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 Jesus spoke a parable to the 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."  My study Bible explains that the Pharisee is highly respected, as well as a careful observer of the details of the Law.  The tax collector, on the other hand, is despised as a sinner, who collaborates with the occupying Roman forces, and betrays and cheats his own people.  

"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.' "  The practices of this Pharisee, in the view of my study Bible, are worthy examples to follow.  His good deeds -- fasting and giving tithes -- are the primary weapons against the passions of lust and greed (adultery and extortion).  But without a humble and repentant heart, such outward practices are worthless, and lead to pride and judgment of others.  Note also that Jesus says he prays with himself, for 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!'"  Through his posture, the tax collector expresses an awareness of the state of his soul, as he stands far from the altar of sacrifice and his eyes are cast downward.  His prayer, God, be merciful to me a sinner, is the foundation of the Jesus Prayer (which was mentioned in our commentary in yesterday's reading, in conjunction with the parable of the Persistent Widow).  This is also true of the refrain "Lord have mercy" which permeates Orthodox worship 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 means to be forgiven and set right with God.  My study Bible comments that inward humility is blessed, while pride in outward deeds is condemned.  Indeed, Christ saved His most scathing comments for the hypocrisy of the religious leaders (Matthew 23).

Today's reading teaches us a great deal about the importance of humility. Despite the Pharisee's own laudable spiritual practices, what he lacks is humility.  It is humility which is precisely the thing that saves the tax collector, despite his failings in his conduct and his poor standing among his own people.  Stark indeed is Christ's conclusion that it was the tax collector who went down to his house justified rather than the other. It is only his humility that allows the tax collector to see himself clearly, because his humility enables him to truly feel himself in the presence and the sight of God.  In this sense, it is his humility that has saved him, and lack of humility that has condemned the Pharisee.  Of course, what we are to take away from today's reading is just that -- the essential importance of humility to the Christian faith.  In the long spiritual history of the Church, it has been handed down to us that humility is the queen and gateway of the Christian virtues.  It is the foundation for the rest, the fruit of the Spirit:  "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (see Galatians 5:22-23).  How can we know what honesty is, unless we first are humble enough to recognize the truth about ourselves -- or even to hear and know that truth?  It is the humility of the tax collector, in contrast to the self-righteousness of the Pharisee, that enables him to truly pray, to be face-to-face with God, so to speak, in the temple.  At a very minimum, his bodily posture as described by Jesus shows us he's aware that he's in the presence of God, whereas the Pharisee is not.  John's Gospel gives us a clue to this failure, when John tells us that "even among the rulers many believed in [Jesus], 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).  This Pharisee is conscious of his own social standing, and the opinions of others.  But the tax collector has an awareness of himself in the sight of God, as well as his community.  This parable enforces for us the particular summing up of the Law and the Prophets to which Christ and the Gospels (and even the Old Testament) constantly return, that the two greatest commandments in the Law are to love God with all one's heart and soul and mind and strength, and neighbor as oneself (see Luke 10:25-28).  In this case, despite appearances to the contrary, it is actually the tax collector who has put the love of God first, and not the Pharisee.  For here, the tax collector is aware of God and his own standing before God, while the Pharisee prays with himself, rather than God.   The tax collector here is, in fact, reconciled to God, and that is, in a sense, a face-to-face meeting, and it is what leads to what Jesus calls the state of being justified.  How do you reconcile with God?  How do we come face-to-face with God, settled with God, opened to God's way of seeing ourselves?  This is the mystery of faith and worship, but it begins with humility.  In today's story that comes from the recognition that we need God's mercy and love, for we can't truly live without it.