Luke 18:9-14 - Trinity Eleven - August 31, 2014
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
He
also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were
righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple
to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing
by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice
a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far
off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying,
‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house
justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
A
couple springs ago on the Saturday evening before high school graduation, I was
fiddling around in my garage with the garage door open.
There evidently was some sort of graduation
party nearby because there were cars parked up and down the block and plenty of
teenage voices to be heard.
It brought
back fond memories of not so many years ago when I was walking in the same
shoes.
But I was a little bit
embarrassed as they passed my house by the thought that perhaps I also once talked,
so-to-speak, in the same shoes.
A whole
conversation which I could hear begin a block away and carry on for a block in
the opposite direction consisted of two boys and two girls taking polite turns
speaking sentence after sentence.
I must
have heard about 30 or 40 complete sentences … and every single one – I kid you
not – began with the word I.
They
weren’t talking filthy or rude or starting fights.
Like I said, they weren’t even interrupting
one another.
Everything was very
civil.
But despite their best behavior,
a certain egotism was plainly revealed.