Someone posted an old story about the famous American actor Gregory Peck online years ago. Gregory Peck and his friend were waiting in a long line for a table at a busy Los Angeles restaurant one night.
They had been waiting for some time. The diners were taking their time eating and talking, and new tables weren’t opening up very fast. They weren’t even that close to the front of the line.
Peck’s friend became impatient and said to Peck, “Greg, why don’t you tell the manager who you are? He will recognise you and let us in.” Gregory Peck responded saying, “No. If you have to tell them who you are, then you aren’t.”
What a great wisdom! If you have to tell people who you are, then you really aren’t that famous.
The Pharisee in today’s story in Luke’s gospel apparently had never learned that lesson. He prayed, “Thank you, God, that I’m not greedy or dishonest like other people here. I fast twice a week and give a lot of money to the temple.”
Luke described his praying scene this way, “The Pharisee stood apart and prayed with himself. It’s like saying, “Hey God. You know me. I’m on your side.” It was mostly him bragging about how good he was. He was basically advertising himself to God. When Luke described that he prayed with himself, I think he meant to say: ‘he prayed to himself’.
The tax collector, on the other hand, stood far away and wouldn’t even look up at the sky. Beating his chest, he prayed, “God, have mercy on me. I’m a sinner!'” He knew who he was. He knew that God knew who he was. His prayer wasn’t about showing off. It was more like admitting his wrongs and asking for God’s kindness and mercy.
I’m wondering how we would usually initiate our prayers. How do you go about your communication with God in prayer? Would that be the Pharisee’s way or the tax collector’s?
Prayer is not an exercise in self-promotion. Prayer is not a request for something you feel you deserve. The reading today teaches us that prayer is more like a confession of our wrongdoings to God because we know we don’t measure up to God’s standard. Prayer is a plea for God’s mercy because you know you need God’s mercy.
The tax collector wasn’t selling himself to God. He was opening himself to God. Prayer is not a public announcement to God about how long we’ve been Christians or what kinds of contributions we have made to the church.
That’s why we finalise our prayers in the name of His son, Jesus Christ, every time we pray. It is not just a prayer tradition passed down to us. It is because we believe that the only way to reach God is through His Son. It is because we know that everything we do at worship would mean nothing without what Christ did for us on the cross.
What Jesus said upon the tax collector’s prayer is fascinating. He said, “It is this man who went home justified.” This is a significant theological statement regarding who is right in God’s presence. We need to dig into more of the meaning of ‘being justified’.
In today’s reading context, to be justified means to be declared right by God. In other words, only God declares who is right.
The Pharisee wasn’t a bad person, and the tax collector wasn’t a good person, either. In fact, the Pharisees enjoyed great respect among the people of Israel because of the high standards of their morality, ethics, and their generous giving to their church.
The point is, God doesn’t judge people by what they’ve achieved or accomplished. He judges us by the attitude of our hearts toward him.
In another event in Luke’s gospel, chapter 19, Zacchaeus was hiding in a tall tree while everyone else cheered as Jesus entered the town. Zacchaeus was also a tax collector and everyone in his town hated him because he worked for the Roman authority. The more tax money he collected for Rome, the more his income increased.
Entering the town, however, Jesus stopped, looked up at him, and said, “Zacchaeus, come down right away. I’m going to eat at your house tonight.
Why did he do so? Zaccahaeus wasn’t an honest man in his work. He kept making money at the expense of his fellow people. Zacchaeus responded to Jesus by saying, “Look, Lord! I’m giving half of everything I own to the poor. And if I have ever cheated anyone, I will pay them back four times the amount.”
His prayer attitude teaches us what ‘confession’ should be about. Confessing our sin is one thing. Fixing the wrongdoing in our lives is another. When we do both, that’s when we earn God’s mercy and kindness in our relationship with Him.
Jesus saw this in Zacchaeus’ prayer. He was willing to both confess and correct his own wrongdoing. Maybe, Jesus saw that in the tax collector’s prayer in today’s gospel reading. When we confess our sins to God, it must always be followed by changes in how we live.
Friends in Christ, please remember this: Every time we confess and act to our confession, God declares us “not guilty.” God says we are right with him. If God says we’re right, then we are perfectly right! We become a new person in Christ before God. We are always God’s children, even if we mess up again.
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command.
By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did.
By faith Noah built an ark to save his own family.
By faith Abraham he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country.
By faith Sarah gave birth to her son, Isaac, at the age of 90.
By faith, we’re declared by God we are not guilty. By faith we are always God’s dear children in this world and the next as well.
If God says we’re right, then we are right although we’re often sinful. If God declares we’re justified, everything in life will be right too. Everything happening in life will eventually turn out to be a blessing.
