Gospel: Luke 18.9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-Collector
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.’
Sermon: “Them & Us.”
Situations are not always what they seem. And people are not always what they seem.
A long time ago, a man named Girolamo was a great preacher at the cathedral in Florence, Italy. Inside the church, the sanctuary was a marble statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
After Girolamo had been there for some time, he noticed an elderly woman who would come every day and spend some time in prayer before this statue. Girolamo was so impressed with this woman’s devotion; he pointed it out to an elderly priest. Girolamo said, “Look how devoted this woman is. Every day she comes and offers prayers. What a marvelous act of faith.” Then the priest replied, “Do not be deceived by what you see. Many years ago, when the sculptor needed a model to pose for this statue, he hired a beautiful young woman to sit for him. This devout worshipper you now see is that woman. She worships what she used to be.”
Situations are not always as they seem, and they seldom are as simple as we presume. Pride and humility come in many forms and shapes.
Our pride or our humility does affect not only how we live but also how we worship and pray. Our Gospel this morning is all about pride and humility. Or about that deep deep human urge of comparison, contempt, condemnation, and conceit. The attitude of arrogance.
The line that truly caught my attention this week was the self-righteous prayer: Thank God, I am not like one of them!”
In Biblical times, the Pharisees were seen as the good guys. They were the ones who attended all the temple and synagogue services. They kept the commands of scripture and faithfully followed other Jewish traditions. On the other hand, the tax collectors were considered the bad guys. They were the villains. Hired by pagan Rome, they charged their fellow Jews exorbitant fees and, in the process, became wealthy. Because of this, the tax collectors were considered the worst of the worst.
So, when Jesus first mentioned the Pharisees, people must have thought, “Hooray for the good guy!” And when he mentioned the tax collector, the people would have muttered under their breath, “Scum of the earth!” Yet when Jesus finished the story, the good guy had become the bad guy, and the bad guy had become the good guy. When you look at this story, it is not just the prayers that make the difference but the attitude that reeks of pride and arrogance.
St. Augustine said that it was pride that changed angels into a devil, and it is humility that makes men angels.
Humility is a quality that pleases God. Humility is a virtue that pleases God and nurtures our relationships and communities.
As Jesus concludes the parable today: “… for all who exalts themselves will be humbled; and all who humbles themselves will be exalted.”
Let me share with you a modernized version of this familiar parable:
Two women came to church one Sunday morning. The first woman was a respected individual in the community and a devoted member of the First Christian Church. She had a good reputation as a faithful wife and a loving mother. Very rarely did she ever miss a Sunday worship service and was very influential on the church council. As a model citizen, she served on the local school board.
The second woman was a cleaning lady and a single mother, who occasionally attended the First Christian church, but she was known for the wrong reasons. A lot of the people in the church talked a lot about her private life as a divorced woman and single mother. And not to mention how she dressed and how she talked. She was busy and never had time to volunteer.
So now it is prayer time at the First Christian church and the well-respected church member bows her head and after a time looked up at the stained-glass window to which she donated and prays. “God, everything is well. My family is healthy, my economy couldn’t be better and people in this church listen to me.” Then she looked to the side and noticed the other woman. She thought, “Thank God I am not like her.”
Then she joined everyone, “Our Father who art in heaven…”
The other woman during the same prayer kept her head down and said, “Lord, I am not sure you will listen to me, and I do feel guilty about a lot of things. Forgive me.”
Then she joined everyone, “Our Father who art in heaven.”
The respectful church member felt good about herself and confirmed her good graces, but her prayers didn’t touch the heart of God.
The other woman felt bad about herself and tried to make things right with God. In her simple prayer, she touched the heart of God and her prayer pierced the heavens.
Andrew Murray-“Pride must die in you or nothing from heaven can live in you.”
Humility is a funny thing. As our newly installed bishop said during the impressive installation service in St. Paul Cathedral in San Diego, surrounded by hundreds of pastors, several bishops, and other dignitaries, in front of the massive altar, - a service of power, position and pomp, and circumstances that could easily grant some kind of pride in the hearts of the bishop - “As your bishop, I will promise to serve, but I will fail and might get too full of myself or my position. But I ask you: don’t call me out, call me up instead. Tell me. Confront me. Make me humble again.”
It is not easy to admit our mistakes and wrongs. Or to say I am sorry or forgive me, but when we do, it keeps us humble and tender towards God.
So, as we come to church this morning, let us come honest and humble. Let it not just be a ritual when we pray “Our Lord’s prayer.”, let it not just be a self-righteous proclamation that thanks God we are not like them….
May we be honest and humble at the moment not living in the past like the older woman who worshipped herself at the statue of Mary, or like when we relish in nostalgic thoughts about how good the old days were. May we never be like the Pharisees who constantly compared, condemned, judged, whispering Thank God I Am Not Like Them.
Oh, we are so good at comparing, commenting, and condemning. Oh, we are so good at the conceit, contempt, and comparison in our way of thinking about them and us. Us and them.
“God, I thank you that I am not like other people…And, if we may extend the thought and paraphrase the Bible, “Especially like that person over there.”
It is this sentence from scripture that intersects our lives today.
Because we are living in a time of name calling and finger pointing.
We are living in a time of division and failure to communicate.
In chambers of Congress and on Pennsylvania Avenue, in state houses, and on news programs.
But even more on Main Street and my street and your street, as well.
Too many of us have a tax collector over there whom we look at and say,
“Thank God I am not like them.”
It is time to call the other ones up instead of calling them out.
Instead of comparing, condemning, and conceiting, we should be trying to live in communication, compassion, and community.
Honestly and humble praying “ Our Father in heaven…. Forgive our sins….” Our Father. Our sins.
Turning back to the Bible for a moment…
The underlying issue in the parable which Jesus told was not about roles or about who was good and who was bad or about words used or not used. The underlying issue was and is arrogance. An arrogance that looks down on another and says, whether out loud or to oneself:
I am not like you. I am better than you. You are less important than me. You are of less worth than I am.
Thank God I am not like you.
All of which flies in the face of the deepest and best wisdom of the Bible and what we name as Christianity, and which we know and name as humanity. Human first, then Christian.
We do live in divisive times.
Maybe the best thing we can do is to hold onto the deepest and best values of our faith tradition which reminds us over and over again that we are to love God and love neighbor and treat others as we would like to be treated. And hold tight to the deepest and best values of our nation which longs for liberty and justice for all.
And do our best to live up to those values;
And, maybe, also, to say our prayer that might go something like this:
In all things, O God, both large and small, save us from the madness of thinking and believing that our way is the only way. Save us, too, from pride and arrogance that demeans and demonizes those, who in Your gracious compassion and mercy, is named as our sisters and brothers.
Deliver us from the hypocrisy of speaking without listening and listening without hearing and yet saying we understand.
Deliver us from hypocrisy, arrogance, selfishness, and pride.
Have mercy upon us, O God, and create in us clean hearts, and renew a right spirit within us.
Thank God, that you love someone like us. Amen.