Lifted Up
To All,
In this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 18:9-14), Jesus tells another parable, “to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.” The parable tells of two people who went to the temple area to pray. One was a Pharisee, a religious leader of the people. The other was a tax collector, despised by many people because of his role with the Roman occupiers and because of the reputation of tax collectors that they cheated the people.
We find out in the parable, that the Pharisee does the things expected of a religious leader. He tithes and he fasts “twice a week.” But he also passes judgment on everyone else: “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector.” The tax collector simply prays, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Having described these two characters in the parable, Jesus says, “I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and the one who humbles himself shall be exalted.”
We may not appreciate how startling Jesus’ conclusion might have been to the hearers of this parable. The sinful tax collector went home justified, while the Pharisee who did all the “right” things, did not? Now, from our perspective, we might say to ourselves, “Of course. Look at the arrogance of the Pharisee, not recognizing that he, “like the rest of humanity,” is a sinner. Whatever the faults of the tax collector, at least he was honest with himself, and knew he needed god’s mercy.
I found myself passing judgment on the one who was passing judgment on others, listing all his faults in my mind. And I realized how easy it was to fall into the same trap that he did. We are all called to repentance and conversion. But for what purpose?
Jesus says, “For whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and the one who humbles himself shall be exalted.” What if that statement had nothing to do with one’s status among others, but an affirmation that God will give us what we need to do what God calls us to do. If I am putting myself above others, God will find a way to humble me, so that I might have compassion on others and serve them. When I am feeling down on myself, and consequently paralyzed into inaction, God can lift me up to help lift others up. But we need to open our hearts and let God in. In their current states, the Pharisee couldn’t let God in because he failed to recognize any need to change. Hopefully, the tax collector would be open to s change of life.
May we be humble enough to let God in to heal us, so that we might help bring healing to others.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP
