The Pharisee

In today's gospel, Jesus told us the parable about the Pharisee and the Tax collector in Luke 18:9-14. It never struck me as before, that the Pharisee actually prayed to himself. Then I came across this beautiful words from the perspective of the Pharisee:

It was a revelation.
It happened after I had prayed.
I was leaving the temple
and I happened to glance across
at that wretched tax-collector.
It was just the look on his face.
He wasn't wretched after all.
He was trule at peace.
I saw that he was blessed
in a way I had never been.
I knew I had missed something absolutely vital!
So I went back into the temple.
I said nothing.
I simply stood in the presence of our God
until it slowly dawned on me,
the truth about myself:
my pride, my contempt, my self-righteousness.
I knew then that I was a sinner,
and I asked the Lord for mercy.

I stayed a long time in the temple,
and when I walked away,
I knew there was just a chance
that one day my face too
might be like that tax-collector's,
glowing with peacefulness
and quiet happiness.

(from Lent (for the not-so-holy) by Anthea Dove)