In this short parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Jesus tells us of the stark contrast of the prayer of a self-righteous man and the one of a contrite sinner. But this parable is not about prayer. In very short order, Jesus masterfully gets to the root of our human problem of sin and the solution to that problem. Just as Jesus said later to the real tax collector, Zaccheus, “the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost”.