JESUS addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The 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. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ 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.’ I 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.”
REFLECTIONS
Convinced of their own righteousness. The lesson of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is explicitly stated by Jesus: “…everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
It is not wrong to thank God for whatever good we have done. What is wrong is to self-righteously boast of our good actions and virtues. It is still worse when we look at ourselves as superior to others whom we despise, as the Pharisee does in his prayer. All our good deeds are also the work of God more than they are ours. It is God who works in us both the will and the accomplishment (cf Phil 2:13). Thus, we cannot boast of anything. Only our sins belong to us.
Be grateful for God’s grace, and be humble before God and trustingly ask for his mercy.
SOURCE: “366 Days with the Lord 2012,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.,); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: books@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph [1].
Links:
[1] http://www.stpauls.ph