Kontakion - Tone 4

Let us flee from the pride of the Pharisee!
And learn humility from the Publican’s tears!
Let us cry to our Savior,
have mercy on us,
only merciful One!

Two Men Went up to the Temple

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men-extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 18:10-14

Mine eyes are weighed down by my transgressions, and I cannot lift them up and see the height of heaven. But receive me, Savior, in repentance as the Publican and have mercy on me. ~ Vespers for the Feast; Prayer of Manasses

Praising Oneself

Many are the faults of the Pharisee: for first of all he is boastful, and without sense, for he praises himself, even though sacred scripture cries aloud, “Let a neighbor praise you, and not your own mouth: a stranger and not your own lips.” (Proverbs 27:2)

… You speak to God Who knows all things. Await the decree of the Judge. None of those skilled in the practice of wrestling ever crowns himself; nor does any man receive the crown of himself, but awaits the summons of the arbiter.

… Since, therefore, your fasting is accompanied by pride, you must expect to hear God saying, “This is not the fast that I have chosen.”

~ St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke, Homily 120. (Manley, BHF, p. 669)

This is Not the Fast I Have Chosen

Read Isaiah 58

The Beginning of True Repentance

The lenten season begins then by a quest, a prayer for humility which is the beginning of true repentance. For repentance, above everything else, is a return to the genuine order of things, the restoration of the right vision. It is, therefore, rooted in humility, and humility - the divine and beautiful humility - is its fruit and end. “Let us avoid the high flown speech of the Pharisee,” says the Konatakion of this day, “and learn the majesty of the Publican’s humble words…” We are at the gates of repentance and at the most solemn moment of the Sunday Vigil; after the Resurrection and appearance of Christ have been announced — “having beheld the Resurrection…” — we sing for the first time the troparia which will accompany us throughout the entire Lent:

Open to me the gates of repentance, O Giver of Life,
For my spirit rises early to pray towards Thy holy temple,
Bearing the temple of my body all defiled;
But in Thy compassion, purify me by the loving kindness of Thy mercy.

Lead me on the paths of salvation, O Mother of God,
For I have profaned my soul with shameful sins,
and have wasted my life in laziness.
But by your intercessions, deliver me from all impurity.

When I think of the many evil things I have done, wretch that I am,
I tremble at the fearful day of judgement.
But trusting in Thy loving kindness, like David I cry to Thee:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy.

~ Fr. Alexander Schmemann, Great Lent, p. 20-21