God, be merciful to me a sinner

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, adulterers, 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

Yesterday we read that, after teaching about His Second Coming, Jesus taught a parable to His disciples, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying:  "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.  Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.'  And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"  Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.  And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?  I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.  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."  In the common understanding of the time, these two individuals are about as far apart as examples of personal conduct as they can possibly be.  A Pharisee was a highly respected and careful observer of the details of the Law.  The Pharisees were perhaps the most conspicuously righteous of all the groups of people, following not only rather strict interpretations of the Law, but an entire body of traditions built up around the Law as well.  A tax collector was a despised figure.   They were universally viewed with contempt for the job they did, seen as a betrayal of their people as they worked for the occupying Roman authorities.  Moreover, they frequently used the forces of military might in order to extort fellow Jews for extra funds; in effect, cheating them.

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'"  My study bible notes here that the practices of the Pharisee are worthy examples for all to follow.  He has good deeds that he does (fasting and giving tithes) which are the primary weapons against the passions of lust and greed (adultery and extortion).  But without a humble and repentant heart, my study bible says, these outward practices aren't effective but rather lead merely to pride and to judgment of others.  Let us pay close attention to the words of Jesus:  this Pharisee prays with himself.  Where is the communion with God in his "perfect" behavior?  My study bible says that God is absent where there is boasting.

"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!'"  My study bible comments on the posture of the tax collector in this parable, as given by Jesus.  He was standing afar off from the altar of sacrifice, and would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, and beat his breast.  These are all physical images of repentance, an awareness of the state of his soul, as my study bible puts it.  His prayer, asking, God, be merciful to me a sinner, has become the classic prayer refrain heard in the Church (Lord have mercy, or, in Greek, Kyrie eleison), used both for worship and for personal prayer.  It is also the foundation of the Jesus Prayer, or what is called Prayer of the Heart.

"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."  My study bible explains that justified here means forgiven and set right with God.  It notes that inward humility is blessed while pride in outward deeds is condemned.   This is the second time in Luke's Gospel that Jesus has taught that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.  The first was in chapter 14, when He spoke to a gathering at the home of a ruler of the Pharisees, teaching the same (see 14:1-14).

What does it really mean to be humble?  We can see, from Jesus' teaching, that the root of humility is really communion with God.   The Pharisee here has great achievements in terms of spiritually "good deeds."  On the surface, we might say, they are works that defy selfishness:  works that speak of sacrifice and also of sharing.  But the Pharisee exalts himself in his failure to be face to face with God, regardless of outward posture.  As Jesus says, he "prays with himself."   The only judgment he therefore seeks is his own.  But the tax collector, as reprehensible as he is, knows his own failure, and this is due to the fact that his posture betrays that he feels he is in the presence of God, and he speaks in the presence of God.  He seeks God's will and not his own.  Therefore it is the latter, the tax collector, who includes in His prayer the honoring of the first and greatest commandment that Jesus names, to love God with all one's heart and soul and mind (see Matthew 22:36-40).  Oh, he may not be perfect at this!  He may have a long way to go for full faith in God, as we all have a ways to go for perfection.  But the key here is that he is making the attempt.  His dejected posture and self-awareness teach us that he sees himself speaking face to face with God, and knows that he's coming up short.  In communion with a loving Father, we need not fear the truth.  Rather, if we really love and know God, we understand that every rebuke and every correction is simply that which is for our own good, to get us on the path to our own place of justification.  Like this tax collector, we seek that place where, face to face with God, we can know ourselves as children in right relationship with our Father, and in right relationship through such with one another.  Humility before God is the point.  To simply seek pleasure in the approving eyes of another is not the same as real faith.   In chapter 6, Jesus has spoken of the "woes" to the Pharisees, saying, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets" (6:26).  In chapter 12, we're told that even among the rulers many believed in Christ, "but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43).  The real key here to the kind of faith that Jesus is looking for is a living communion with God.  This is a dynamic internal relationship, ongoing.  It is one that shapes us and gives us identity, adding shape and a destiny to our lives for the long run.  It sets us on a journey, that is not so much about the discovery of "new lands" as it is about the ongoing process of getting to know the One to whom we owe all our lives, and who will, in effect, give us our lives and teach us who we really are.  It is a process of ongoing and increasing reliance upon God.  Let us note once again quite carefully that the Pharisee in the story "prays with himself" and that Jesus gives the parable specifically "to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous."  To understand the deepening relationship sought in practices inspired by this parable such as the Jesus Prayer, is to understand that we enter into mystery when we seek real communion with God, and that mystery of God includes the person that God calls us to be, and to become -- a constant state of discipleship on the journey of faith.  It is a call that we respond to from the inside out, and not simply to be seen for the "praise of men."  It is there that we find the humility He asks of us!