Word to the Wise
Saturday, March 13, 2010 - Saturday in the Third Week of Lent
[Hosea 6:1-6 and Luke 18:9-14]O God, be merciful to me a sinner!
These words are spoken by the tax collector in Jesus' story of the two men praying in the temple. We are told at the outset that the parable is addressed "to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else." The Pharisee prays in a way that is almost blasphemous because he attributes his own arrogant righteousness to God! He thanks God for making him different from the rest of the human race!!!! (That, of course, is untrue!) The other man thanks God that he (a hated tax collector) IS like other men, in need of God's mercy. The end of the story is virtually a "no-brainer" because no one can stand before God the way the Pharisee does. Yes, people do try but what they are trying is a contradiction in terms. To be human is to fail and the Pharisee seems to think he is incapable of human failure and thanks God for this illusion! The tax collector is a realist and will receive the mercy he seeks. His prayer has come down through the centuries as "the Jesus Prayer!": "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner!" This is an easy one to remember. The parable assures us of the result of saying it. AMEN
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