Episode 322 - Beware a Thief

Two men go up to the temple to pray, returning at last to the place from which Adam had been cast out. But only one of them truly prays. The Pharisee trusts in himself, speaking to himself and about himself, while the publican can scarcely lift his eyes from the ground. He has nothing to present but his need: “God, be merciful unto me.” And it is he who goes home justified.

This is the prayer of the persistent widow who cries out day and night, and the trust of the little child who simply receives the kingdom. We have already been given everything; there is nothing left for us to grasp. We have only to give ourselves back to God — however small and unworthy the offering may seem — and He joins our poor sacrifice to the sacrifice of Christ. Then we discover that we were never empty at all: the kingdom is ours, and our cup runs over.

And if we must be thieves, let us be like the thief upon the cross, who had nothing left to take and nothing left to give but a moment of belief. At the very threshold of death, he stole Paradise by trust.