To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “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.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14
“We must not look upon prayer as a good work to be done, or as a pleasant and genteel exercise of piety. Prayer cannot become for us a means of producing something, of making a gift to God or ourselves. For we are in the position of a man who can only receive, who is obliged to speak to God because there is no one else to whom he can turn.”
Karl Barth (1886-1968) in La prière, d’après les Catéchismes de la Réformation (Sténogrammes de
trois séminaires, adaptés par A. Roulin; Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1949) 20, as recounted in Karl Barth on Prayer</em> by John A. Hardon, Theological Studies: 447-448.
The scene in today’s Scripture is striking. The Pharisee is self-righteous. That was me for many years. I thought I was giving 10% of “my” money back to God in addition to other acts of piety. Today, though pride often knocks at my door, I identify more with the broken sinner who cries, “Lord have mercy.” It’s how I finish many of my prayers.
What does this have to do with generosity? Only when we each come to the realization that we can only receive, do we lives become the humble conduits of God’s generosity. If we think we are the ones giving “our” money, we are like the Pharisee who just doesn’t get it. Remember, God doesn’t need our money, he wants our hearts!
If you are preaching or teaching on generosity, use biblical texts like tax collector (Mark 12:41-44) and the widow (Luke 18:9-14) to grow givers. In these passages, Jesus lifts up unnamed brothers and sisters who provide great role models for us and those we serve, as He sees their humble hearts and celebrates them.