When I was younger, my siblings seemed to be accident prone. The fact that we made it

to adulthood seems an amazing feat. There was a stretch of time where it seemed my

parents were frequently running someone to the hospital. For instance, we were sitting

at the dining room table, eating supper, and then, all of a sudden, my brother fell off his

chair and hit his head on that metal box that housed my dad’s drill next to the table.

(Why that box was in that spot I will never know.) In a split second everyone was up,

blood was everywhere, my brother was whisked away to the hospital, our neighbor

came over to watch the rest of us kids, dinner sat on the table: it was a mayhem that

looked like those who were eating must have been abducted by aliens. At some point I

found my way to the small laundry room at the back of the house where I sat next to the

clothes dryer with all the hope in my heart and prayed that my brother would be ok. I

found myself in this position three other times praying next to the dryer. We were

fortunate all the wounded turned out ok.

This week’s readings thrust us deeper into the realm of prayer, looking to our motivation

for prayer. Do we want someone to see us praying? Is the prayer individual, just for God

and the person praying? In the first reading we are assured that “The Lord is a God of

justice, who knows no favorites.” You cannot bribe God or make a deal with God. God

also sees through those who are posturing: you cannot fake it with God. “True

sacrificial prayer must be connected to the practice of social justice, especially the

toward the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in society.” The orphan, the widow, and

the lowly are those seen as the bottom of society in Jesus’ day. I would say God is

especially close to those who fall into this category today, thus it is the same now as it

was before.

In the second reading, Paul is confident that a life of faithful service is its own form of

prayer. God answers Paul by standing by him and giving him strength to deliver his

message, which is God’s message, and therefore Paul can complete his mission to the

Gentiles.

Then there is the Gospel where we are warned in the parable of the Pharisee and the

tax collector. The Pharisee “spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am

not like the rest of humanity…’” and then goes on to list all the things he thinks well of

himself. Notice the wording of the text: “spoke this prayer to himself.” In comparison the

tax collector “…beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God be merciful to me a sinner,’” It

seems that the Pharisee’s prayer is a commentary and reminder, not actually a prayer

to God but a narrative, whereas the tax collector utters an actual prayer-request of God.

The Pharisee “is filled with his own righteousness and has no need of God’s

righteousness and there is no room for God’s mercy to be received.” The tax collector

is in need of God’s mercy, begs for it, and receives it.

The posture of the Pharisee versus the tax collector is telling as well. The Pharisee

took up his position, which means he must have taken his place of prominence. The tax

collector on the other hand stands far off, doesn’t look up (reminds me of the “penitent

man may pass’ in the Indiana Jones movie), and pleads for God’s mercy.

Jesus is the master of giving us the scenario to help us keep ourselves in check. Are we

pompous and righteous by “taking up our position”? or are we humbly asking for God’s

help and mercy? Maybe it is time to reflect on that. If you are looking for me, I think it is

time for me to sit next to the dryer with all the hope in my heart.