IN HUMBLE PRAYER
One man condemns himself by
his pride and another is rescued because of his humility.
In the Responsorial Psalm we
acclaim, "The Lord hears the cry of the poor" (Ps 34:7a). He is close
to those who are brokenhearted. The Lord redeems our lives, for we are His
servants. Today's readings make us pause and wonder why Jesus accepted on
person's prayer and rejected the other's prayer. Luke's Gospel gives us a hint
when we hear that despising one's neighbor closes the door to our heavenly
Father's heart.
Contempt is more than just
distaste or malice. It springs from the assumption that one is qualified to sit
in the seat of judgment and to ascertain who is good and just. Jesus Christ's
story caused offense for those who regarded "tax collectors" as
unworthy of God's grace and favor. How could Jesus think it was right to put
down a "religious leader" and raise up a "public sinner?"
His parable speaks about the
nature of prayer and our relationship with God. It does this by contrasting two
very different attitudes towards prayer. First, the Pharisee takes pride in his
religious practices and he exalts himself at the expense of others. Second, the
tax collector, who represented those despised by religious people, humbled
himself before God and asked for mercy. His prayer was heard by God because he
had remorse for his wrong doing. He sought God with humility! In the words of
the twentieth century monk, Thomas Merton, "Pride makes us artificial and
humility makes us real."
May we strive each day to be
who we really are, as Scripture tells us, the "salt of the earth" (Mt
5:13). The idea that a Pharisee and a tax collector go into the temple to pray
turns out to be no joke at all. One man condemns himself by his pride and
another is rescued because of his humility. May we hold close to the prayer
that saves, "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Lk 18:13).