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
“This is the mark of Christianity: however much a man toils, and however many righteous deeds he performs, to feel that he has done nothing, and in fasting to say, “This is not fasting,” and in praying, “This is not prayer,” and in perseverance at prayer, “I have shown no perseverance; I am only just beginning to practice and to take pains”; and even if he is righteous before God, he should say, “I am not righteous, not I; I do not take pains, but only make a beginning every day.”
Macarius of Egypt (300-391) in Homily 26.
The goal of prayer, fasting, and giving in Lent is not (or ever) to think we arrive, but to learn the way of humility. Every day is simply making a beginning.
What are you learning during Lent? Has the act of setting aside your desires opened the door for new practices? I’m thinking about these topics today.
Ereny Monir, Paula Mendoza, and I will shoot the videos for Online Journey of Empowerment or JOE for short. JOE is a tool that points people to the way of humility.
It’s the path on which we are transformed and, in so doing, we serve as agents of transformation. To learn more about this replicable tool GTP is spreading around the world, click here.