Jesus has encounters with people “who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.” In today’s Gospel he tells of a Pharisee who is praying nearby to a despised and humble tax collector who “stood off at a distance … and prayed” for “mercy.” The Pharisee’s prayer is, “O God, I thank…
“Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly.” They were just returning home after a long captivity. Ezra stood “on a wooden platform” “higher up than any of the people.” The people “bowed down and prostrated themselves …(and) Ezra read plainly from the Book of the Law of God.” Centuries later Jesus stands…