As the Orthodox Church enters the season of the Triodion, preparing hearts and consciences for Great Lent, two Gospel parables stand at the threshold: the Publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9–14), and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32). They are not chosen by chance. They are not sentimental preludes to repentance. They are spiritual diagnostics. They examine how human beings relate to God, to law, to freedom, to failure, and to mercy. They probe the tension between obedience and self-righteousness, between rebellion and return, between belonging and estrangement.

Both parables come from the Gospel tradition transmitted in the Gospel of Luke, where they form part of a broader reflection on divine mercy, humility, and restoration.

The Pharisee and the publican are not caricatures. The Pharisee is not “the villain,” nor is the tax collector automatically “the hero.” In first-century Jewish society, the Pharisees were respected teachers of the Law, guardians of tradition, interpreters of how commandments could be lived concretely in daily life. The publicans, tax collectors working for Roman authorities, were often viewed with suspicion, sometimes with reason, sometimes unjustly. They represented a morally ambiguous profession in an occupied land.

Jesus does something subtle and daring. He does not abolish the value of the Law. He does not praise corruption. He places two faithful Jews before God and exposes the interior posture with which each stands before Heaven. One speaks abundantly, even eloquently, about his virtues. The other speaks almost not at all. One enumerates his achievements. The other simply confesses his need: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” And Christ concludes: it is the second who goes home justified. Nowadays, it is possible for every soul that prays: “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner” to think it will be justified?

This is not an attack on discipline. It is an attack on self-sufficiency. It is not a rejection of religious effort. It is a warning against transforming effort into entitlement. The Pharisee fulfills commandments, but he has converted obedience into capital. He stands before God as one who believes he has earned something. The publican stands as one who knows that nothing can be claimed. Still, he also was granted the Law and the commandments.

In this sense, the parable is deeply biblical. It resonates with the foundational vision of Israel’s covenant, especially as articulated in the giving of the Law through Moses in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 20:1–17) and reaffirmed in the Book of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 5:6–21). The Ten Commandments are not prayers. They are not liturgical hymns. They are not emotional expressions of faith. They are a moral, legal, and social charter. They regulate relations with God and with others. Thus, the also regulate the relations of humans with God, not according to human patterns but in accordance to Divine Will and revelation. They protect life, dignity, truth, property, family, and memory.

They are given not to saints, but to a recently........

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