Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
In our own day we see that the world often rewards those with a seemingly invincible sense of self-assurance. They seem to believe so strongly that they can do no wrong that the world must bend to their belief, and that everything they do does in fact succeeds Such is much of what we see in celebrity culture, not to mention politics. But we must remember that when this sort of self-assurance looks so desirable it is often because we only see what the camera wants us to see. We see the apparent untroubled assurance. We see the success. We don't see the problems caused by despising everyone else. And there is no way to believe in or care so much for one's own ego that doesn't involve thinking less of others.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
The Pharisee's attitude about himself and others prevented him from actually entering into relationship with anyone other than himself. He took up "his" position to pray, already revealing in his posture his sense of entitlement. He spoke his prayer "to himself". Even though he addressed God, it was clear he was speaking, not to open himself up to God's transforming power, but rather to pad his ego. It may have been that cracks in his sense of self-righteousness were forming and beginning to spread as he felt more and more isolated, and knew himself on some level to be falling short of what he ought to be. He did not pray because he desired relationship with God, but rather to reassure himself, to try to make himself believe that everything was fine as it was.
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
The Pharisee was more easily able to believe his own lies because they were clothed with religiosity. The tax collector was not in a position to believe any such illusions. He knew that simply by being a tax collector he was despised and considered a sinner.
But 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.’
The tax collector, unlike the Pharisee, was able to say a genuine prayer, to make a genuine plea for mercy. We might say that the Pharisee was too full of himself to have any room for God. The secret of the tax collector was not any sense of self-hatred. It was rather than he knew that he did not have in himself what he most needed and was open to receive it. Self-hatred, an overly critical attitude toward oneself can actually keep us from being open to God, so sure that we are not worthy, or that we are too broken to be healed, or that God could not possibly care about us and what we feel we need. Self-hatred paralyzes prayer as much as a sense of self-righteousness. The secret of the tax collector was that he had been emptied sufficiently of self in either sense and was ready to be filled. If we can learn to empty ourselves and turn toward God we can experience a vacuum in the space were our selfishness once was that draws God's mercy inexorably into our hearts.
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
To be justified, to be right in the eyes of God, is not something we can gain by effort, nor a skill we can master. But neither is it simply inaction. It is the posture of the tax collector, of opening up toward mercy, that allows us to receive God's favor as a gift, one which no one could earn or deserve.
It is all too easy to fall into the trap of of self-assured self-righteousness, to practice the form of our religion but to lose the power (see Second Timothy 3:5). Let us allow the words of God's mouth to smite the lies in our hearts that keep us isolated from him. What he desires is not performance, but rather presence. More than any externals, he is inviting us to relationship.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth.
The Passion of Jesus was meant to by a judgment on the sin of the earth, to reveal the true depths of depravity hidden in our self-righteousness. But in revealing it, he provided the way for us to be healed.
He will revive us after two days;
on the third day he will raise us up,
to live in his presence.
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