Sirach 35:12–18

Luke 18:9–14

“O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

That’s the prayer of the tax collector, and it’s the basis for a common devotion of the Eastern Church called the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” a prayer that is repeated continually. It’s a great reminder that despite all that we do, we come as beggars to God. We come with nothing of our own because everything we have is from Him.

The alarm went off at 6:00 so Gina could get up and have time to curl her hair. I had set my iPhone alarm for 7:00, but that was pretty pointless. I was wide awake. That gave me enough time to work in a short run this morning—which probably helped to burn off what would otherwise have been nervous energy. So I finished up my coffee, prayed my morning hour, walked and fed the dog, and hit the road.

In three days, my life changes forever: I will be ordained as a permanent deacon in the Diocese of Boise. Last night I woke up around 3:00 AM (which is not unusual), but where I usually dwell on some issue concerning work, this time I was wondering about whether I would be ready for this ministry.

Am I going to blow it on the altar? Yes, many times over.

Am I going to tick some people off with my homilies? Undoubtedly.

Am I going to let some people down? Almost certainly.

This passage in chapter 7 of the Gospel of Luke is a bit like a bookend. It closes off a section of the gospel that begins with Jesus reading in the synagogue in Nazareth and being rejected by his neighbors. There He refers to the prophet Elijah and the miracles he performed for the widow of Sidon. Sandwiched between these two passages is Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain,” a basic primer of Christian moral teaching.
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