Who Is In The Driver’s Seat?

It has been said that the Cause of humanity has suffered much at the hands of people who do what they think God would do if only He knew the facts in the case. In today’s Gospel Lesson, Jesus tells the story of two men, one of whom is in the act of praising himself as he thinks God would praise him if only He knew the facts in the case. And since he is in the Temple, he finds it convenient to let God in on the facts. “I am not like other men,” he tells God. “I am not an extortioner. I am not unjust. I am not an adulterer. I am not like that sinner standing over there. I give my fair share to the Temple. And I am obedient to all the religious laws.” He sounds almost like he’s asking God, “Now what more could you possibly want?”

The second man in Jesus’ story is also in the Temple. He…