9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

The Pharisee’s prayer reminds me of the prayer that has been sent to me a number of times from some of you. The prayer is, So far today, God, I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, haven’t lost my temper, haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or over-indulgent. I’m really glad about that. But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed and from then on I’m probably going to need a lot more help. Thank you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Pharisee steps away from the crowd in order to maintain his purity before God, and launches into a list of all his religious accomplishments:

“God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, scoundrels, adulterers,
or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week;
I give a tenth of all my income”
(vv. 11-12).

He does everything right, according to the standards of the day, obeying all the religious rules of the road. In terms of keeping God’s commandments, he is way above average.

Meanwhile there is a tax collector who prays,

13"But the tax collector stood at a distance.
He would not even look up to heaven,
but beat his breast and said,
'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

It has been said that if the tax collector was using modern jargon the tax collector would have said, “My bad.”

I don’t believe he would have. “My bad” may be a way of saying, “I’m sorry,” but there’s a flippancy to the expression as well. “My bad” is a way of admitting a mistake, and apologizing for that mistake, without actually apologizing. This is not the tax collector. Scripture states, “The tax collector bows his head, beats his breast, and says,

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
(v. 13).

He’s feeling so ashamed that he cannot even raise his hands and look up to heaven. The tax collector doesn’t make any boasts or excuses — he simply asks for God’s mercy.

In a surprising twist, Jesus concludes the parable by saying,

“I tell you, this [tax collector]
went down to his home justified
rather than the other;
for all who exalt themselves will be humbled,
but all who humble themselves will be exalted”
(v. 14).

This isn’t what the hearers of the parable expect. They’ve been taught that good behavior draws you closer to God, while bad behavior drives you away. The Pharisee’s fasting and tithing seemed noble at first, and his pride in his good behavior seemed to be a minor mistake, but together these factors created a disaster. It is apparent that the Pharisee chose the wrong time to be thankful.

The tax collector restores his relationship with God by asking for forgiveness, while the Pharisee moves farther away from God by boasting of his righteousness. Without humility, there was no way for him to be right with God!

What we are to take away from this parable is that all too often we are like the Pharisee. We are unaware of our secret faults. We are also unaware that our minor mistakes can get out of control and destroy us.

What are the mistakes we make, sometimes without knowing it? This scripture should lead us to do some soul searching, self-examination, confess our hidden faults.

One mistake that can really bite us is:
our failure to see the image of God in the people around us;
to judge others more harshly than we judge ourselves;
when we are not honest with God — or honest with ourselves — about our need for forgiveness. The tax collector saw himself clearly, and he confessed his sinfulness, saying,

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
(v. 13).

All of this begs the question: HOW do I get to a place where I see the image of God in others, show mercy instead of judgment, recognize my own need for forgiveness?

Perhaps you have heard the story of the man who came to the gates of heaven to be greeted by St. Peter. It’s perfect for this text. Peter asks the man if he can give a brief history of his life with an emphasis on the good deeds he has done in order to gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven. 
You will need 1,000 points to be admitted,” Peter tells the man.  “This will be a cinch,” the man thinks to himself, “I’ve been involved in church from the days of my youth.” Then he begins to list his activities for Peter. He was an officer in his youth group, served in every possible position he could as a youngster. Was on the church council and every committee the church had to offer. His list was extensive.
“Very impressive,” Peter smiles at the man. An angel standing with them also smiled and nodded as he tallied the points and then whispered in Peter’s ear. Peter tells the man, “This is quite striking; we seldom see men of your very good works. You will be pleased to know that you have 327 points! Is there anything else you can think of?”  
The poor soul breaks into a cold sweat and begins to reach deep for every single act of kindness he could think of. He listed them as the angel scratched furiously on his angelic clipboard and nodded his head in admiration. Peter looks at the clipboard and says,
“This is quite exceptional! You now have a total of 402 points. Can you think of anything else?”   The distressed guy strives to recall good deeds, like the time he helped a little old lady across the street. He finally arrives at a grand total of 431 points and cries out, “I’m sunk! There’s no hope for me! What more could I have done? O Lord, all I can do is beg for your mercy!” 
“THAT,” exclaims Peter, “is a thousand points!”

'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

It’s time to get honest — honest with God, and honest with ourselves. We cannot go home justified, restored to right relationship with God and one another, unless we admit that we need to be forgiven.

The opportunity comes to us here, just as it came to the Pharisee and the tax collector in the temple — the opportunity to see our mistakes, confess our hidden faults, and ask for the gift of forgiveness.