St Luke 18: 9 – 14
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and regarded others with contempt: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’
Reflection
At first sight, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector might come as a surprise to those of us in the western world, but it is important to place the story in the true context of its day since it underlines Jesus’ emphasis on the importance of praying with the right attitude, and is rich in spiritual truth. In reality, tax collectors were hated in biblical times since they were Jews employed by the Romans and who often resorted to extortion in the collection of taxes from their peers.
To some extent I can relate to the position of the Pharisee in my own life; having been ordained in 2008, and having just relinquished pastoral charge of a church after nine years, I continue to carry out NHS musculoskeletal scanning throughout Kent and am resident timpanist in Canterbury Symphony Orchestra. I’ve been faithful to my late wife of 45 years, and never knowingly upset or abused people’s trust in me. I am proud of what I have achieved in life, but it’s not the message that God wants to hear.
I believe that the nature of God’s universe is “relational”; created by a loving transcendent mind, external to the material universe and outside time and space, and who created that first divine spark of life from nothing – a single cell containing the digital storage and information processing systems we observe today.
The tax collector exhibits precisely what Jesus spoke about in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The Pharisee’s prayer is all about him. Going to the temple to pray with the condition of his heart as it was, he might as well have stayed home. Such a “prayer” is not heard by God.
I believe that we are created with free will, and the choice to love God and to relate to him – and for that I give thanks.
Prayer
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, not powers, not height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8.38 -39)