Saturday - 3rd Week of Lent  

Gospel – Luke 18:9-14

Let Us Pray!

At Prayer, Church of Holy Sepulchre

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector!  Two very different individuals – one an elite and highly regarded member of Jewish society, a religious leader.  The other – reviled and hated, looked on as a collaborator with the Romans, someone who cheats and steals from the people.

The Pharisee offers God a prayer of thanksgiving, well, sort of!  What is he thankful for?  That he’s not like others, that he is better than everyone.  He is blind to the needs of those around him and selfishly puts himself on a pedestal.  The tax collector, on the other hand, can’t even raise his head to the heavens.  His is a prayer of repentance, sorrow for his sins and failings.  The Pharisee thanks the Lord that he is not greedy or dishonest like others; and yet, that is exactly what he is.  The tax collector, the one everyone assumes to be dishonest, greedy and uncaring, is honest with himself and with God.  He asks only for mercy for the wrongs he has committed.  Jesus contrasts the humility of the tax collector with the pride of the Pharisee.

Truth be told, there are moments in our lives when we are not that far from the attitude of both of those men.  None of us are completely either/or.  There are times when we pray to God in sorrow and repentance for our failings.  And there are times when we are closer to the attitude of the Pharisee.

May our prayers of repentance be sincere and our thanksgiving self-less!  May these remaining weeks of Lent be an opportunity to continue to humbly acknowledge our blessings from the Creator, identify our faults, and pray for His grace and mercy.

I'm fine, yeah I'm fine oh I'm fine, hey I'm fine but I'm not
I'm broken
And when it's out of control I say it's under control but it's not
And you know it
I don't know why it's so hard to admit it
When being honest is the only way to fix it
There's no failure, no fall
There's no sin you don't already know
So let the truth be told

Can I really stand here unashamed
Knowin' that you love for me won't change?
Oh God if that's really true
Then let the truth be told

 

Matthew West - Truth Be Told (lyrics)

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