Weekend Reflections for 10/25/19

Anybody righteous around here?

Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the publican tax collector at prayer invites our reflection on relationships: with others around us and with God. When we think of righteousness we may be tempted to recall our own accomplishments, or the achievements of others around us whom we think of as outstanding people. But true righteousness is not about what we do but about what God does with us. The publican was a despised personality in Jesus’ time and culture, not because he was a tax collector, but because he was an abusive Roman official who exploited many people. And despite our negative image of the Pharisees, Jesus himself may have been a member of that group who tried to live righteous lives by observing the law.

St. Paul points to the only authentic crown of righteousness that awaits us, the justification that comes from God in Christ Jesus. May this self-emptying righteousness crown our own lives and relationships of service to family, neighbors, and strangers too, even tax collectors. There is no other crown of righteousness but God’s self-emptying in Jesus and our own prayerful participation in this as we run the race of our lives.

In the spiritual exercise we participate in at White House, St. Ignatius invites us to run this race to empty our selves to the third degree…of humility.  

-Fr. Ted Arroyo, SJ