The Pharisee and the Tax Collector 

There are certain jokes that begin, “There was an Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman…”  Sometimes other nationalities are used.  They can be amusing but also offensive because they are rooted in prejudice, stereotypes and even racism, even if those who tell such jokes are quick to say defensively, “Well, it’s only a joke.”

I wonder if, in Jesus’ day, as the various crowds of people listened to the parables, people said to each other, “Did you hear the one about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector?”  Of course, Jesus wasn’t telling a joke but he was speaking in a way that played on two stereotypes.

So let’s think about the two stereotypes: the Pharisees were the ultra-zealous Jews who followed every detail of the law and prided themselves on sticking to the small print.  This particular one thinks he is religious, righteous and even says, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”  He is full of pride.

Tax-collectors, on the other hand, were despised and hated: they were usually Jews who had betrayed their own people by working for the Romans, collecting taxes, but also working dishonestly so as to demand excessive amounts from their fellow people.  But this particular tax collector may have done wrong, but he knows it, admits it and simply prays, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

In jokes and in parables, we are invited to compare and contrast the stock characters we are presented with.  But less comfortably, we are invited to compare ourselves with the characters.  Which of the two are we most like?  How do we need to change?  

God bless, Fr Kevin.