the Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost ---- 23 October 2016

Luke 18:9-14

9 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."

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt

·        We have heard this parable so many times, we’ve made it part of our worship life and even our self-understanding. We’ve placed ourselves in the role of the tax collector so well that we almost fight for a seat in the last row of pews. Either that or we want to make a clean and un-noticed escape. Well, here’s the problems: I’m still between you and the coffee, so perhaps another strategy is needed.

·        The real issue in the parable is not the words of prayer or the seating chart. It isn’t a matter of righteous or unrighteous behavior. It’s a matter of drawing a dividing line… between the righteous and the unrighteous, between the holy and the profane, between the “Ins” and the “Outs.”

·        The Pharisee is the first example here. We are appalled by the words he uses in prayer and are bothered by his apparent self-righteousness. He’s very busy looking down upon others like this tax collector. Truth to tell, this man has done everything right; he fasts, he tithes, he prays, he goes to the Temple, he doesn’t engage in activities against the Law of Moses, and he has not betrayed his people by working for the Roman occupation. He’s a good guy.

·        The tax collector, of course, cannot claim those same things. He does pray and go to the Temple, but he handles ritually unclean and idolatrous money. More than likely, he cheats his neighbors and he does work for the Romans, the oppressive power that occupies the country.

·        It’s easy to see the dividing line here. And it’s easy to see why the Pharisee stands in the Temple to pray, probably with arms outstretched while the tax collector keeps his head down and beats his breast, an ancient action indicating sorrow, especially for sin which is the case here.

·        Jesus says that it was the tax collector who went home justified.

·        The Pharisee was righteous in that time’s understanding of righteousness. He had done everything right. In his prayer, he gave thanks to God that he was him, that he was made righteous by what he had done, particularly in comparison to the others around him. “Lord, thank you that I am better than all these others.”

·        The Pharisee’s focus was himself and what he has done rather than God and what God has done. He thanked God for what he had made of himself. As Luke wrote as the introduction to this parable, this was a man who trusted in his own righteousness and held others in contempt. As I said, the man’s focus was on himself.

·        On the other hand, the tax collector was concerned with his sinfulness, which only makes sense considering how he was perceived by those around him. He knew himself well enough to understand that he had no righteousness of his own. He knew his sinfulness. His focus was on God and his relationship with God. If we believe that it was his repentance that won him God’s favour, we are mistaken.

·        For both of the men in the parable, it is neither the outward righteousness of the one nor the repentance of the other that leads to a blessing or to justification. It is completely and simply the grace of God.

·        The Pharisee in this parable has not recognized that any righteousness he knows comes from God and God’s grace. We might say that he is full of himself. The tax collector in this parable recognized his unworthiness and in that unworthiness, has experienced the grace of God. His only response could be gratitude for this free gift.

·        Both of these men are under the grace of God. It is quite possible that neither one sees that – the Pharisee sees his own righteousness and the tax collector see his own sinfulness. In the broad view, both are dependant no God’s grace, whether they know it or not.

·        It is the same for us. When we pray – whether in gratitude, in repentance, or even in worship – we have nothing to claim but our own dependence on the grace of God. It is grace that justifies and saves.

·        If we were to remember that, we may become aware of the distinctions and separations we make between people and groups. We draw the boundaries and decide who is in and who is out. The odd part is that when we draw a boundary, we’ll find that God is on the other side of the fence we’ve built.

·        In contrast, then the divisions, borders, and dividing lines - all things of human construction – disappear and only the grace of God is left. If we remember our need and our dependence on the grace of God when we come before the face of God, then we too are justified by our God and are once again invited to live in mercy, grace, and gratitude.

·        It appears that Jesus had a certain group in mind when he spoke this parable: He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves… Our times are no different and this parable can be spoken to any today.

·        So stay in your seats. Where you sit in church may effect how well you can hear, but it has no bearing on God’s justifying and saving grace. Those in need of grace sit anywhere in any church… and stand in the pulpit as well.