Saturday, 3rd Week of Lent

Lk 18: 9-14 | Reflection Sharing

Ang tunay na kababaan ay simple ang pagiging totoo. True humility is simply being honest,
hindi puro kayabangan, hindi puro kasinugalingan. Too often in life we are not honest with
ourselves and, therefore, are not honest with God. Thus, for our prayer to be true prayer, it must
be honest and humble. And this is what the readings and the gospel speak of us today. Both the
Pharisee and the Tax Collector go to the Temple to pray, but their prayers are very different from
each other. The prayer of the Pharisee is very dishonest, whereas the prayer of the tax collector is
exceptionally sincere and honest. Jesus concludes by saying that the tax collector went home
justified but not the Pharisee. He states, “…for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Kung sino ang mayabang ay ibababa ng
Panginoon, kung sino ang mababa ay itataas ng Diyos. And the humble truth for all of our lives
is best expressed by the prayer of the tax collector who prayed, “O God, be merciful to me a
sinner.”

Jesus contrasts two types of praying: the Pharisee is self-righteous and full of self-praise, yung
tipong mapapasanaol ka nalang; the tax collector, aware of God’s Love and Mercy stands at a
distance and pleads humbly for His forgiveness. How do we pray? Are our eyes fixed on God or
on ourselves? Jesus makes clear that we should pray like the tax collector – with sincerity,
humility and simplicity. In our prayers, remember to praise and thank God for His great
love. When words fail us, just bring our contrite heart for Him to heal and fill with His love.

We see in the gospel the humility of the tax collector. He humbly admitted to God his own
sinfulness. He was very much aware that before God he was nothing and deserves nothing. This
was the reason why the tax collector went home possessing the favor of God. 

The secret therefore to gain the favor of God is humility and awareness of our own shortcomings
and limitations. The tax collector who gained the favor of God was truly aware of his own
sinfulness. He did not attempt to hide it from God, did he know that God knows everything about
him? Perhaps he did not know, what he was sure of was his own sinfulness that’s why he humbly
asked mercy from God.

It is a given fact that the humble has the eyes and ears of God. The humble doesn’t only gain the
favor of God he also gains the respect of his fellowmen. Many of us do not want to be humble
because we see it as weakness. But humility is not a weakness it’s actually a strength! For the
simple reason that those who are humble are more respected than those who are not.  

However, to become humble before Jesus and our fellowmen is not easy. For the reason that this
entails sacrifice and swallowing of our bloated egos. This entails awareness that we have nothing
to be proud of before the presence of God. 
How easy is it for you to admit your sin? When we understand the mercy of God, this humility is
much easier. God is not a God of harshness but is a God of the utmost mercy. When we
understand that God’s deepest desire is to forgive us and to reconcile us to Himself, then we will
deeply desire honest humility before Him.

Lent is an important time for us to deeply examine our conscience and make new resolutions for
the future. Doing so will bring new freedom and grace into our lives. So do not be afraid to
honestly examine your conscience so as to see your sin clearly in the way God sees it. Doing so
will put you in a position to pray this prayer of the tax collector: “O God, be merciful to me a
sinner.”