Mercy Give And Get

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ 

But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise  his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

“O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”  The tax collector admitted his faults as part of his prayer.  The self-righteous Pharisee prayed and exalted himself by saying he wasn’t greedy, dishonest, or adulterous.  He fasted twice a week and paid tithes on his whole income, or so he claimed.  

What do we claim?  Are we truthful or into self-deception?  Very few of us can say we are not greedy or dishonest, even adulterous; that is, unfaithful to our covenant vows to God such as our baptismal vows especially rejecting Satan and all his works, and all his empty promises.  Another vow is to believe in the forgiveness of sins.  When we break those vows, we are adulterous.  

We are all sinners to one extent or another.  When we lie, we are not rejecting Satan.  When we gossip and harm through social media, we are not rejecting Satan’s works.  During Lent we should reflect on Satan’s temptations in the desert in which we can all find ourselves – not always in green pastures or besides still waters.

“O God be merciful to me a sinner” is a reasonable plea; however, do we show similar mercy to those who sin against us?  As Jesus indicated, to get mercy we need to show mercy and forgiveness.  

Not to forgive, as hard as forgiveness can be, is to break one of the aforementioned vows to God through our baptismal promises.  We become adulterers, not against our marriage vows and commitment to our spouses, but against God who, fortunately for us, doesn’t react with punishment, but with understanding and forgiveness.

Deacon David Pierce