The prophet Hosea speaks with urgency:

“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.”

Israel knows it has wandered.
It knows it is wounded.
And it knows that only God can heal.

But Hosea also exposes a problem.

“What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes early away.”

Their repentance is quick. But it is shallow.

They turn to God in trouble, but do not stay with Him in obedience.

So God says something severe and clear:

“I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

God is not rejecting worship.
He is rejecting worship without conversion.

He is not against sacrifice.
He is against pretending.

Religion that stays on the surface does not heal. Only truth does.

This prepares us for the Gospel.

Jesus tells a parable “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous,
and treated others with contempt.”

Two men go up to the temple to pray.

One is a Pharisee.
One is a tax collector.

The Pharisee stands by himself and prays:

“God, I thank you that I am not like other men…”

He lists his virtues.
He names other people’s sins.

He thanks God for how different he is.

The tax collector stands far off.

He will not even lift his eyes to heaven.

He beats his breast and says: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

That is all.

No résumé.
No comparison.
No defence.

And Jesus says:

“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.”

The difference is not morality alone.

It is posture.

One man speaks about God.
The other speaks to God.

One brings a record.
The other brings a wound.

Hosea says: Your love is like morning dew.

Jesus shows what real love looks like.

It is not confidence in virtue.
It is dependence on mercy.

The Pharisee is not lying.
He probably does fast.
He probably does tithe.

But he uses obedience
to avoid repentance.

He uses religion
to separate himself.

The tax collector uses prayer to return.

Hosea says God wants steadfast love.

Not short bursts of devotion
followed by the same habits.

The Pharisee’s prayer
is a morning cloud.

It looks impressive.
It vanishes quickly.

The tax collector’s prayer is simple and lasting.

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

That prayer does not fade.
It continues in a changed life.

Lent is not meant to make us impressive.

It is meant
to make us honest.

We can fast
and still compare.

We can pray
and still judge.

We can give
and still be proud.

God is not deceived by religious activity.

He looks for a heart that knows it needs Him. “I desire steadfast love.”

That means love that remains when the trouble passes.

Love that obeys
when no one sees.

Love that does not measure itself
against others.

Jesus ends the parable
with a sentence that belongs to Lent:

“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This is not humiliation.
It is truth.

Pride builds distance from God.
Humility creates closeness.

The Pharisee stands apart.
The tax collector stands in need.

One leaves unchanged.
The other leaves justified.

Hosea says:
“Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord.”

Not:
Let us look religious.

Not:
Let us appear faithful.

But:
Let us know the Lord.

And knowing God
begins with knowing ourselves.

That we are wounded.
That we are dependent.
That we are not saved by comparison
but by mercy.

So the question today is not:

Which man am I like?

It is:

How do I pray?

Do I come to God
to display my goodness?

Or do I come
to receive His?

Do I use religion
to feel above others?

Or to kneel before God?

“I desire steadfast love,
and not sacrifice.”

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

These are not two messages.

They are one.

God does not want
a performance.

He wants a heart
that stays with Him
because it knows
it cannot heal itself.

And Lent is the time
He gives us
to return that way.