Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

— Matthew 7:7

22 Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.

23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!

— Lamentations 3:22-23

9 To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:

10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like … this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’

13 But the tax collector … beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

— Luke 18:9-14

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and salvation from Christ to you.

While Jesus was ministering on earth, He found Himself constantly confronted with sin’s devastating impact on people. The Gospel accounts record Jesus’s compassion for hurting humanity alongside His confrontation of those who hindered those He sought to protect. He leveled His harshest words against Israel’s religious leaders and their religious hypocrisy. Jesus manifested justice and mercy. He compassionately healed suffering people and rightly stood against unjust laws and practices. Jesus—the One who alone is perfectly just and merciful—opposed those who considered themselves righteous.

Those who attempt to justify themselves miss God’s grace, but those who recognize their helpless sinful state and cry out to God receive His mercy. God hears humble cries for help and extends mercy to sinners. God’s intensely personal mercy extends all of humanity. In salvation and daily life, the palpable experience of God’s love and mercy defies human comprehension. Recognizing the ugliness of our own hearts, inner thoughts, and secret sins exposes the depth of our depravity. Here, under the weight of our sin, God’s mercy meets us intimately and infinitely. His abundant mercies are new every morning. We can cry out to God for mercy, knowing He hears us. Amen!