Excerpt from “Living Sacrifice Devotions for Lent”

Luke 18:9-14

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ He [Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Meditation

On Ash Wednesday, we take a good, hard look at ourselves.  Honestly taking stock of where we are spiritually and perhaps making some adjustments in our lives.  The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector reminds us that God’s score card is different than our own.

This parable is directed at those in the crowd who were self-righteous and “regarded others with contempt.”  That means not only did they think a wee bit too much of themselves; nobody else measured up to their standard.  Know anybody like that?  To set up the story, Jesus introduces two men praying (it could also be women) in the temple where everybody goes to seek God.  The self-righteous one gets named the Pharisee who is compared to the hated traitor, the Tax Collector.  There is no way the Tax Collector could be anything other than bad news to the audience.  Both approach God in prayer.  The Pharisee begins his prayer thanking God for his lot in life and goes on to list those pious duties of the law he participates in.  The Tax Collector, recognizing he is a sinner, asks God for forgiveness not for being a tax collector, but for being an ordinary, everyday sinner.  Jesus says, repentance and humility wins.  If our prayers sound more like self-justification, we may want to re-evaluate whose score card we’re using—God’s or our own?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.