The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Today's Reflections

 

 

 

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector 

 

Lk 18:9-14

⁹[Jesus] addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. ¹⁰“Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ ¹³But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ ¹⁴I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Reflection:
 

BEAT HIS BREAST AND PRAYED. Though in the temple area to pray, the Pharisee speaks to himself, listing his accomplishments and informing God of his righteousness. His is not much of a prayer: he does not ask God for anything; in fact, he seems not to have any need for God in his life.

On the other hand, the tax collector beats his breast, confessing his sinfulness before God. He begs for God’s mercy, presenting his urgent need of God’s forgiveness. Jesus says that the tax collector goes home justified or right before God. His humble and sincere prayer is truly pleasing to God.

When we pray, we express our helplessness before God and acknowledge our total dependence on God. We are nothing, and God is everything.

“O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
Make the tax collector’s prayer your own.