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. 11The 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. 12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” 13But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” 14I 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.’
Blog Discussion Question: If a Christian person were to pray the first prayer, might we not say that it merely contained the evidence of the maturity of that one's faith? What do you think?
By the way....feel free to comment as you wish on the parable. I offer the discussion question as a catalyst for blogging.
5 comments:
I would say the first one never read Martin Luther. We are all saints and sinners. Not Saint OR Sinner... we are both at the same time. We can be full of God's Love and think we are better then that tax collector. But we are only fooling ourselves.
It seems the first prayer is much like the message so many hear from pulpits in several different venues, ie. TV preachers, the world, yes and even in some churches. We pray, "Oh, Lord, I know I'm sinful, but at least I'm not as sinful as they!" It's a "we" "they" thing. I feel sorry for those people who believe that because they are doing everything right...no harm will come. I say to them...WATCH OUT! Back to the question, is it a lack of maturity in your faith or is it just plain arrogance!
I would have to say that the first prayer does not sound like a mature Christian, but rather agree with 'gabriel' that it does sound like someone who is aggrogant. But yet what an amazing promise Jesus makes to us at the end of that parable! "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled". To think that someone so full of him/herself will be humbled by our Father! This is great news because there are times that we all do need to have this in our lives. Even looking at the church now and some of the discussions we have all reflected I think on our own sins with the decision the ELCA made last summer. However, we all want to look at it as not being the same as well at the same time. Interesting how this parable fits right into our lives! :) Thank goodness for Jesus's promise!
When I read this parable, I thought of a pastor who asked his parishoners, "Why have so many of you come to church for so many years, and so few of you tithe." The implication, of course, was that tithing is a sign of growing in faith. Likewise, we often equate spiritual discipline - fasting, Bible study and reading, worship attendance - as a sign of a deepening Christian faith. And taming our desires - thievery, rogueisity (is that a word?), and adultery - is seen as a sign of a maturity of faith. It seems to me that it is true that these things that the pharisee listed in his prayer are the very things that we do consider signs of spiritual growth. And maybe rightly so, after all, God is working in our lives, burning the chaff that clutters our lives, so that we might be grain to gather and plant.
Here's the rub, though: we don't know that the tax-collector could not have claimed nearly all of the same things, too. Whether he could have or could not have, he did not, for apparently he was well aware that God does not grant his mercy upon us because of our depth of faith. Instead he grants his mercy upon us IN SPITE of our depth of faith.
It is all too easy for us to do what took place in that temple: to measure ourselves against each other, instead of measuring ourselves beneath the cross of Christ, a cross that says what the Apostle Paul said, "Not one is righteous. No, not one." To put it another way, if two bridges are built across a cavern and one is four feet short of its needed span and the other is 40 feet short, we would not say that one bridge is better than the other, would we?
The good news is that God looks at us - incomplete bridges that we are - and says, "Just because you're incomplete doesn't mean that I have given up on you. I'll keep on working on you until you become full and complete." That is hope...and that is what the tax-collecter heard in the answer to his prayer.
by the way....great comments from Laymen, gabriel, and KevKat.....thanks for adding to the discussion.
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