NOTES for Luk 18:10-14
The parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee has taken an exceptionally important place in the life and tradition of the Church. Like the Lord’s Prayer, the tax collector’s prayer, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” has become one of the essential daily prayers. The reading of this parable directly opens for us the time of preparation for the most important event of the year: the celebration of Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection. Perhaps most importantly, the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee speaks about a person’s position before God. Everything in it matters, every detail. It matters that you can come and address the Almighty, whatever burden of guilt may weigh upon you. It matters that you do not have to justify yourself or explain how you ever came to such a pass… Your task is to come, to reach this entrance to the house of the Lord, and to turn to Him with your heart. Most important of all, your repentance meets God’s mercy, and He justifies the tax collector through his tears. All the incidental circumstances of life are left aside: a repentant person meets the loving God. And in this meeting, God’s love conquers everything.