The Publican's Prayer
Posted: December 11, 2009
1:00 am Eastern
WorldNet Daily Exclusive Commentary
© 2009
I don't know Tiger Woods. And as a rule I avoid public comment on the private travails of others, even when their fame or notoriety inevitably makes them the subject of public attention and comment. For a long time, though, I have pondered the significance of the publican's prayer, the simple prayer Jesus recommends by contrast with the self-righteous conceit of the scrupulous Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14). As we come to know the dark passage of such an admired and popular public figure, the thoughts it inspires seem particularly timely and appropriate.
The Pharisee thanks God "that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican." He cites his strict observance of the law to justify his sense of righteousness. Yet Christ makes clear that it is not the Pharisee but the publican, who "would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God be thou merciful to me a sinner" who "went down to his house justified."
The Scriptures tell us that Christ directed this account particularly at those who "trusted in themselves that they were righteous" and were so preoccupied by that conceit that they held the rest of humankind in contempt because of it. Yet on close observance of the text, we see that their attitude toward other people is not the only thing it affects. The publican's certainty of sinfulness makes him feel more fully the awesomeness of the presence of God. It weighs so heavily upon his brow that he cannot lift his head. As the Pharisee's confident self-righteousness makes him feel distant from other men, it also cuts him off from the salutary burden that signifies the near presence of God, the fear that marks and constitutes the birth of wisdom.
Perhaps the essence of this wisdom was conveyed by Christ at another time, when "a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? None is good save one, that is, God" (Luke 18:18-19). All goodness depends entirely on the existence and presence of God. There is therefore no self-sufficient righteousness in the law, or in the will or actions of any human beings. As we cannot be good except by way of God's presence, our good actions belong rather to God than to us. So we are accounted righteous, as the Apostle Paul repeatedly reminds us "Even as Abraham believed [i.e., trusted in, relied on] God and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness" (Galatians 3:6). Of course, Abraham's belief was more than a state of mind. It was a consistent pattern of actions that were the consequence or fruit of that state of mind.
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1 comment:
You know, the Bible says that we are dead in sin. So the fact that someone, famous or not, is immoral shouldn't come as a surprise to us. What should be a surprise is that any of us can do right...which apart from the grace of God we can't.
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