THOSE WHO CREATE THEIR OWN STANDARDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR C.
October 28, 2007.
(First Reading Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18) (Psalm 34:2-3, 17-19, 23)
(Second Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18) (Gospel Reading: Luke 18:9-14)


THOSE WHO CREATE THEIR OWN
STANDARDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Like the Pharisees, who in biblical times held oppressive power and authority and established their own standards of righteousness, the world oppressors of our present time have also established their own standards of righteousness as a means to justify their global oppression.

In a world where vast majorities of human beings are oppressed - or wherever there is any oppression whatsoever - it is crucial for the oppressor to achieve two objectives: 1. He must be convinced of his own righteousness, and 2. He must ensure that those who are oppressed accept his standard of righteousness.

1. The oppressor(1) must be convinced of his own righteousness, he must believe that he is "right", that he represents the goal humanity aims at, that he is the model to be followed, to be praised, to be imitated. The oppressor creates a standard of "goodness" based on the oppression of his fellow human beings. The more effective the system of oppression the more righteous the oppressor becomes.

The oppressor bases his standard of righteousness on the accumulation of as much wealth as possible and the increase of his power at all cost, with disregard of the well-being of others. The one who disregards the needs of others and still is convinced of his own righteousness, is convinced only of... a great lie! The Pharisee's righteousness was a lie because he "despised everyone else" (Luke 18:9).

Having made himself the ultimate example to be followed, the oppressor can only be a believer of... himself! In the gospel reading Jesus says: "The Pharisee took up his position and spoke... [his] prayer to himself" (Luke 18:11); the Pharisee only praised himself.

2. The oppressor must ensure that those who are oppressed accept his standard of righteousness. The acceptance of a state of injustice is achieved only by means of a forceful imposition which shapes the minds, hearts and lives of people.

The oppressor, thus, creates a societal system which glorifies and justifies the state of oppression and punishes those who oppose the "established order", the "righteousness" of the oppressor.

In this gospel passage, Jesus uses the figure of the Pharisee precisely because the Pharisees had, through generations, created a societal life based on a complex legal system designed to justify their dishonesty, hypocrisy and mistreatment of their fellow human beings. The Pharisees were determined to maintain such system intact at all cost.

Who are the oppressed?
Jesus presents a tax collector as the one who is oppressed. Tax collectors were looked down, belittled, they lived on the margins of their society, they accounted for nothing of human value; in these regards, they were oppressed.

The particular tax collector of the parable has the courage to recognize that he is part of the world of oppression and sin in which he lives - after all, he collected the taxes for the Roman oppressors and was seen as their allied. In these regards, he was counted among the oppressors.

But it came the time when he felt the need to restore his human dignity and the dignity of the world in which he lived.

It is then that the tax collector realizes that he is a victim of oppression because he is used and abused by the rulers, and because he became a contributor to his own oppression by not having the courage to raise up and bring an end to oppression.

The statement of the tax collector in the temple is the first step in the direction of his liberation: "O God, be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13).

God sides with the oppressed.
Today's scriptural readings proclaim that "the Lord is a God of justice... he hears the cry of the oppressed. He is not deaf to the wail of the orphan, nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint" (Sirach 35:12-14). "The Lord has eyes for the just and ears for their cry. The Lord's face is against evildoers [the oppressors] to wipe out their memory from the earth" (Psalm 34).

In our world of oppression and injustice, those who truly want to follow the path of liberation must adhere to the standards set forth by the God of righteousness.
______________________________________________________________
FOOTNOTE:
(1) The term oppressor applies to the ruling individuals or nations of the world who further their self-serving interests by imposing their economic, political or military power upon their own nations or upon the entire world.