I, Publican!

Gospel: Luke 18: 9-14

The first movement of any authentic prayer is to acknowledge our true status before God - I am a sinner in need of God's mercy.  It is an impulse inspired by the first message of the Gospel: repent, for God's kingdom is at hand.  So in today's Gospel the publican prays rightly and comports his posture and position in the temple rightly, bowing low before God and in the court of the Gentiles, far from God's presence.  

By contrast the Pharisee offers no real prayer at all.  His words are antithetical to the Gospel, for he praises his own merits and looks down upon the rest of humanity. He sees no sin in himself, but only in others.  His posture and position in the temple reflect his arrogance, standing as an equal to God in the position of the priest who alone can be in the holy of holies.  

The status of every human being is that of the publican.  We are all sinners before God in need of the Lord's mercy, but also open to receiving it and then extending mercy to others.  The greatest sin is to think otherwise, to be the Pharisee who believes themselves to be the "faithful" believer looking at everyone else as in sin but not themselves.  Lent is a season given to us as a yearly reminder that we are all publicans, all in need of God's mercy, all called to be mercy to others.