Sermon by layspeaker Bill Kamp
(Luke 18:9-14)
Lord, may these spoken words be faithful to the written word and lead us to the living word, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The parable that is today’s gospel reading is fairly well known, and is a great life lesson and reflection for all of us. The same faith embraces both the Pharisee and the tax collector, although they are quite obviously two very different men.
Dr. Philip McLarty, a well known Presbyterian and Methodist minister, and also the
Reverend Charles Hoffacker have both outlined this parable very well, and so in full
disclosure, I offer that some of my words this morning were taken from their writings.
Pharisees are regularly treated in the gospels as Jesus’ opposition, as self righteous
hypocrites who, in general, were not good people. In this story, this Pharisee is pictured in a slightly different light. He is no liar. He fasted more often than called for, he tithed far more of his income than required. He seemingly did everything he could to follow the written law of his people, and its centuries of interpretation. He worked hard to earn his place in life. He really was, in many ways, a good man. Perhaps, except for his total lack of humility, he was a man to be admired and emulated.
Yet, in many ways, his words are troubling. In his prayer, he denigrates so many other people: he points out that he is not like “THEM”. His words center on himself only, and cuts off all others from consideration. Four times in his brief prayer, the word “I” appears. Remember the old saying, “there is no “I” in team”.
Unlike the tax collector, he doesn’t confess his sins. Surely he has some. He doesn’t
ask God for strength, or help, or guidance, or mercy. In his mind, he is above all that. He merely “reports” to God all the reasons that God should be proud of him. He is so obnoxious that he is also a pretty easy target to dislike.
The tax collector, on the other hand, asks God to be merciful to him. He knows he is a sinner. Is he the good man in this parable? Well, let’s look at that a little closer.
In the days of Jesus, tax collectors were little more than white collar criminals. Many made huge fortunes. They routinely charged two or three times what they should have. They kept this “profit” to enrich themselves at the expense of others, many of them among the poor. Tax collectors were among the most hated and despised members of the Jewish community. Maybe he is the one who is not so likeable in this story.
Or perhaps, we can all learn something from both of these two very different people. Jesus said that the tax collector went home “justified” because he confessed his sinfulness and asked for mercy from almighty God. While that may sound great, there is no indication that the collector would not go right back to his thieving ways. Perhaps he went home feeling righteous, even though God knows, and we know, he wasn’t. We really can’t be sure what direction he took. But maybe, just maybe, he is sincere in his prayer, and IS moving in the right direction. Perhaps God’s forgiveness to all who come to Him, will lead this collector to feel compassion to others around him, and change his sinful ways.
We cannot be sure which direction the collector moved in after his time in the temple. But, if we can picture ourselves as the tax collector in this parable- perhaps saved by faith and forgiveness – we can understand the depth of God’s grace and move on from judgment to compassion. God’s forgiveness for all is a very powerful force.
And the lesson to be learned from the Pharisee? He condemned others to make himself look better. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said:
“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged.
For with whatever judgment you judge,
you will be judged;
and with whatever measure you measure,
it will be measured to you.”
As McLarty said, perhaps the lesson to be learned is that no matter what your sin may be, the self-righteousness of the Pharisee, or the unworthiness of the tax collector or something else, there is mercy and pardon for all who call upon the Lord. When you recognize your own sins, and remember that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ those sins are forgiven, then you can be just as forgiving of others.
So for me, the lesson to be learned from this story is that yes, God is forgiving of everyone, no matter who you are, no matter what your sins. But is up to us, each and everyone one of us, to use God’s forgiveness wisely, to move forward in less sinful ways, to be the best person we can be, and not allow ourselves to sit in judgment of others. AMEN.