Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust adulterous, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

- Luke 18:9-14

In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave us a parable. He is building on His earlier teachings of the time of His return, and especially how they are to be His disciples in the times to come, after His crucifixion and as they await this event of the coming of the kingdom of God. (In other words, He speaks of the times we are in now.) Jesus preached the story of the The Tenacious Widow. She kept appearing before a judge - but this judge cared neither for the opinions of God nor man. In the end, however, because of her persistence, he granted her request and ruled that she was in the right, against her adversary. This parable was given to teach that we should pray always - and that God, who is so different from this uncaring judge, will answer speedily those whom God loves and who persist in communion and dialogue (prayer). But, Jesus added, "Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector." My study bible notes here: "The sharp contrast between the two men is deliberately drawn by Jesus. The Pharisee is highly respected as a zealous observer of God's Law, whereas the tax collector is despised as a public sinner, collaborating with the Romans, cheating the people." We remember that among Jesus' audience are both Pharisees and tax collectors! One of the Evangelists, a member of the Twelve, was also a tax collector - Matthew (or Levi).

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust adulterous, or even as this tax collector.' " A note here reads, "The Pharisee prayed thus with himself and not to God!" There's an understanding about community here; the root of righteousness is right-relatedness. This is the practice of God's love and mercy - as we all stand before God both as equals and individuals.

" 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' " In following the Law, in religious practice, he is exemplary. He does the "right things."

"And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' " A note reads: "The tax collector's posture and words express his deep humility and contrition, the opposite of the Pharisee's attitude." This is a man in real prayer: he is truly in communion, communicating in dialogue, with God. In yesterday's reading, we were given the parable of the Tenacious Widow, who continually went before the judge for justice. This was a teaching about praying unceasingly. Jesus is preparing the disciples for the times to come, when they will be without His presence. He is on His way to Jerusalem for the Passion. So, He has just taught that we are to pray often - and here we are taught how to pray, in "what posture," as my study bible says. Both of these men are telling the truth. Which one is telling them the truth that God wishes to us to know about ourselves? Which one prays from the depth of the heart? Which one truly stands before God as a supplicant? Which one reflects the desire to bear the fruits God asks, to become what God would make of him? Which one acknowledges the mystery of God, God's "unknowability"?

"I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." A note here reads, "Justified: forgiven and made right with God. Jesus reverses the expected conclusion. In the eyes of God, it is the tax collector who is justified because of his humility. The Pharisee is condemned because of his self-righteousness and self-exaltation." There is this word again, and its root in the Greek (δίκη) we discussed in yesterday's reading. To be "justified" is to be in the right, to be righteous - and in right-relatedness to God, to creation, to oneself. Jesus will often teach His disciples about humility, in phrases echoing these words here. He has taught earlier in Luke's Gospel that "indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last." He has also been reported by Luke to have preached the same saying here, in an earlier chapter: "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

But the greatest relationship to this parable may be another saying, this time from the Gospel of John: ""If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Jesus wishes for His disciples to always reach beyond what they know, and this means going down into the depths of relationship with God. The Pharisee may have been perfectly truthful - we assume he is. By the Law, he is a fully righteous man. But where is the relationship with God? And where is the reality of what is in his heart - or more deeply, the posture before God that asks, "How else do you need me to serve You?" It really doesn't matter what we have done or where we have been. In prayer, it is this moment - and our awareness of the One before whom we stand - that really matters. Whatever the apostles went out to do after Christ's Resurrection, they were never finished with their work until they understood the Spirit to have taught them this was so. God will always make of us "new things." Redemption and salvation are not a moment's work, and not something "that comes with observation," to use the phrase Jesus used when speaking of the coming of the kingdom to the Pharisees. God's work is "within us." Therefore to understand the nature of the truth that sets us free is to also understand the nature of our "right-relatedness" to God. And that right posture is always humble, always prepared to do more, to go further, to change whatever needs to be changed - it is the truth of our hearts before the "knower of hearts" (see here and here).

At the end of John's Gospel, there is a very significant passage about the last appearance of Jesus before Peter and John. Peter is told by Jesus to, "Feed My lambs." And he is also told about what death would befall him, also a martyr on a cross. But then he asks Jesus a question, referring to John who is also nearby: "Lord, what about him?" And Jesus replies, "‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" And so it is with this Pharisee and the tax collector. We cannot compare ourselves to one another. We all stand before Christ as equals, part of His Body - and whatever role He has for each of us lives in the truth in the depths of our relationship to God the Trinity -- what is God's will for us as individuals? And here is our right-relatedness and humility. It doesn't come with observation, and what we must do as members of this kingdom is not written in stone, in a formulaic law or legalistic terms. The gift has already been given to us at the Passion. It is up to us then to come to God and ask what to do with this gift, how we pursue it truly. And that requires humility, and the courage of self-knowledge before God, and the willingness to go forward in discipleship and not to rest in what we think we know. One thing is certain: we don't know it all, nor do we yet know the fruits we may come to bear as we walk in this Way. It's the truth of this reality - as we love with all our heart and soul and mind and strength - that makes us truly free; we "pray without ceasing" to find it ever deeply as we await His return. For that we need the humility Christ teaches here. Jesus teaches us today, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." To find who we truly are, we need to stand before God in that humility, and see where God teaches us to go, and to "change our mind."