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So, we overhear the prayers of two very different men. One man, the Pharisees has done a lot and includes what he has done in a list expecting I guess to impress God. He was doing okay until he compared himself to the tax collector. The second man, the Tax collector has said little but admits to his wrongdoing and is truly sorry. It must have come as a shock to the first listeners to this parable. There are several points to this story. Appearances can be deceiving. It’s important not to rush to judgement. Also, despite the tax collector’s past he did have one thing the Pharisee lacked and that is the awareness of who he was. I wonder if being aware of where we need to grow and change in our lives is important for the development of our spirituality. I am not talking about being self deprecating but choosing rather to seek self awareness and humility that might be critical in the development of our spirituality. Likely the Pharisee was not aware that he had completely missed the values of the practice of his faith. Because of his lack of self-awareness, it is likely that he will not see the need for personal growth or recognize opportunities in his life to grow.

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In the Gospel of Luke 18:6-8 Jesus is teaching his disciples to pray always. He uses a short parable of a woman seeking justice from a corrupt judge. The woman successfully hassles the judge, wearing him down to finally getting the justice she was seeking. Jesus makes the interesting point that how much more will God grant what we ask if only we remain steadfast in our prayers. This raises many questions. Why does God often delay in answering our prayers? I seriously doubt that God enjoys watching us wait. I wonder then if there is some value in waiting.

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In today’s Gospel we read about a healing, specifically the healing of ten people with leprosy. Although this account is about people getting healed of a dreaded disease it is what happens after the healing that is most significant. Let’s take a step back to help put this Gospel in perspective. Leprosy or now known as Hansen’s Disease was a dreaded disease back in biblical times. There was no cure, and the method of transmission was not well understood. Individuals suspected of having leprosy were shunned from their family and community. They were required to shout “unclean unclean” anytime they were close to people. As a psychologist I am concerned about the impact this had upon their self worth and esteem. To make matters worse, there was no clear diagnostic criteria, so anyone with a skin issue, hives, eczema, or even acne ran the risk of receiving a diagnosis of leprosy. Because of this lack of clarity, it is not surprising that we read that leprosy was mentioned so often in the Bible.

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