a koan from the wisdom teacher, Jesus
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up 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, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The apparent point of Jesus little story about the prayer postures of two individuals is cast against a cultural context whereby the Pharisees were the group that were the respected ‘church’ people, approved by all their peers, as those who took the Law seriously and sought to follow God with sincerity, and the tax collectors, who were the ‘scum of the world’-traitors against their own kind, outcasts, thieves, and ‘persona non grata’s of the first century Jewish/Syrian society.
Those of us who have read and pondered upon the parables or wisdom teachings of the Lord Christ, have grasped at least a small part of the meaning of this koan. What has occurred to me presently came from a book I am exploring with some interest: “The Experience of God, Icons of the Mystery” by Raimon Panikkar.
As I experience God, and grow deeper and deeper into the mystery, I come to grips with a rupture in my own beliefs and concepts of Who God is-my rational mindset and thought framework is not capable of this. Jesus underscores this with this story. The more I claim to have divine knowledge, the less I seem to possess this knowledge.
“God is known by those who do not ‘know’ him; and is unknown by those who “know” him.” Panikkar states that this concept comes not only from Christ, but also from the Upanishad II:3—ancient Hindu scripture, concepts which predate most monotheistic Abrahamic scripture. However, Gregory of Nyssa, one of the 4th century Christian monks who are known as the desert fathers also repeats this theme: “Those who believe they know God do not know him, and those who do not know him, know him.”
Panikkar continues, delving even deeper into the mystery, quoting the Kena-a story in the Bhagavad Gita…“we who are so wise that we know that we do not know are doubly unhappy, because those who do not know, know it, and those who know it, believe they know it, although they do not know it, and are consequently at peace.
As for intellectuals—students of religion and theology-who know that they do not know it, there is no one who can save them. They are caught in a “catch 22”. Panikkar says that we all must find a new innocence. This is most likely what Christ meant when he spoke these words as recorded in Matthew 18: "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
I must take care to never attain an objective state of “gnosis”—to never become at all self satisfied about my own spiritual life. The attitude of the Pharisee is to be avoided at all costs. What I “know” of the Source, the Creator—is only by his grace.
In reality, as a child of the Kingdom, I can simply gaze at the mystery, and in faith, ponder his ultimate goodness, his/her ‘divinity’, and marvel at his/her infinite love.
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