He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18.9-14
'The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself..' And that is all the farther the Pharisee's prayer went, with himself. His words went nowhere important. Perhaps an onlooker was impressed by them, slightly envious of such a display of holiness. God did not hear them. The words fell lifeless to the ground, never to rise beyond the Pharisee's empty heart.
The tax collector did not need the litany of sins recited so the Pharisee could convince himself of his righteousness. The tax collector long ago gave up the illusion that he had any hope before God. His sin lay naked before his eyes for all to see. There was no point in trying to hide them. He could only plead for God to be more than just.
The tax collector begged God to be more than a righteous judge. He pleaded for mercy. He knew he had no claim on God and rightly stood condemned. He asked God to do what the Pharisee could not begin to imagine. He asked for mercy.
Lent will bring us to the foot of the Cross where Jesus hangs, dying, dying for all those whose only hope is the mercy of God. If we attempt to bring anything other than our sin to the cross, we mock Jesus and condemn ourselves. At the cross, we weep bitter tears for how we have pinned Jesus to the wood. We cannot lift our eyes to behold His anguished face but plead that even now, there might be mercy for a sinner.
May our ears be so tuned to the Lord's voice that we hear what a dying thief heard, 'Today, you will be with me in paradise.'