March 29, 2025

Luke 18:9-14

Today’s reading is about the spiritual side of prayer offered from the heart, which is more pleasing to God than all the carefully performed external works of piety if they are only done to further one’s own sense of security.  The story begins with a Pharisee, a Jew of high standing, coming to the temple and in his prayer, congratulating himself on how much better he is than the rest of humanity due to the works of piety he does every week. He thanks God that he is not like the tax collector nearby, who Jewish society regarded as an evil-doer, extorting taxes from the people to give the Romans. 

In contrast, the tax collector stands back and does not even dare raise his eyes to heaven, but instead beats his breast and prays, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”  (This prayer has been widely adopted as “Lord Jesus Christ, be merciful to me a sinner.”) Jesus concludes that this man went home right with God, but not the Pharisee, “for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Although we may look back at the Pharisee and think how silly he was, are we not still surrounded by self-righteous church-goers who similarly congratulate themselves on being on the road to Heaven because of their external conformity to the rules?  Has an excessive and rigid emphasis on rules not at times done harm to the Church’s ability to serve spiritual seekers? And do we not each one of us find ourselves slipping into some of the Pharisee’s mindset from time to time – for this is human.

Yet the way of the tax collector is blessed, when we open our hearts and admit our vulnerability. Rather than build up points in Heaven, can we simply be with God with open heart and trust in God’s mercy, while listening for prompts for how we can serve others?

While this is a spiritual message, there is also wisdom here that should give heart to those dismayed by the current political environment.  It is equally true that in the world that those who exalt themselves will be humbled.  This is so, eventually and in the end.

Again we hear that when dark times come, we can communicate in code by simply quoting Scripture. Amen.