True prayer begets concern for others
Published Oct 23, 2022 12:05 am
REFLECTIONS TODAY
LUKE 18:9-14
The Gospel of Luke is commonly tagged as the Gospel of Prayer.
In Luke 18 alone, three people are presented to be demonstrating three different ways of praying.
In last Sunday’s parable, we encountered the widow who pleads for justice.
Today’s Gospel presents other two “prayers”: A Pharisee and a tax collector who go to the temple area to pray.
The Pharisee prays without really talking to God. He talks only to himself. The Greek expression pros eauton (“toward himself”) indicates a movement toward the self of the Pharisee.
The Pharisee, in reality, pleads for nothing, being full of himself.
But the tax collector, like the widow, desires one thing. While the widow desires justice, the tax collector pleads for God’s mercy. In the end, the tax collector is justified.
The Pharisee belongs to a group known as “the separated ones.” The tendency to separate oneself from the rest is not without danger. The cult of separation in ancient Israel can be traced from the time the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness. They were separated not because they were favored, but because they needed it, so that they might be taught of how to responsibly handle their newfound freedom. But being separated could easily give a person a sense of entitlement. The First Reading from the Book of Sirach is correcting this tendency, emphasizing that the God of justice has no favorites (v 12).
God, however, exalts the one who humbles himself. The tax collector, though belonging to a group of known public sinners, humbles himself in his prayer before God. The tax collectors in Jesus’ time were hated by their own people for being collaborators of the Romans. They were also known to be collecting from the people more money than what the Roman authority levied, and which they would keep for themselves. The tax collector in today’s Gospel knows himself very well. He admits his failure. He desires God’s mercy. He prays for it. He receives it.
On the one hand, our sense of entitlement hinders us from seeing who we truly are before God. On the other hand, our humility gives us not only a deep sense of self-knowledge, but also opens up spaces within us by which we can grow in our knowledge of the God of mercy.
Our experience of the pandemic should have put us back in our place. It should have taught us humility and concern for one another. However, there were still people who, rather than allowing themselves to be changed, even took advantage of the situation to advance their selfish interests while being too self-absorbed.
True prayer begets self-knowledge. It can teach us humility. Self-knowledge begets sincere concern for others. Self-entitlement, on the contrary, only generates concern for oneself. In the end, what will justify us is our concern for others.
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2022,” St. Pauls, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
LUKE 18:9-14
The Gospel of Luke is commonly tagged as the Gospel of Prayer.
In Luke 18 alone, three people are presented to be demonstrating three different ways of praying.
In last Sunday’s parable, we encountered the widow who pleads for justice.
Today’s Gospel presents other two “prayers”: A Pharisee and a tax collector who go to the temple area to pray.
The Pharisee prays without really talking to God. He talks only to himself. The Greek expression pros eauton (“toward himself”) indicates a movement toward the self of the Pharisee.
The Pharisee, in reality, pleads for nothing, being full of himself.
But the tax collector, like the widow, desires one thing. While the widow desires justice, the tax collector pleads for God’s mercy. In the end, the tax collector is justified.
The Pharisee belongs to a group known as “the separated ones.” The tendency to separate oneself from the rest is not without danger. The cult of separation in ancient Israel can be traced from the time the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness. They were separated not because they were favored, but because they needed it, so that they might be taught of how to responsibly handle their newfound freedom. But being separated could easily give a person a sense of entitlement. The First Reading from the Book of Sirach is correcting this tendency, emphasizing that the God of justice has no favorites (v 12).
God, however, exalts the one who humbles himself. The tax collector, though belonging to a group of known public sinners, humbles himself in his prayer before God. The tax collectors in Jesus’ time were hated by their own people for being collaborators of the Romans. They were also known to be collecting from the people more money than what the Roman authority levied, and which they would keep for themselves. The tax collector in today’s Gospel knows himself very well. He admits his failure. He desires God’s mercy. He prays for it. He receives it.
On the one hand, our sense of entitlement hinders us from seeing who we truly are before God. On the other hand, our humility gives us not only a deep sense of self-knowledge, but also opens up spaces within us by which we can grow in our knowledge of the God of mercy.
Our experience of the pandemic should have put us back in our place. It should have taught us humility and concern for one another. However, there were still people who, rather than allowing themselves to be changed, even took advantage of the situation to advance their selfish interests while being too self-absorbed.
True prayer begets self-knowledge. It can teach us humility. Self-knowledge begets sincere concern for others. Self-entitlement, on the contrary, only generates concern for oneself. In the end, what will justify us is our concern for others.
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2022,” St. Pauls, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.