God opposes the proud while He gives grace to the humble. The Pharisee in
the parable did some good things. But he appears before God in a
pharisaical, hypocritical way. God cannot cooperate with him. He rejects him.
And God sees the publican. He is a sinner. But because he appears before
God as he is and doesn’t try to hide, to justify himself, because he appears as
the utmost scepter of the earth, God accepts him, he listens to him and
justifies him.
Does God accept us or reject us? You went to church. Did God accept this act
of yours? If you went as a humble sinner and stood before God with honesty
and humility, it is impossible for God to reject you and not to say, “I have
heard you, my child,” not to soften your soul a little, not to soften your heart a
little, not to comfort you a little, not to sweeten you a little.
Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos (†)
From the book: Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos, “SPIRITUAL MESSAGES” Panorama Thessaloniki, 2017
