This passage from Sirach comes from a larger section on true worship of God, which consists not merely in offering acceptable physical sacrifices at the altar, but above all in following God’s will by keeping the commandments and avoiding injustice (34:21 — 35:22). Because God is inherently just, God does not favor one person over another because one is rich or poor, for example. Although God has a special care for the weak and vulnerable, they do not “get a pass” for sin or injustice. While God’s ear is particularly attentive to the weak, who often have no one to rely on but God, all those who seek to be faithful to God will be heard. These are the lowly, those who submit to the divine will and seek to live it. Their prayer, especially for justice, will always be graciously received.
Paul concludes his Second Letter to Timothy by reminding him, once again, that he must stay firm in his teaching of sound doctrine, “for the time will come when people will not tolerate” it, but “will stop listening to the truth.” So Timothy must be prepared to continue to put up with hardship to fulfill his ministry (4:3–5). Paul himself, who is in prison, has done this, pouring himself out like a libation, that is, like an offering to God. As he looks back on his work, he is satisfied that whatever struggles and failures he might have had, he has been faithful and thus is “crossing the finish line,” the reward for which will be presented by Christ himself. This same Christ has stood by Paul from the beginning, even when he has been abandoned by others, so that Paul too may fulfill his ministry.
There are perhaps few things so frightening to contemplate as the possibility that one has fundamentally misinterpreted one’s stance before God. The Pharisee represents the dangerous tendency in most of us to exalt ourselves at the expense of others. He is, in one sense, a good Jew; Jesus does not find fault with his fasting and tithing. But his words suggest that he does not consider himself a sinner, and in fact looks down on those who are. His “thanksgiving” is entirely self-congratulatory and he neither gives God praise nor asks God for anything. The tax collector, on the other hand, is a stereotypical sinner who, crucially, knows he is in need of mercy. He goes home justified because he asked for mercy and received it. The Pharisee did not go home justified because he did not ask for mercy; he did not think he needed it.