God would much rather that we are honest with him in prayer, even if that honesty reveals aspects of ourselves we would rather keep hidden. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from mass.
Readings for Saturday of the third week of Lent can be found here.
There’s a story about a group of schoolboys who manage to steal the foreign-language exam paper the night before a test. Delighted with their success, they gather secretly to look at it. They open the paper and read the first question, which to their consternation says “Translate into French the following proverb: ‘Honesty is the best policy’”. The boys are faced with the absurdity of the sitaution – they are condemned by the very question they have cheated in order to reveal.
Jesus seems to value the brutal honesty of the tax collector’s prayer over the desire to get ahead shown by the Pharisee. Not only is the prayer of the tax collector searingly honest, it is also to the point – he uses just seven words while the Pharisee’s prayer contains 32. Just as with stealing an exam paper, being anything other than honest in prayer is a case of cheating yourself. God already knows the secrets of our hearts, so there’s little point pretending, or trying to impress him with many words or self-justification. An average test result achieved honestly is better than a perfect score attained through cheating; and in the same way, God surely values honesty more than pretence.
A similar theme is present in our first reading from Hosea. The people were fastidious with the outward show of religion, offering sacrifices and burnt offerings. But their faith wasn’t making a difference deep down in the heart, or in the way they treated others. They were trying to cheat their way into God’s favour, not bothering to do the hard work of inner conversion. The externals of our faith such as those mentioned by the Pharisee are not unimportant. Worship is central to the life of the Christian as are the Lent disciplines of fasting and almsgiving. Yet on their own they are not enough. They should draw us into a deeper relationship with God, where we have the courage to lay ourselves bare before him, be truly honest, and so receive his mercy and compassion.
Mass today is in St Mary’s at 11.30am (preceded by Stations of the Cross at 11am).
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