Luke 18:9-14
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
The Grace of God - Re-forming us!
Today, is reformation Sunday. It is a day we decorate the church in red to symbolize the fire of the Holy Spirit… moving in the hearts of people like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingly, and John Knox. We remember how 500 years ago… these men stood up against a corrupt church that was selling lots in heaven for monthly mortgage payments.
All in all, the church’s theology back then wasn’t completely out of left field. It was based on the idea that we have to earn heaven… no… even more… MUST earn heaven. You can see that theology at play all throughout the Old Testament… can even catch glimpses of it in the New Testament when you sneak a peak at a book like James.
We must be good Christians. We must live good lives. We must avoid sin. We must do good things. All in all it doesn’t sound too bad… right? But then you push it… just a little more… you see, no matter how hard we try… no matter how good we are… we will forever and always FALL! It is like a letter recently submitted to the advice columnist Dear Abby. The letter reads: Dear Abby, I am 44 and would like to meet a man my age with no bad habits. She signed her name, “Rose.” Abby replies: “Dear Rose: So would I.” You see… none of us are perfect – we all have flaws. We are humans… all humans fall down. And then what happens if we need to be perfect to earn heaven?
500 years ago the church had an answer… for every time you fall you make confession… for all the times you are going to fall… you gaze upon holy relics to earn favor… for all the times you will fall and don’t even realize it… you can pay a price… you buy an indulgence… and reserve your spot in heaven… printed on paper… notarized… stamped… and filed with the rest of the deeds, a 150 by 150 lot… in your name… you can even pay extra for an oceanfront view.
And men like Luther and Calvin… could no longer stand by and let the gospel of Jesus Christ be ignored.
***** And so it was, 500 years ago that the Reformation began when Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the church doors. And people began to hear the real gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a gospel that is as true today as it was 2000 years ago. We fall down, and Jesus picks us up… every single time.
That is the one thing that connects us all. Whether it was 2000 years ago, 500 years ago… or today, everyone suffers from the same thing – we are fallen. In the book of Romans, Paul puts it in plain language. He writes, “There is no difference between people. Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God’s glory.” We’re all in that same fix – we’ve fallen. The good news is that God is willing to forgive when we confess. That is the heart of the message taught during the Reformation… it just so happens to be the same message being taught in our Scripture text today.
It has been a while since we read the text… so let’s review. There are two men being presented in this parable of Jesus’. Unfortunately… 2000 years later… we have lost a bit of the cultural significance behind these two men. I guess we could look at it this way… have you all seen one of those old spaghetti westerns where the villain is always wearing a top hat and a really long black mustache and the hero is always a fearless cowboy dressed in white… with a name like Stainless Steel! Its one of those plays that they sell peanuts to audience to throw at the villain, and have people holding up signs encouraging us to cheer for our hero and boo at the villain.
Well… we have a hero and a villain in this parable. First, we are introduced to our hero, the Pharisee. Today when we think of Pharisee, we usually think of a bad guy… someone fighting against Jesus, always on the wrong side, but in our parable… he represents the cowboy dressed in white. He is a champion of the moral code, one who has sworn to live a holy life… and his life, we learn, is quite holy. He is the faithful, dependable, tithing type of guy who pays to keep the church doors open. He is at church every single Sunday and lives a life that everyone can deem good and worthy of praise.
And then we have our villain. The tax collector. This is a man who cheats and lies to make his living. He’s the guy who just raked you over the coals for 40% of your income when you know your neighbor [who he’s friends with] got away with 10%. He’s a bad guy through and through… and just hearing his name makes your blood boil. And Jesus gives us this parable, lets read it again… remembering the roles they play in our own little spaghetti western.
Luke 18:9-14
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee [YAY!] and the other a tax collector [BOO!]. The Pharisee [YAY!] stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector [BOO!] stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
It is an upside down kingdom that Jesus gives us where the first will be last and the last will be first. It is a kingdom where the hero of story turns into the butt of the joke, and the villain is lifted up as the one who is glorified. It is important to see them in this light, as they were 2000 years ago or we entirely miss the point. If we read this parable looking at the Pharisee as a villain and the tax collector as a hero, then each gets what he deserves. But you see… this is the true point of the parable that Jesus tells… grace works in such a way that you don’t get what you deserve. If we all got what we deserve, then all of us would be forever condemned.
We aren’t perfect people like the heroes dressed in white in spaghetti westerns… we all have flaws… we all fall short. In this light… in our parable today… we learn that God justifies the sinner who realizes he is in sin and asks for forgiveness… and we see the failure of self-righteousness as the man who tried so very hard to earn his salvation is left unjustified by God.
This is the message that Jesus tried to teach his followers 2000 years ago, it is the message that the reformers used to launch a reformation 500 years ago, and it is the same message that we need to remember today.
And this brings us to the “So What?” part of the sermon. Sure Pastor Homan, I know the story about grace… but so what? What does that have to do with me today.
The tragic mistake that we still make is to think that we can take care of the problem ourselves. We believe that somehow – by jumping through religious hoops – we can earn God’s favor… that if we try hard enough we can do it… that perhaps God will be impressed with the little bit of good we actually do in comparison with all the bad things we do.
The thing that we need to remember… is the same thing that the reformers championed 500 years ago… the truth. When it seemed that the TRUTH was nowhere to be found: God made it shine brightly… as kings and paupers, priests and monks gave their lives to defend that TRUTH; to restore it; to proclaim it; to honor it; to lift it up as the only beacon of salvation: that while we were sinners, Christ died and rose from the dead to give us a relationship with God.
And today, that TRUTH – that TRUTH is still setting people free. That TRUTH is still re – forming hearts. That TRUTH is still shaping eternal destinies. That TRUTH continues to bring comfort to our fallen lives. It tells us that even though we fall… God does not abandon us. That TRUTH points us to one place and to one place only – to Jesus and his Cross and his empty tomb.
We need to remember that. We need to remember the true power of all that God has done for us, need to know all that he continues to do for us… that truly we can do nothing apart from God. And as we go forth living our lives… we remember the truth, and rely on God… and live lives that show our thanks to him.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
