sermon notes Pentecost 22: Luke 18: 9-14

Some preliminary thoughts:

(BTW, we do a study on the upcoming lectionary readings every Wednesday at 12:15 pm at St Tim's; anyone is welcome to drop in.)

Luke 18:9-14

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: [10] "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 

[11] The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  [12] I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.'

[13] But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'  [14] I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."

Jesus loved to tell parables with striking contrasts, and he loved to tell them to a particular audience.

He tells this parable for the benefit of a particular audience - "some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and regarded others with contempt.”  Let’s just start with his intended audience.  Who is Jesus talking to?  Is it a particular audience within earshot, or a more general whoever-happens-to-hear?

The description given is two part - it has to do with their view of themselves, and their subsequent attitude toward others. In the Christian Gospel, these two are connected - my view of my own religious virtues, and my contempt for the failings of others. 

Jesus gives us contrasting studies in this parable.  It is a simple story of two men.  He says they both went up to the temple to pray.  So far so good.  Going up to the temple is a good thing, and going up in order to pray is an even better thing.  So far the two men are on equal footing.

Then Jesus gives us the cast of characters.  We have seen enough type cast movies to know that as soon as they are introduced, the bad guy and the good guy are easily identified.  “One was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector”  From our vantage point we can see where this is going.  Jesus is going to give us an example of something to avoid, and an example of something to imitate.

Enter the Pharisee with sinister background music. 

“The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.”

We know we are supposed to avoid the behaviour of the Pharisee, but what exactly is wrong with his prayer?

First, we note that he is “standing by himself” - he comes to the temple and has no desire to be part of the fellowship of the people of God.  His time at the temple, his prayer, his religion, is a matter for himself alone.  He neither needs nor is interested in needing, the rest of the community of believers.

Then we have his prayer.  He begins well enough: his first word is “God.”  But although God is the addressee of his prayer, God is not the center of his prayer.  God is mentioned once, and the Pharisee uses the word “I”,  4 times.   The prayer of the Pharisee is more concerned with what “I have done”, than what “God has done”.  “I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of all my income.”

The prayer of the Pharisee highlights what his good character is, rather than what God’s good character is.  The Pharisee’s spiritual focus is all on himself, and because of this he thinks that he himself is the standard and measure of what righteousness is.  He trusts in himself that he has accomplished all that is necessary to be right with God, and if God is not convinced by the fact that the Pharisee has made a few religious observances and tithed a few cheques into the temple collection plate, then God should just look around at some the awful people who come to church.  God, you should be grateful to have someone like me in your congregation to raise the moral average up a few notches!  I also find it interesting that the Pharisee, who is supposed to be praying, has one eye on the rest of the people present.  How else would he have noticed that the tax collector is hanging around?

It is not a big stretch to see that the Pharisee “trusts in himself” that he is righteous, and from that beginning we can guess who the Pharisee’ real object of worship is going to be.

Enter the tax collector.

“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'”

The tax collector is a picture of humility before God.  The tax collector knows that he is a sinner - he is at least this honest with God.  He also knows that his hope lies not in his own actions, but in God’s actions:  “God, be merciful”.  The Pharisee drew attention to his own character - the tax collector draws attention to God’s character - merciful.  And as such, the prayer of the tax collector tells us more about God than the prayer of the Pharisee.

The tax collector shows that the standard of goodness and righteousness and love is not how well I do compared to my neighbours, but how well I do compared to Jesus.  And we know that we all fall short of the ideal.  We do not love God with all our hearts, and we do not love all of our neighbours as ourselves.  If I think that I have “made it” spiritually, I am guilty of pride.  If I know I still have a ways to go, then God can help me get there. 

The Pharisee is content, even pleased, with his spiritual status - he thinks he has spiritually arrived.  The tax collector is not satisfied - he wants to be a different person, and he knows that only God can help him become what he is meant to be as a human being. 

Then come the uncomfortable words:

"I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."

I was rather hoping that Jesus would provide a third option.  You see, I can look at both of them and say “thank you Lord that I am neither like the Pharisee nor like the tax-collector”.  I am aware of all the faults of the Pharisee. We know all about churchy self righteousness and how often Jesus condemns that sort of thing in the Gospel.

But really, am I supposed to be like this tax collector? Surely I am not really supposed to be like this fellow.  I would much rather put myself somewhere in between on the “holiness scale” - I are not self righteous like the Pharisee, but surely I am not nearly as bad as the tax collector, with all of his unhealthy self-image and defeatist attitudes - the stuff that therapies are made of and self help publishing.  Send this man to Dr Phil.    

So I get caught in the very subtle net which Jesus has laid out.  Your see, we naturally abhor the Pharisee, because somehow we know that we are not supposed to be like him. But in our haste to avoid and condemn the Pharisee, we overlook the second half of Jesus’ point:  We are supposed to emulate, imitate, the tax collector, and if we say no to this option, we are no different from the Pharisee - we look at the tax collector and we thank God that we don’t need to be like him.

If we simply condemn the Pharisee, then we are no different. - It is just a bit of a cycle.  The Pharisee judges the tax collector, and we judge the Pharisee.  Somewhere in teh back of my mind I can hear the voice which says "I thank you Lord, that I am not like the Pharisee in this parable..."  Which just proves Jesus point:  as the Pharisee knows who to condemn, so do we.  If we see the Pharisee only as an object of condemnation, then we become like him. 

Is Jesus holding up the tax collector as the true model?  What does the tax collector do? Jesus says:  “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

What is it to have the humility of the tax collector?  It is an attitude of dependence upon God for all we are and all we have.  It is a recognition that our lives are a gift - that we are not self-made, and that if we are to become the kind of people Jesus calls us to be, we will not do it by our own efforts, we will do it by acknowledging who God is, and calling upon God for help in becoming what we are meant to be.

Comments

[sameo416]

What always strikes me is which one of the two would you rather have as a member of your parish? The Pharisee tithes, prays lots and always follows the rules - the tax collector has sold out his people to shake them down for the Romans. If we're being honest, the Pharisee is the one we want on vestry with us.

Note also the interesting idea of justified - we're not told that the tax collector leaves his job and follows Jesus...so we presume he goes back to his oppressive job, yet he's justified.

[joseph]

sameo - I have also been thinking of the line from the NT reading (v. 8) this week: "From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing." The sense of "longing", rather than the list of accomplishments, is what counts.

[sameo416]

A grain of the One Truth - it is the inner intentions of our hearts that God weighs, and not just our overt actions. So a great sacrifice, offered with resentment is worthless; while a small gesture, offered with love is infinitely valued.

Although he goes back to his lifestyle "unrepentent", the tax collector longs for reconciliation and is justified as a result. The Pharisee maintains his repentent lifestyle with hardness of heart, and wins no such justification.

So the grand efforts of the head of a charitable organization who personally donates millions to help the poor, but does so with great resentment, pales in comparison to...the drug addict who offers from love his last hit to a friend suffering withdrawal? (being deliberately provocative)

[Susan]

Okay. Great sermon notes and comments but...I really tried to figure this out and give up. Whatever happened to the Holy Day today, you know, the Feast of St. Simon & St. Jude? I am accustomed to marking it and assumed that the BAS lectionary would too. Not a whiff of a mention at the service I attended this morning. I thought perhaps this was some new order BAS thing but I dusted my copy off and saw it listed as a Holy Day. So what gives? The 21st Sunday After Pentecost trumps St. Simon & St. Jude?

[Susan]

Sorry. Brain in BCP Trinity time. I mean the 22nd Sunday After Pentecost.

[joseph]

We did remember said saints in our prayers at St Tim's. In the meantime, anyone looking for more info can try this.