Rather than or alongside?

On Sunday, we will hear of the parabolic encounter of the tax collector and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9–14). When they leave to go home, does the tax collector depart justified rather than the Pharisee, as most (perhaps all) major English translations put it, or is he justified alongside his self-righteous colleague? And does that have the power to upend everything we thought we knew about this familiar parable?

Last week, I went to the Episcopal seminary in Sewanee, Tennessee, for an opportunity to interview some potential contextual education partners, students who might spend two semesters in our parish as part of their formation. One of the treats for mentors like me is the opportunity to sit in on a class, and I attended one of Jim Brosend's Parables and Preaching seminars. One of the topics in that session was this particular parable, and Brosend suggested to us that the Greek construction typically rendered as "rather than" is "παρ' ἐκεῖνον," which is "para" + a noun in the accusative case. In Greek, Brosend argued, para + the accusative can mean "rather than" but far more often means "alongside." To make this point, he turned to the concept of "parable" as "para" + "bole" or literally "to throw alongside." I raised my hand and tried to make the point that this "casting alongside" in parables is to make a comparison—a distinction—but he turned my statement back on itself and noted that such a comparison can (often is) to draw similarities and not always differences. I was stumped.

What happens when we hear Jesus say, "I tell you, this man went down to his home justified alongside the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted?" From the pulpit, I avoid mentioning the Greek text at all costs, and I am not about to tell the congregation that para + the accusative usually means "alongside." But I do think it's worth considering what a Pharisee represented in Jesus' day. Even though I'm not willing to discard rather than altogether, I do think that, if we try to consider righteousness from a first-century Palestinian Jewish perspective, the alongside begins to make more sense.