to share in His humility in order to share in His glory. So, as we continue the journey to the Resurrection, perhaps we can try to think less of ourselves and more of God, to consider less how great we are and more how great He is, to ask Him to forgive our sins, heal our souls, and show us His mercy, and above all to thank Him for making us share in His own life through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever.
Photo: Public Domain
Author Bio: Deacon Luke Iyengar
Deacon Luke Iyengar was ordained in September 2024 for the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy (Archdiocese) of Pittsburgh. He has degrees from Franciscan University of Steubenville and the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of Ss. Cyril and Methodius. Dcn Luke teaches high school theology full-time, college theology part-time, and serves at his home parish, Holy Ghost in McKees Rocks, PA. In spite of his last name sounding like a certain city in The Lord of the Rings, he is actually quite fond of forests and enjoys hiking when not in the church or classroom.
