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Luke 18:9-14 The Message

The Story of the Tax Man and the Pharisee

9-12 He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’
13 “Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’”
14 Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”

For Reflection

Pharisees were wealthy adherents to the Torah. They taught from the scriptures, but their lives were not always lived in ways consistent with their teaching.  They spoke well but stumbled when they walked the paths about which they taught. They were full of self-righteousness, arrogance, and conceit.
A taxman was loathed by many. A commoner, held in contempt, often inflated a person's tax and kept the excess for himself — a person who violated the Mosaic law frequently.

Both were strangers to themselves. Neither the Pharisee nor the tax collector understood that they both carried with them a point in their hearts, their souls, that would save them from acting in ways that they each perceived as a consequence of their birth.

Only the taxman responded to his soul and let the light of the Lord awaken the Holy Spirit within him.  The Pharisee, blinded by his inflated ego, held tight to his errant ways.  He remained critical of the commoner and gave no thought of reforming himself.

Pray

Pray so that you strengthen your relationship with God. Pray that you will be guided by the Holy Spirit that resides within your soul. Pray that you will be humbled by your faith.

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