Podcast: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Hi and welcome to the Modern Psalmist Podcast. I’m Rebecca De La Torre.

This weekend we celebrate the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C. Much like last Sunday, today’s readings remind us that the Lord is merciful to those who cry out to him with humble hearts.

The first reading, taken from the book of Sirach chapter 35, says in verse 17:

“The LORD is not deaf to the wail of the orphan,
nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint.”

and in verse 21:

“The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds;
it does not rest till it reaches its goal,”

The Psalm for today really sums up all the readings in the response itself. Taken from chapter 34, the response is

“The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”

And the verses continue to recount the many ways in which the Lord helps those humble hearts who cry out to him for mercy.

As often occurs, the communion antiphon for today is almost like a response to the psalm. Whereas the psalm proclaims the Lord’s eternal care for the lowly, the communion antiphon thanks God for his “saving help.”

Taken from Psalm chapter 20 verse 6, we read:

“We will ring out our joy at your saving help
and exult in the name of our God.”

In the gospel for today from Luke chapter 18, Jesus tells us the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, continuing to show us how the Lord is ever compassionate toward those who call on him for mercy. It’s a great parable because it teaches us how we should *all* approach the throne of the Lord *every* time we pray. We can’t pretend we have it all together and are not in need of God’s mercy.

As Jesus recounts the parable, the Pharisee is praying in the temple and is very haughty and conceited. In his misguided piety, he criticizes and despises the rest of humanity, specifically the tax collector he sees praying at a distance. The Pharisee has the nerve to begin his prayer saying, in verse 11:

“O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity”

And he goes on to brag about how great he is. Truly disgusting.

But the tax collector was completely different. He wouldn’t even raise his head, but beat his chest and prayed in verse 13:

“O God, be merciful to me a sinner”

Jesus makes it clear in verse 14 that it was the publican who went home justified before God, and not the self-righteous Pharisee,

“for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.””

I find this parable not only instructive but also encouraging.

It’s instructive because it forces me to consider my own prayer life. Do I approach the Lord with a haughty or smug attitude? I know I’m not always as humble as I am supposed to be.

And at the same time, I also feel like I have to keep asking forgiveness for the same things over and over. Maybe that’s how the tax collector felt. Maybe, particularly in his profession, he found it hard to consistently follow the Lord’s decrees, and in his exhausted despair he couldn’t even lift his eyes to the Lord in his prayer.

So hearing Jesus say that this publican was the one justified after his humble cry for mercy encourages me that the Lord is continually patient with us. Even when I feel like I’m wearing him out with my repeat offenses, the Lord’s mercy is far greater than my sin. And so it is will all of humanity.

The theme of crying out to the Lord for mercy is expressed so beautifully in the song “Out of the Deep I Call” by Sir Henry Williams Baker. It’s a simple but beautiful poem of 4 verses set to the melody titled SOUTHWELL composed by William Daman in 1579.

I’ve composed my own Spanish lyrics as well, titled “Desde lo hondo, a ti grito”, since I love being able to teach these ancient melodies to my Spanish choirs as well. Here is my English recording of “Out of the Deep I Call”

That was “Out of the Deep I Call” by Sir Henry Williams Baker and William Daman for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary time, year C. Links to the sheet music and recordings, including Spanish and bilingual versions, can be found on TheModernPsalmist.com and also in the show notes.

Thank you for listening to the Modern Psalmist podcast.

Have a great week.