LENT REFLECTION

Luke 18 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were
righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray,
one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was
praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues,
adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my
income.’ 13But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to
heaven but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell
you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other, for all who exalt
themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

What the parable teaches
That when we pray, to God, we are not to have a disposition of self-righteousness, despising
others while gleeful about our good deeds; not at all; but rather, we should be humble, aware of our
need for mercy, asking for mercy, then God will accept our prayer. The great reversal is ever operative:
“for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke
18:14 cf 13:30, 14:11).
Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that we are to pray: in a posture of reverence, with a disposition
of humility, trusting in God, asking for God’s mercy, intentionally, and undistracted. We are to pray with
our body, mind and soul; in our thoughts, words and deeds; bringing and presenting all of ourselves in
our entirety before God. We are not: to pray ostentatiously seeking to be seen and heard by others as
being exemplary, to be judgmental in considering others as sinners, to boast of our good deeds even
where we excel and go beyond what is required of us; nor to exalt ourselves, despising others for
whatever reason.
Our Lord uses a parable, telling it “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous
and regarded others with contempt” (NRSV]/ “to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else” [NAB]/ “to some who prided themselves in being upright and despised
everyone else” [NJB]. We are not to be among the “some” or “those”; and if we are, our Lord has
something very important to say to us, signified by the formula “I tell you” in the conclusion (14:18);
that is, what our disposition should be when we pray.
What the parable does not mean
The parable does not mean that we should not pray standing; it was customary then and we still
do so, in eagerness, readiness, alertness. It does not mean that we should not raise our eyes when we

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pray; we can imitate our Lord Jesus Christ (John 17:1, Psalm 123:1). Nor that we should not fast; we
should (Matthew 6:17), when aged 18 to 59; we do fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (Canon
1251). We do penance during Lent in preparation for the Great Liturgical Feast of Easter, and every
Friday of the year (Catechism 1438). We can fast also on Wednesdays and Fridays as our Tradition since
Apostolic times: “but you fast during the fourth day and during the Sabbath preparation day” (Didache
8.1); Wednesday when our Lord was betrayed and Friday when He was crucified and died. Nor, of
course, does the parable mean that, unlike the Pharisee, we should try to be “thieves, rogues, adulterers”
[NRSV]/ “greedy, dishonest adulterous” [REV, NAB]/ “grasping, unjust, adulterous” [NJB] (14:11) –
adultery or prostitution in Hebrew Scriptures also included idolatry and unfaithfulness to God (Hosea
1, Ezekiel 68). Scripture is unequivocal that these are all to be avoided: “sexual immorality, theft,
murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, folly” as things that
defile a person (Mark 7:21-22); or: “sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, sorcery,
enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and
things like these” as works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). The counter to such is to have the mind of
Christ (Phil 2:5), and the fruit of the Spirit, when we live in the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23); as grace and as
habit.
The gravity of the moment
The pharisee and the tax collector went to the temple for daily public prayer during the time for
the atonement sacrifice and incense offering, which was at 9 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon; the
very moment that the people of Israel were to be praying for expiation of their sins. It is at this moment
that the Pharisee prays about himself, thinking of himself, as exclusively better than “other people”
[NRSV]/ “the rest of mankind [REV]/ the rest of humanity” [NAB]/ “everyone else” [NJB], whom he
considers woefully sinful (v.11). He scornfully gestures at the tax collector, before God. He confidently
boasts and shows off about his righteous deeds and being upright: “I fast twice a week, I pay tithes on
all I get” (v.12), with no need for God at all. He stands away from the others in the temple, to be seen
clearly, but speaks audibly to be heard by them. Jesus is not just making all this up. Some rabbis were
known to pray like that, for instance, in the Talmud, Berakot 28b, or Sukka 45b: “I am able to exempt
the whole world from judgment from the day that I was born until now”, or “I have seen the sons of
heaven and they are but few. If there be a thousand, I and my son are among them; if a hundred, I and
my son are among them; and if only two, they are I and my son”.
This makes the prayer of the tax collector at that moment of atonement so pertinent: “Be
propitiated toward me, the sinner” (Luke 18:13). He seeks expiation of his sin. He considers himself
the sinner [IB] (some versions render this as “a sinner”). He does not consider himself better than others.
He stands at a distance, daring not to even “raise his eyes to heaven”, but “beat[s] his breast”. By this

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detail, Our Lord Jesus Christ indicates the need for reverence and humility, as prayer postures, and
contrition for sin as the proper disposition.
What God made of it all
Our Lord Jesus Christ refers to the tax collector intimately as “this” man, and to the pharisee as
“that” man [IB, NRSV, REV, NJB]. The tax collector went home justified, and not the pharisee. God
heard and granted the tax collector’s prayer.
The pharisee prayed in a manner diametrically contrary to the Lord’s Prayer, which our Lord
taught us: we pray as “we”, saying “Our” both in the salutation and for all the petitions; we pray to God
as our “Father”, recognising our bond and common identity as His children (by adoption in baptism);
we seek His Kingdom, we ask Him to provide for our daily needs including the Eucharist, to forgive
our sins, we already forgive others, we ask for strength in moments of temptation, and for protection
from evil (Luke 11:1-4, Matthew 6:9-13). The pharisee prayed as “I”, saying “I” five times over a mere
two verses, reciting how he had done far more than the Law required, on fasting and tithing (Luke
18:11-12)! He was quite proud.
Yet, as our Lord said, we should consider the wondrous deeds we perform even with faith the
size of a mustard seed, and what we perform in service of God and others, to be our duty, rather than to
be thanked and rewarded (17:6,10). Our Lord presents the tax collector as our model for praying.
This parable presents to us our loving and merciful God, who hears the “cry of the oppressed”,
“the wail of the orphan”, “the complaint” of the widow, and “the one who serves God willingly”; “the
prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds” (Sirach 35:17-21). On our part, as St Paul was, we are to be
poured out as a “libation” to God (2 Timothy 4:6). We are entirely to be an offering to our God. We are
to live only to praise, reverence and serve God, finding God in all things (St Ignatius).
How to pray without ceasing
In The Tale of a Pilgrim – How he acquired the gift of interior unceasing prayer of the heart, the
pilgrim tells us what he learnt:
We entered his cell and the elder began to say the following: “The unceasing interior Jesus
prayer is an uninterrupted, never dying invocation of the divine name Jesus Christ with the
mind and the heart, all the while imagining his ongoing presence and asking for his pardon,
during all occupations, in every place, at all times, even in sleep …. The prayer is expressed
in the following words: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. Those who
acquire the habit of this invocation will experience great consolation and will always say
this prayer. As a result they will be unable to live without the prayer, which of its own
accord will speak itself in them. Now do you understand what unceasing prayer is?” (p. 60)