Eleventh Sunday After Trinity

August 16, 2026Today's Reading: Luke 18:9-14Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 6:1-19; 1 Corinthians 9:1-23“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.One of the many problems with being a sinner is that we are turned in on ourselves, or self-centered. We tend to talk too much about ourselves and only think of our own problems and desires. As religiously serious people, we may even become impressed with ourselves and compare ourselves to others. The Pharisee in our text is an example of this. Even when he “prays” in the temple, all he really does is talk about himself to God. If you can believe it, he lets the Almighty know how great he is! And if you are honest, I bet you can believe it because you’ve probably done the same thing. We all have. If we aren’t careful, our prayers can also become self-centered attempts to justify ourselves, rather than humbly thanking and praising our Maker and our Savior. The main underlying problem with the Pharisee is the sin of pride. He is so proud that he cannot do anything but brag about how great he is and condemn those whom he thinks are beneath him. He thanks God that he is not like them! Contrast this with the tax collector. That man cannot even raise his head. He has sinned terribly, and he knows it. When praying to God, he is full of anguish and shame. He beats his chest. He doesn’t brag about how good he is. Instead, he goes before the Lord and barely spits out the only prayer appropriate: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” What a contrast: a pious, upstanding religious Pharisee, and a filthy, broken tax collector. If we had seen them that day, we would have certainly thought the one who had it all together, the polished, conservative religious man, was the kind of man God would approve of. But Jesus tells us otherwise. That man was too proud to receive God’s grace or mercy. He thought those things unnecessary since he was so convinced of his own goodness. But not so the Tax Collector. Although his sin was great, Jesus tells us that the one who is truly humble, broken, and relies on God was the one who went home justified. Learn from this man whom our Lord praises and learn from him to look to God to have mercy on you and forgive you all your sins for Jesus’ sake.Further, ask yourself: How do I pray? With humility or pride? In your conversations with others, how often do you talk about yourself versus listening and learning from others? How might you, as a fellow broken and humble sinner, let others know about the mercy of God in Jesus?In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.I lay my sins on Jesus, The spotless Lamb of God; He bears them all and frees us From the accursed load. I bring my guilt to Jesus, To wash my crimson stains Clean in His blood most precious Till not a spot remains. (LSB 606:1)Rev. Joel Shaltanis, pastor of Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Plano, TX.