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

Teaching fresco of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector; reproduced as a Lenten Greeting

 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 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 His trial by night at the home of the High Priest, the religious leaders led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.  Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"  They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."  Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law."  Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.  Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"  Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me.  What have You done?"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?"  Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king.  For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."

 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 explains to us that the Pharisee is a highly respected and careful observer of the details of the Law, whereas the tax collector is despised as a sinner who collaborates with the occupying Roman forces, betraying and cheating his own people.  We should not be confused as to the places of these two characters in the story in the eyes of the people and the society.

"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 tells us that the practices of this Pharisee are worthy examples to follow.  His good deeds (such as fasting and giving tithes), it says, are the primary weapons against the passions of lust and greed (adultery and extortion).  Therefore, that makes this particular parable highly relevant to this time as we enter into Lent.  Without a humble and repentant heart, my study bible says, these outward practices are worthless, and as we can see from Jesus' parable, they lead to pride and judgment of others.  It is of great importance to note that Jesus tells us the Pharisee prays with himself.  My study bible says that "God is absent where there is boasting."

"And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' "  My study bible says that the tax collector shows by his posture an awareness of the state of his soul.  He stands afar off from the altar of sacrifice, and his eyes are cast down, showing his deep awareness that he stands before God as he prays.  This prayer, God, be merciful to me a sinner, is the foundation of the Jesus Prayer practice (see this article and this one for more information).   The refrain "Lord have mercy" permeates all liturgical and personal prayer.

"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."  To be justified, my study bible explains, means to be forgiven and set right with God -- as inward humility is blessed while pride in outward deeds is condemned (see Matthew 6:1).

Twice elsewhere in the Gospels Jesus repeats this same statement, that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (see also Matthew 23:12, Luke 14:11).  But the sense of this statement appears many, many times throughout the bible (see, for more examples, this link).  My study bible makes note of the fact that Jesus tells us this Pharisee prays with himself.  In other words, for him there is one judge, and that is himself.  This is the very definition of self-righteousness, a justification within ourselves, and without a consciousness of standing before God.  By contrast, the tax collector is repentant, hanging his head, quite aware that he prays not with himself but with God.  He enters into a dialogue as he prays, and not a one-way street.  We can see the contrast between the two men exemplified quite often in the ways that people approach others whom they feel they have offended.  A childish person will immediately begin with justification according to their own feelings and ideas, and use that as a substitute for a proper apology.  This is akin to self-justification, and, even if they do have a good reason for their offensive behavior, it still lacks an awareness of the person they are addressing.  That is the difference between dialogue and speaking "with oneself."    To be truly humble is not a matter of necessarily humiliating oneself to others in some servile sense, but rather to be aware that we are always -- in a very real sense -- in the presence of God.  There is nothing about us that is hidden from Christ, who knows us better than we know ourselves.  Each, we're told, has a guardian angel, a being of an intelligence vastly superior to our own.  If this isn't enough to keep us humble, let us consider the "perfection" of this Pharisee.  He is, indeed, meant to be a model for all others in the society, and he truly does do the good deeds he says he does.  By contrast, the tax collector falls far short of any social ideal of good behavior.  In fact, tax collectors were despised by the rest of their communities, not only because they collaborated with the occupying Romans to collect taxes from their fellow Jews, but because that frequently included extortion (with the aid of the might of the Roman state) for their own personal graft.  They were seen as sinful traitors who preyed on their own community.  Let us not forget that Jesus does not diminish any of that in this parable.  Rather, He uses these two figures to make a point:  that "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."   The tax collector is aware and humble before God, and the Pharisee is seemingly unaware that no matter what his "good deeds," God always has a way for us to come closer to God, something more in our journey of faith that we're unaware of.  It is, in fact, the Pharisee who is in this sense blind to himself, and the tax collector who sees himself.  Therefore let us consider, as we enter into this time where we make more time with God, what it really means to pray.  To pray is to enter into dialogue with God.  It's not before others that we need to compare ourselves and see how we measure up.   The Gospels have a choice phrase that sums up that mistake as well.  John tells us about the leaders who believed in Christ, but who would not say so openly:  "for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (see John 12:43).  It doesn't matter where we are on our own spiritual journey; there is always a way God calls us to come forward, to become more aware of ourselves, to make the changes God calls us to make.  It equally applies to both the Pharisee and the tax collector.  This is a walk forward, not a status quo standstill when we reach a certain place in our faith, for such is the nature of we creatures, human beings, who live in time and are meant to be challenged and expanded, like the new wine which needs new wineskins (Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22, Luke 5:37-39).  For that true journey of faith, and our walk with Christ, we need humility, the greatest of the virtues and gateway to all the rest, if we pay attention to the whole of Christian tradition.  Let us remember this time upon which we enter, and its purpose.  In keeping with the spirit of Lent, I post above what is no doubt meant to be a greeting.  It is a reproduction of a teaching fresco depicting the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  In the corner above we see an angel weeping at the Pharisee's mistake, with a giant fish about to swallow him up in his spiritual error.  Over the door of the temple, into which the tax collector enters, is the phrase from Hosea 6:6, which Jesus quotes back to the Pharisees in Matthew 9:13, 12:7:  "I desire mercy and not sacrifice."  (Interestingly, in Matthew 9:13, Jesus has just made Matthew the tax collector his disciple, and Jesus is responding to the  Pharisees' criticism that He dines with him and other sinners.)   The tax collector enters in with his sinful means of gain clearly evident:  he wears a sword and carries his money bag.  And yet it is he who will leave justified.  In Greek, the phrase superimposed above is a greeting that reads, "Good Triodion," which is the three-week period in the Eastern Orthodox Churches that is the entryway into Lent.  Below the greetings read "Good  Repentance and Good Struggle" -- both a true depiction of our spiritual process during Lent.  Yes, these are meant to be joyful greetings, and so we enter into the joy of our Lord as we enter this period of Lent.