Be Still And Know

Luke 18:13 NLT  But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, “O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.” In a number of liturgies the words, Kyrie eleieson, Christe eleison are said following the congregational prayer of confession. The words are Greek for: “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.” They are the words used by the tax collector, contrasted with the self-righteous Pharisee.   Mercy is always undeserved. In one story handed down to us we discover a mother pleading with Napoleon Bonaparte to spare her condemned son’s life. The emperor declared that the man’s crime was so awful that justice demanded his life, the mother asked for mercy, and the answer was that the son did not deserve mercy. His mother then pointed out that if he deserved it, it would not then be mercy.   The tax collector understood his need for God. There was no merit he might muster from his life that could be offered up in return f