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Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
God knows us as we are, sin, failure and all, and loves us anyway
Published: October 27, 2007
By Deacon John Marschewski
In this Sunday’s Scripture (Luke 18:9-14), Jesus takes us to a place familiar to every dedicated Jew. He begins the story, “Two people went up to the temple area to pray, one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector ...”
The Pharisees, in society’s eyes, were the standard-bearer for all that was moral and righteous among the Jewish faithful of Jesus’ day. They were nonprofessionals who were dedicated to maintaining life as holy as possible — they were all about protecting and keeping “The Law.”
On the other hand, the tax collectors of the time were not high on the most popular list of persons in society. In fact, people viewed the tax collectors as collaborators with the Roman occupation. To say that persons on the street viewed these two men differently would be the height of understatement.
In our story, the Pharisee stands by himself and, though he appears to be praying to God, he is really having a conversation with himself and his own ego — it is all about what “I” am doing. “‘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” — a lot of “I.”
Contrast the Pharisee’s “prayer” to the uncomplicated, one sentence petition offered by the tax collector who “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.’” No ego in this prayer — far from it. Here is one who knows the great need of his life is not for God’s approval of his deeds, but for God’s mercy on his soul.
What can we hear God saying to us today in this straightforward story? For us, maybe we can say when God looks at us, he sees people made in his image. He neither delights in the things we are proud of nor condemns us for the things that leave us broken. God sees beyond our resumés, our make-up and our well-rehearsed social games. Moreover, here is a truly amazing thing: God knows us as we are and loves us anyway.
Those of us who have children and/or grandchildren, know we do not love our offspring because they are smart, good, handsome, beautiful, talented, moral or religious. Rather, we love our sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters because of who they are — not by what they say or do.
The Pharisee in the parable never quite seems to understand that message. He appears to believe God approves of him because of all the things he did, not for all the love and grace that is the very nature and character of God. If we obey the Law solely to gain God’s favor, then we may have missed the meaning and message of our Lord’s life. Our goodness and devotion is a response to God’s favor, not a means of earning it.
Therefore, what is our core message for us today as we go limping, stumbling, groping through life’s journey. We hear a message that says God does have mercy on us sinners. God knows us as we are and loves us anyway.
