The third section: Sermons for the time of the Triodi
His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) (*)

One of the Pharisees and the tax collector
Oh God, give us the blessing of the humble

Who is the Pharisee? He is the one who, when compared to other Jews, is distinguished by his knowledge of his Holy Book, his awareness of the biblical texts, and his awareness of his religious duties. He is, to a large extent, a teacher of faith. The adjective (Pharisee) gave the person described with it great honor and dignity. It is equivalent to the title (theologian) in our days. In short, the Pharisee is the man involved in spiritual affairs, in the affairs of the church.

The Pharisee had a unique experience. He went through a test that everyone interested in matters of religion and spiritual life might go through. When the Savior addressed the Pharisees, he said to them: (Woe to you). This Pharisee belongs to that group that the Savior rebuked by saying: (Woe to you) because you love to hold councils and occupy the first seats in the halls, the churches, and every meeting. (Woe to you) because you love people to greet you in the streets and markets and to call you (Sir, Sir). And so it is with those whom you call today (our master). They may scold you if you call them (our father) because they are also accustomed to being honored by people, and for them to be the focus of human attention. In human society, many people expect to occupy the top of the councils, and for people to greet them and call them Mr. Mr.

The Apostle Paul was proud to say, “I am a Jew, I am a Pharisee,” because he meant that his Judaism was authentic. However, he transcended his Pharisaism, transcended that religion to another religion.

On this day we have the image of the self-confident Pharisee, confident in the validity of his faith, (orthodox) in his Judaism. This Pharisee is standing in (the temple), yes in (the temple), and he forgot that it is in (the temple) where things change. How many ignorant people in the world become a thousand times more sacred in the temple than the greatest learner. Outside the temple, testimony must come to you from people, but in the temple, testimony must come from God. God sees what no one else sees and knows what no one else knows. Clothes do not deceive God, nor do appearances, decorum, and good speech, which we humans often fall victim to.

The Pharisee forgot the holiness of the temple and the holiness of the situation. The temple was no longer sacred in his view due to his habit of entering it. Therefore, there is no longer a difference between the Temple and other places, and what is good outside the Temple is now good inside the Temple. Thus, the Pharisee thought that even in the temple he could compete with his brother, the tax collector, and outdo him in carrying out the duties of fasting, praying, and implementing the commandments.

The Pharisee thought that if he fulfilled his duties, it would mean that he had completed everything before God Almighty. The truth, beloved ones, is that the human heart is the origin, and what always strikes me is that we often do not distinguish between purity of heart and purity of appearance. Some people are pure in appearance, but their hearts are as far from purity as the earth is from the sky. Others are defiled in appearance, but in their hearts there is innocence and purity that we desire for ourselves and consider to be sublime in status.

Yes, among our brothers there are those who are described as “imperfect” in comparison to and based on our life systems and social rules. Among people there is someone we condemn, and he may seem to us on the surface worthy of condemnation, but his heart is purer than our hearts, and his soul is more pure and clear than our souls, and therefore he is more worthy than us to be a living temple of God.

The Pharisee mentioned in the Gospel passage stopped only at the point of external purity: washing hands, washing face, coming to church... At this point of purity, the Pharisee stopped. When upright in work, honesty in speech, and paying the tithes stipulated in the law. Is that all? This person whom the evangelist told us about is a religious man. He may be poor, but he completes everything that is required of him. In the Church, every believer can fulfill his duties.

Let us move to the second image: the tax collector, the tax collector. He reminds us of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, whose stature was not enough to see Christ, so he sought help from a tree and climbed up to see him, even from afar. I remind you that our Savior Jesus Christ was the subject of severe criticism because he sat with adulterers, sinners, and tax collectors. So you can imagine how hated this type of rich, oppressive people was.

The tax collector, this hated person in his community, stood far away. He did not search for the first seat, but rather stood near the door, but not to leave the temple at any time he wanted, as we often do, but rather he stood there because he felt that he might desecrate the temple if he stepped on it and that he did not deserve to approach the holy things. The book said: (He stood far away and did not dare to raise his eyes.) Usually, the guilty person does not dare to look into the eyes of the ruler, but instead knocks on the ground. This person stood far away, staring blankly, and prayed: (O God, forgive me, a sinner). In one phrase, he summarizes all the praises, all the songs, all the rituals that we perform. (O God, forgive me, a sinner), (Have mercy on me, a sinner). If this phrase is not behind these hymns, praises and rituals, then prayer is meaningless.

For an arrogant person, his fasting does not benefit him and his prayers do not benefit him. Whoever does not acknowledge that he is a weak person, who does not feel that he is in need of God’s abundant mercy, is an unbeliever. The person who comes to the church arrogantly, arrogantly, and arrogantly does not lead the church or pray.

In church we bow our heads to the Lord. This head, which is designed for evil and devises satanic licentiousness, must itself bow to the Lord. This heart must be broken before the Lord, otherwise our prayers and fasting are deception.

Let us go one step further in our conversation, beloved ones. When the tax collector said: (Have mercy on me, a sinner), Luke the Evangelist was assuming that we know the practical results of the prayer of an unjust person, an exploitative person, and a money-gatherer, and he says: (Have mercy on me, a sinner). In reality we do not know the practical results. Let us mention Zacchaeus again. Zacchaeus, when he discovered the true face of Christ, he no longer thought about economics, socializing, or saving... The book says that he was changed, changed in his heart, and changed in his being. There was a radical change in it, and all I had to do was declare with all spontaneity and simplicity: (O Lord, half of my money I distribute to the poor). He was not satisfied with oral confession and oral prayer. People were satisfied with what came out of their mouths, but when the heart was moved, it really took action: (Oh my Lord, I distribute half of my money to the poor). Exactly because these are the ones I collected my money from, so let their money be returned to them. Then the tax collector added: “If I have wronged anyone, I will repay him many times over.”

This hadith is the actual, practical result of Christ’s presence in a human heart. Christ is not words, Christ is not words, Christ is life. The living body lives the life within it and adapts to it. If you are weak, he will be weak, if you are strong, he will be strong, and if you separate from him, he will die.

We cannot be Christians if we are oppressors and exploiters. Reach into your pocket and remove injustice and exploitation from it. You should rip this pocket open and give people's money back to the people. Christ is not a joke. Christ is a great adventure in your life, as a result of which you gain life in the Lord. It is the condition for your entry into the heavenly kingdom.

The Pharisee and the tax collector stood in the temple. The book says that his first request was not heard: I fasted, I prayed, I paid alms. As for the second, (I am the sinner), he said it with the heart, not with the mouth, and he was not satisfied with just saying it, but he took the path of the repentant - and repentance is a complete change in you - so Christ found a place in him and this person returned to his home justified.

Luke the Evangelist uses this sentence twice: (He who humbles himself will be exalted, and he who exalts himself will be humbled).

This means that elevation comes from God, not from you, not from humans. You may be highly valued among people and rejected by God, or you may be rejected by people and despised, and your position with God is higher than people imagine. Oh God, give us the blessing of humility. Amen.

{Dropped in Latakia in 1975}.