Who We Think We Are (03/09/2024)

This morning as I read the gospel for the day, Luke 18:9-14, about the Pharisee and the tax collector at prayer, I associated with the tax collector and deemed the Pharisee as an arrogant hypocrite. And then I felt the thump. And I realized how I have the potential to behave arrogantly myself. And I found myself praying to the LORD for the gift of humility, recognizing that it was my sins as much as anyone else’s that led Jesus to that cross on Calvary. And I found myself repeating the words of the tax collector from the parable, “O LORD, be merciful to me a sinner.”

Lent is a time for us to be real, to be honest, to shed the hypocrisy and set down the arrogance. Lent is a time when we all should meditate upon the cross, realizing that we played a part in the necessity for Good Friday. We are Easter People, that is true, but we can’t get to Easter without stopping and reflecting on Good Friday.

We were there on Good Friday. Oh, I know we hadn’t been born yet. But Jesus died for all of us, for all our sins, not just those of His time on earth or those present that day. Jesus died for all of us because we are all sinners. Let’s be honest. Let’s spend this Lenten journey honestly or not at all.

Who do we think we are? I’ll go first. I have a lot of accomplishments that others see. But what others can’t see but I know is that I wrestle every day with doing the right thing, with loving the LORD with all my being, with hallowing out a space in my heart and mind for the LORD, clearing it of selfishness and my own arrogance. I struggle daily to seek the will of the LORD rather than my own, but on any given day realize too often that I’ve sped ahead on my own volition without really considering the path the LORD wishes me to take. And as I reflect in the evening prayerfully, looking back, I have to admit that there are usually two sets of footprints, Jesus’ and mine, and I realize with remorse that I wasn’t following in His footsteps but taking off on my own. I am a sinner who has relied most heavily on the loving mercy of my LORD.

But my hope is in the LORD. I know the LORD to be loving and merciful. I know that at the heart of all that I have accomplished are the gifts given me by the LORD, my life, my talents, my time, the grace to make use of them, and the loving mercy to begin again.

Who do we think we are? It’s your turn.

Until tomorrow, may we all love well.

Thoughts? Questions? – email katewiskus@gmail.com