by Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
v9Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else. v10″Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. v11The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, a ‘I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. v12I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income.’ v13But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, ‘God, have pity on me, a sinner!’ v14I tell you,” said Jesus, “the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great.” – Luke 18:9-14
The familiar story of the Pharisee and the tax collector as they pray in the temple raises the issue of our attitude as we approach God in prayer. God desires humble confession, and a willingness to bare our sin. Merit or works do not gain favor in God’s sight. Throughout the gospels there is a tension between Jesus and the Pharisees, between the self-justification of the Pharisees and God’s grace. As we live our lives, how wonderful it is to know that God’s acceptance of us does not depend upon what we do, but rather it is God’s grace.
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In this parable, a Pharisee and a tax collector went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prayed about how good he was, but the tax collector asked for God’s mercy as he was a sinner. Jesus said that it was the tax collector who went home justified before God. He concluded, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
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Tax collectors were hated in biblical times and were regarded as sinners. They were Jews who worked for the Romans, so this made them traitors. People resented paying taxes to the foreigners who ruled over them. Tax collectors were not paid an actual wage by the Romans, they were expected to take extra money and keep some for themselves. Many tax collectors were dishonest and abused this system by taking far too much.
The Pharisees on the other hand, were an influential religious sect within Judaism in the time of Christ and the early church. They were known for their emphasis on personal piety (the word Pharisee comes from a Hebrew word meaning “separated”), their acceptance of oral tradition in addition to the written Law, and their teaching that all Jews should observe all 600-plus laws in the Torah, including the rituals concerning ceremonial purification. The Pharisees were mostly middle-class businessmen and leaders of the synagogues. Though they were a minority in the Sanhedrin and held a minority number of positions as priests, they seemed to control the decision-making of the Sanhedrin because they had popular support among the people.
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Living up to God’s expectations was not a problem for the Pharisee in our gospel reading this Sunday. He had made it (or so he thought). After all, that was the purpose of the law: to help meet God’s expectations. Rigorously, and religiously, he believed he had done that and more. So with the audience that perhaps included Pharisees, Jesus expanded this story to include a tax collector, who regularly made his living by charging more than the stated tax required. The location is important. The Pharisee is in the front pew, wanting to be noticed. The tax collector is in the back pew, hoping to be ignored. The Pharisee contrasts his life to the life of the lowly tax collector. The tax collector prays the simple prayer: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Jesus then finishes the story by saying: “I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalts themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
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This gospel puts into words shameful attitudes that many of us possess but are reluctant to admit. The strange thing is that, as we listen to the story, our sympathy goes out to the tax collector, whose broken heart has nothing to offer God except sorrow for his failings. However, in real life we are more inclined to imitate the Pharisee. Our style of behavior may be less obvious but it’s there all the same. It expresses itself in our thirst for recognition, in our desire to be center stage and in our seeking our preferential treatment. In everyday life when we boast, brag, put ourselves on pedestals and appear better than we are in reality, tinges of the Pharisee emerge in our character. We pride ourselves on our achievements and we forget that pride eats away at the core of the human heart. It is only when we empty ourselves of pride that we come to realize how totally dependent we are upon God, and can develop a reliance on Him.
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As we hear this good news we discover that humility is not a quality that we generate from within. Rather humility comes about in our lives as we are confronted by the gospel and recognize the enormity of the power of the gospel at work in our lives. In fact, when we are faced with the magnitude of such grace, then we respond like the tax collector, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” For even prayer comes from our lips, God has demonstrated God’s mercy, and we rejoice because the mercy that comes from God never ends.
Humility is the habitual quality whereby we live in the truth of things: that truth that we are creatures and not the Creator; the truth that our life is a composite of good and evil, light and darkness; the truth that in our littleness we have been given extravagant dignity. Humility is saying a radical ‘yes’ to human condition. (Bishop Robert F Morneau, Green Bay, Wisconsin)
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A pastor walked into the church and felt an overwhelming sense of God’s holiness. He went to the front, knelt at the altar rail, and began to beat himself on the chest, crying out, “O Lord, I am nothing!” Moments later, the minister of music entered the church. He too felt the overwhelming presence of God and knelt beside the pastor, striking his chest and saying, “O Lord, I am nothing, I am nothing.” One by one other staff members entered who knelt, bemoaning their “nothingness” before the Almighty. The church custodian also got caught up in the revival, beating on his chest, and saying, “O Lord, I am nothing, I am nothing.” The pastor looked up, saw the janitor, and nudged the minister of music, “Well, well,” he said, “Just look at who thinks he’s nothing!” (1001 Illustrations That Connect)
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When our children were young, my husband and I decided we wouldn’t watch R-rated movies. We made this decision in good conscience and never regretted it. I found, however, that it made me judgmental toward other parents who watched R-rated movies, I began to feel they weren’t fully committed to Christ because they watched things I’d decided not to watch. I realize how ridiculous it is to judge someone’s relationship with God by what movies he or she watches, but my evaluation was so subtle at that time. As I made this judgment, I never thought about my own sin or all the things the person I was judging was doing right. Instead, I focused on this one thing I thought they were doing wrong. Being a Pharisee is so easy. It’s great to make rules to guide our own behavior, but when we extend those rules to everyone around us, we’re in danger of becoming like the Pharisees, whom Jesus denounced as hypocrites. (JoHanna Reardon, ChristianBibleStudies.com)
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Prayer must come from a sincere and humble heart if it is to be heard. We have all got to be honest about our sinfulness and worthlessness in God’s eyes, and our need for his mercy and forgiveness. This gospel contains a warning for all about the danger of becoming spiritually smug and of presenting ourselves as a deserving subject of God’s mercy because of the good works we have performed. We have not earned our salvation, for grace is the gift of Jesus from the cross. When we compare ourselves to the life of Jesus and the holiness of God, all that is left to say is: “O Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
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The Guardian, a major newspaper in England, has a daily column of “Corrections and Clarifications.” Edited by Ian Mayes, the column breaks the stodgy English tradition of rarely admitting error. Sometimes done with humor at the paper’s own expense, the column averages about five corrections a day, ranging from typos and simple misspellings to substituting “ex-patriots” for “expatriates,” and “having insight” for “having incited.” Thinking that more people read the corrections than the original story, Mayes began working the columns into a book of his favorite mishaps, Only Correct: The Best of Corrections and Clarifications.
If a newspaper has learned that confession expands a readership rather than turn people away, perhaps individuals will catch on too. Neither newspapers nor human beings can avoid making mistakes. It is candor in admitting them and taking responsibility for them that is unique. (Rubel Shelly, CNN.com)
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, we confess that all too often we are tempted to point to ourselves and our own accomplishments, believing that somehow what we do or what we accomplish makes us important or precious in your sight. Help us, O God, when we are tempted to look to ourselves as our source of strength and life, to remember that what we do in this life is fleeting, but what you have done for us is eternal. Help us always to value the gift of your grace that you have given us through your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Help us to be grateful for your words of love, acceptance, and forgiveness that you continue to give because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Turn our lives around, O God, that everything we do might be a reflection of your grace, through Jesus Christ. Amen.**
