Pharisees get a bad rap, I think. They were not paid. They all had daytime jobs. Primarily they wanted to understand what a good relationship with God looked like. They knew the scriptures inside out. They lived according to a very strict set of rules. They did their very best to live as they believed God wanted them to live.
Tax collectors were the worst of the worst. They were part of the Hebrew community, working for the Romans, and adding something extra for themselves via the taxes they collected from other Hebrew people.They got rich this way. I doubt anyone was more hated than the tax collectors.
So why did Jesus seem to prefer the tax collector in this week’s gospel? Let’s talk about it on Sunday.