The paschal season of the Church is preceded by the season of Great Lent,
which is itself preceded by its own liturgical preparation. The first
sign of the approach of Great Lent comes five Sundays before its
beginning. On this Sunday the Gospel reading is about Zacchaeus
the tax-collector. It tells how Christ brought salvation to the sinful
man and how his life was greatly changed simply because he “sought to
see who Jesus was” (Lk 19:3). The desire and effort to see
Jesus begins the entire movement through lent towards Easter. It is the
first movement of salvation.
The following Sunday is that of the Publican and the Pharisee.
The focus here is on the two men who went to the Temple to pray—one a
pharisee who was a very decent and righteous man of religion, the other a
publican who was a truly sinful tax-collector who was cheating the
people. The first, although genuinely righteous, boasted before God and
was condemned, according to Christ. The second, although genuinely
sinful, begged for mercy, received it, and was justified by God (Lk 18:9).
The meditation here is that we have neither the religious piety of the
pharisee nor the repentance of the publican by which alone we can be
saved. We are called to see ourselves as we really are in the light of
Christ’s teaching, and to beg for mercy.
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