"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".
Gospel of Luke
In this Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus said: "Of the two people that came to the temple to prayer, only one went away justified before God." Why was the sinful tax collector justified before God where the pious Pharisee was not? This question can be answered with a story.
Two brothers joined a monastery to become monks. The first brother was very cleaver, and certainly had the intelligence and attributes to join the order. The second brother was a little slow and quite unpredictable. After their initiation into the monastery's way of life, the Novice Master went to the Abbott to give his report on the two brothers.
"The first brother is very astute and will be able to learn the "rule" of our order, and commit himself to the discipline that is necessary", he reported. "He is currently enrolled in our program of formation. The second brother will never be able to learn the rule or exercise the necessary discipline in order to become a monk. We currently have him cleaning the monks sandals and sweeping the floor of the dust. I recommend that he be asked to leave."
The Abbott, a compassionate man, requested that the second brother report to him.
When the second brother arrived before the Abbott, he continued to express a strong desire to become a monk, just like his older brother. The Abbott saw potential in him and gave the following instructions: "Whenever you clean the dirt from the sandals of the monks and sweep the dust from the floor, say the following: With each sandal that I clean, and with each sweeping of the floor, I am purifying the hindrances to being a child of God. Can you remember that?" The second brother affirmed that he could.
From that point forward, the second brother repeated this sentence as he went about his work. Sometimes he forgot the sentence, and had to go back to the Abbot to remind him again, but eventually, he was able to repeat the sentence well, and as he cleaned each sandal, and sweep the floor of the dust, he repeated the words.
Many months later, the Abbott called for the second brother again and asked him: "Are you cleaning the dirt from the sandals?" To which he answered: Yes. "Are you sweeping the dust from the floor? And again he answered yes. The Abbot continued: "Are you purifying the hindrances to being a child of God?"
And the brother's heart was suddenly open to what the Abbot was teaching, and he was filled with joy.
What he became enlightened to understand and know in his heart was: that the sandals, with the dirt, were still sandals; that the floor, with the dust, was still the floor. And that he, even with his hindrances, was still a Child of God.
With this new found awareness, he became a monk and a very faithful and humble servant. And the least proud of all the monks because he was able to acknowledge his limitations. Sincere intentions and purity of heart was for him the most important, as he saw in each of those he met a Child of God. He was able to say with conviction: Lord, have mercy on this Child of yours, a sinner.
"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". And he went away justified.
