ON JUSTIFICATION

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.

One thing which never ceases to amaze me about the teaching of Jesus Christ is the economy of His language. Contained in the fifteen words I have just quoted is the subject of the parable which precedes them. That subject is man’s justification, and it is not a small subject.

What does our Lord mean by “justified”? He means accepted and counted righteous before God, and our Lord’s parable has the express purpose of teaching us about this very important matter. He means to prick the bubble of any who think they are righteous in comparison to others, or indeed, in any absolute sense. Justification, it is abundantly clear, comes by the Grace of God, not by anything we can do, except, that is, to throw ourselves without reservation upon God’s mercy.

It is God working in us and through us who alone can make us acceptable and righteous to Himself. Our part is to understand that and pray that in His mercy He will make of us His more worthy instruments.

St. Paul was only too aware of this reality and the Epistle reading set alongside today’s Gospel reading contains a clear statement of the Apostle’s firm belief, By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I but the grace of God which was with me. 1 Cor. 15:10.

The “they” to whom Paul compares his labours are the other Apostles, but Paul uses this device only to put himself down in comparison with the grace of God. In his Epistle to the Corinthians we see both St. Paul’s humility and his absolute certainty about the nature of his relationship with God. He, Paul, was nothing without God; God is everything.

We only have to reflect for a moment on the life of St. Paul to realize what a blessing such humility is, and what a necessity. Paul was a veritable dynamo, untiring in his efforts to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles over a wide geographical area. And, Oh!, how successful he was, leaving behind him new or strengthened churches and Christian communities in Ephesus, Corinth, Thyatira, Galatia, Philippi and many other places.

He touched the lives of the great and the lowly, individually and in large groups. It would have been the most natural thing in the world for this man to have concluded that all these results were his. But no, he wrote to the Corinthians, Yet not I but the Grace of God which was with me.

St. Paul knew that his relationship to God was one of complete dependency. How very different is the Pharisee in our Lord’s parable. In describing the Pharisee, Jesus describes a man who is far more conscious of himself than he is of God. Despite its promising beginning, God, I thank thee…..his prayer tumbles immediately into a dark morass of self congratulation, devoid of the light of Christ, full of “I’s”. I am not as other men are…I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. I, I, I.

The Pharisee is not really praying to God at all, but to himself. As Jesus says, The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. The Greek is most accurately translated as to himself, which provides the complete sense of what Jesus is saying. The Pharisee was giving himself a testimonial and in the process he shuts God out of his life. There is something to ponder. Do we fall into the trap of thinking ourselves to be pious and thereby exclude the merciful God who alone can make us genuinely pious?

Standing quietly at the back, probably trembling at the very idea of where he is, the tax collector, eyes never leaving the floor, beats his breast and shows how very aware he is of where he stands with Almighty God. His prayer is short and, directed entirely towards God, contains what is essential to all prayer, that deep conviction of our dependency upon our Creator. As we come face to face with God the ground disappears from beneath our feet and any feelings of independence must, if our spirit is the right spirit of humility, evaporate.

What is there then left to say but, God be merciful to me a sinner. In fact, the Greek is even stronger than the King James translation indicates. The Greek says, God be merciful to me the sinner. The Publican is so conscious of his unworthiness before God, that he places himself as the worst of sinners. And the genuine humility of his petition opens the publican wide to God’s grace. This man, Jesus says, went down to his house justified. What a wonderful message Jesus offers – all that is necessary is true prayer and justification follows at once.

True prayer is more than words spoken sincerely to God. I remember Fr. Svetozar in Medjugorje once saying that our pilgrimages to that place were in themselves prayer and he was right. True prayer involves our total response to God in thought word and deed. It is indivisible from our understanding of the relationship between us and God, between the creature and the Creator, between the mortal and the Immortal, between sinner and Saviour.

We are in the octave of the Feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let me turn to her story for a few minutes to illustrate what I have just said.

To this tender young teenager the angel Gabriel comes, a frightening experience in and of itself. His salutation causes concern, Hail thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Luke 1:28.

I think most of us would be reaching for the valium right now, but for Mary it gets worse. Behold, says Gabriel, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son. Then said Mary to the angel, How shall this be seeing that I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1 34-35.

At this point there is no help in an entire bottle of valium. Nothing but the help of God will suffice and we know from her deeply humble response that Mary opened her heart to the help of God and He gave her the assistance she needed. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to they word.

In that total submission to the will of God lies Mary’s greatness. Just like the Publican in her blessed Son’s parable, she throws herself entirely on God’s mercy. Later, when she visits her cousin Elisabeth who is carrying John the Baptist in her own womb, we hear from Mary’s own lips the evidence that, again like the Publican, she understands her place before God.

Elisabeth salutes Mary with the words now enshrined in the Angelus, Blessed art thou among women…and more. In response Mary claims nothing for herself, but gives the glory to God:

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:

For behold; from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;

And holy is his name. Luke 1: 46-49.

In these words from what we know as the Magnificat, Mary worships and glorifies God, and in so doing she shows us that it is God we must worship and glorify. She also shows us that she deserves, not our worship, for she is not God, but our unreserved respect and our love.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women.

In becoming Theotokos, Mary showed her extraordinary humility before God and became blessed indeed among women. Can anyone doubt Mary’s justification?

In his tireless work for the Lord Jesus in the church he had formerly persecuted with such determination, St. Paul showed the abundant grace of God. Can anyone doubt Paul’s justification?

In our Lord’s parable, the Publican stands where we all stand in relation to God, asking only for God’s mercy. Jesus leaves no doubt about the Publican’s justification.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Peter Jardine+

Trinity XI, 2007