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Luke 18:9-17 Read it first, then let’s chat!  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2018%3A9-17&version=NLT

And speaking of praying… are you understanding why I love Luke?  He weaves his story so well.  He helps us see the subjects that were close to Jesus’ heart and even how his conversations evolved throughout the course of his ministry.

I can almost see the path Jesus’ mind followed.  He had been telling people to never stop praying.  He had been talking about how his father loves to hear our prayers and respond with justice and rescue.  And now his mind turns to other kinds of prayer.  The widow in the last story knew she was powerless and was  desperately seeking justice from the only person who could help.  But not every prayer is a cry for help.  Jesus had spent plenty of time at the Temple.  He had heard people pray desperate prayers, but he had also heard people who really thought they were doing God a favour by stopping in to say hi. 

And so we have these two very different people offering two very different prayers. The Pharisee was loved and respected by the Jews.  He was on the side of faith and righteousness.  The tax collector was also a Jew but he worked for the Romans.  His deal was that he used the authority of Rome to collect taxes, but if he could collect more than he had to pay out to Rome, the extra was his pay cheque.  And generally tax collectors made a very good living overcharging their fellow Jews.  They cheated their own people for a living, and the only ones who liked them were the friends they bought with their lavish lifestyles. 

The Pharisee knew he was loved and respected. He also believed he deserved it. Do you see how he wraps up his prayer?  I fast.  I give.  The implication is that he is a good person that God would want to talk to, because he obeys the rules so thoroughly. 

The tax collector also knew how people felt about him, and he knew he deserved it. He isn’t giving God his resume. He’s begging for mercy because he knew he couldn’t possibly be worthy of God’s kindness, but he knew he needed it just the same. 

Jesus wants to draw our attention to the state of each man’s heart.  Who was justified at the end of that day?  Not the “good” one who did everything right.  Why? Because nobody does everything right.  If you think you do, if you even think you could, your heart is a mess.  Jesus’ whole purpose on earth was to pay a price that we couldn’t afford because we don’t have the capacity to be right with God.  The fact that this guy felt justified before God was an insult to everything Jesus was doing.  On the other hand, the man who simply wept in God’s presence because he knew he was broken, that’s the kind of heart that honours God and welcomes his kingdom. 

God really isn’t asking us to be impressive.  He isn’t waiting for perfection.  He isn’t interviewing candidates looking for the best, the smartest or the most successful.  In fact, Luke tells us, Jesus wants us to be just like children in our approach to God.  Kids are needy.  When my adult children tease me because I need their help with something, I remind them there was a time that they couldn’t burp without me.  Kids want their parent’s love and attention.  They need their help and provision.  They rely on their parents because they know that without them, they are helpless. Honestly, that’s all God asks of us.  Don’t imagine you deserve his love or his help.  Don’t act like he owes you a spot in the kingdom.  Come to God knowing you have no hope without him, nothing to offer him, and he desperately wants to lavish you with his love anyways.  

In the same way Jesus welcomed the little children, God welcomes us when we come to him with the heart of a child.