Reflection: Luke 18:9-14

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent – Luke 18:9-14

The parable that Jesus tells his disciples and listeners today is the familiar parable of the two men who went up to the temple to pray. As we know one man was a Pharisee and the other man was a tax collector. The Pharisee began to pray and he gave thanks that he was not like the rest of humanity. He especially was pleased that he was not like the tax collector who also had come to the temple to pray. The Pharisee truly believed that he was better than the tax collector. As a Pharisee, he fasted at least twice a week and he also tithed!

Standing a few feet away from the Pharisee was a tax collector who also had come to the temple to pray. However, the prayer of the tax collector was the complete opposite of the Pharisee’s prayer. The tax collector was deeply repentant for the many wrongs he had done in his life and in his work. This man would not even look up to heaven when he prayed. He humbly begged God to be merciful to him, sinner though he was. The tax collector truly was repentant. He yearned to turn his life around and to do what was right in the eyes of God.

What differing ways of approaching God! The Pharisee truly believed that he was above everyone else, especially the sinners, the poor or the lowly. The tax collector however, was deeply repentant for the many wrongs he had done and he yearned for God’s mercy. The Pharisee considered himself entitled to a reward for all his “goodness” while the tax collector hoped and prayed that God, who was merciful, would forgive him!

How do we approach God? Do we approach God in the manner of the Pharisee, perhaps actually believing that we have earned a reward? Or are we more like the tax collector, coming to God with a humble, contrite heart and hoping that God will be merciful to us and forgive us? Most likely we have both characters within us! At times, we may be more like the tax collector, almost demanding something from God because we believe we deserve it. And at other times, we come humbly to God, contrite, sad and repentant for what we have done, yet we come, trusting in God’s mercy, love and goodness.

Most likely, all of us have approached God in both ways at various times in our lives. At times, we have been the Pharisee. And in other situations, we have been the tax collector. In some circumstances, we truly may believe that we are better and more righteous than others and thus, we may feel entitled. In other circumstances, we may indentify with the tax collector who truly may not believe that he basically is a good man.

What we do know is that Jesus desires that we be humble in the best meaning of the word. It doesn’t mean that we are to demean ourselves or believe that we are not as good as others. The word “humility” derives from the word “humus,” which is the dirt of the earth. Individuals who are humble are modest and tend to have an unassuming nature. They know who they are and who they are not. First and foremost they realize that they are the beloved of God. What they do, the position they hold, or the power and money they have is insignificant.

Is being the “beloved of God” sufficient for us? What more could we ask for?