Prayer -- What's In It For You?
Sermons on the Gospel Readings
The Gospel Lesson for this day is the familiar story about the tax collector and the Pharisee. As usual Jesus uses a colorful juxtaposition to gain our attention. A tax collector, hated by many, reviled by most, and the so-called religious Pharisee. It is easy to visualize the scene. The Pharisee looks very religious. He wears religious garments. He sounds religious. He does religious things. He feels entitled to special treatment because of his religious position in his society. He may even believe that God smiles upon him for being such a religious person.
