RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE GOD - LUKE 18:9
Luke 19:41
Why do civilizations fail? Why do great cities fall to their enemies?
Jesus wept over Jerusalem as he foresaw that the city was doomed to yet a 3rd visitation by her enemies. He saw that once again the engines of war would surround the city, the temple would once again be destroyed, the inhabitants put to the sword and scattered.
Jesus had said, “If only you had known the things that make for peace. . .”
He had patiently taught, “Turn the other cheek. . . .if a man compels you
to walk with him one mile, go with him two. . .” Picture the situation of
the People who lived in the Holy Land at that time. A Roman soldier,
the army of occupation would meet you on the road and ask you to carry
his armor. . .go the second mile with him. . .give him a blessing, not a
curse. Jesus was teaching non-violent survival techniques. This is the way
to change a violent situation to the way of peace.
James Mitchener’s said a purpose of the revealed religions was to teach men to live together in peace by instructing them in righteousness. The great principles of peace among nations are these revealed truths: righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. The judgements of God was pronounced through the mouth of his on a variety of ancient nations who failed to keep treaties, who oppressed their poor, who treated one another viciously in war. . .
using weapons unnecessarily viscious. ..that did more than defend.
The principle of righteousness, justice, and finding the way of peace is
the important work to be done between oneself and ones neighbor whether
we look at the individual or that corporate person, the nation under God.
One of the evidences to me that the Diocese of the Eastern United States was part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church was that meeting in synod, she was able to teach an important lesson in righteousness in the issue of sacredness of life. This was an important teaching because it is aimed not only at saying the unborn, the child in the mother’s womb is sacred, but also that all of life is sacred. It is saying we should not experiment on people, we should not presume to know when a person’s purpose in life is fulfilled and make possible the active termination of that life early as I believe the law in Oregon allows. The collect that begins with the words, “O God, who holds all souls in life. . .” reminds us of the boundary that God has set in regard to who gives and takes life.
One aspect of our righteous behavior as an individual and as a nation is that we should respect life, count it sacred. It is a gift of God to be cherished and revered and not ours to take. Thou shalt not kill is one of the earliest laws revealed to us .
IN TODAY’S GOSPEL (LUKE 18:9) JESUS SPEAKS OF THE
INDIVIDUALS RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE GOD AND HOW IT
IS OBTAINED.
To make this lesson clear to us, he teaches us by example. In this
parable there is the Pharisee who represents to the professional practitioner
of religion, who was held in high esteem in his community. There was
also the publican – the despised tax collector. Tax collectors are never
popular, but those in the holy land at that time had a special reason for
being despised. They collected taxes not only for the local government,
but they supported the army of occupation, they represented the Roman
oppressors.
So what we have in this illustration are symbols of two types of government -
or human administration: the religious and the secular.
Tax collectors were regarded by the Jewish audience as particularly venal.
John the Baptist had earlier warned them about righteous administration.
When they came to John to be baptized and asked “What should we do. . .
John said, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” When soldiers
asked John “What should we do?” John told them “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”
Luke 3:10-14
When Jesus began teaching about righteousness, the audience already
knew John the Baptist’s teaching, as well as Jesus’ teaching about righteous
treatment of one another. They no doubt expected him to come down hard
on the tax-collector. Just as today people would not think it unusual if
the preacher preached against unfair judgments by our political leaders,
the legal system or questionable business administrations.
Does a preacher have to say that the governors, the legal administrators
should be moral and fair? We all know that, just as Jesus’ audience knew
that government and business should be righteous. We are outraged when they are is not right.
Jesus did the unusual; he warned against self-righteousness. Jesus attacked
our own symbols of the good. He warned against making ourselves to be idols.
The Pharisee recited all the good things that he had done. These were good things
to do.
But the fatal error was that “he prayed to himself,” said Jesus. This prayer was not to God, but was to satisfy himself, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity–greedy, dishonest, adulterous – or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes of my whole income.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who came to prominence as a minister and university professor in Germany during the period between WWI and WWII, warned
Christians of his day about religion. He said that in effect religion is our attempt
to reach to God by our own methods. Some think Bonhoeffer was anti-
church. That was not the case. Bonhoeffer and the confessing church
was warning the German people that the established church, the majority
had gone into error. By ignoring Jesus Christ, by ignoring the revealed
religion, by attempting to build the kingdom, the 1000 year Reich on
ideals they had determined, the majority were deifying themselves.
What they sought in society was not the God revealed in the Scripture, in the history of the Jewish people, and in the history of the Christian Church. They were not looking for Jesus of Nazareth, they were looking for themselves just as the Pharisee was praying with himself.
Now you tell me. Does the ideal man or woman put forth in popular
culture today square with the image of Jesus Christ? Do the idols of
the MTV culture look anything like Mary the mother of our Lord
or Jesus of Nazareth? Do the programs put forth by the churches and
the humanistic society that is proposed by those churches resemble
the kingdom? The problem may not be with the good that is being done,
or proposed : the problem is with ‘having God in their conscience’.”
Any system that announces we can decide for ourselves. . .is self-deifying.
Could any of our Churches come under the judgement of God? Certainly, for we are under judgment every minute of every day.
Recently, one gentlemen whom I respect for his learning
and piety, expressed some strong opinions on what sort of churchmanship, what ornaments and traditions a church should have, looking back to times he imagined to be a golden age of Christianity in Europe.
Is that the purpose for which God the Church to be born on Pentecost Day? Are we here to recreate some church party that existed years ago, to rebuild some construct of man’s imagining of what worship should look like?
Now I am not saying that it is wrong to worship God in a very plain
spartan surrounding with a minimum of artwork, and no music. Nor
am I saying it is wrong to worship with large choirs, fields of flowers,
incense, and fancy vestments. These things can be good, but they are
positively self idolizing if we perceive these things as standards of righteousness and ways to God.
It is God who takes the initiative in whatever form of worship we
use, and reveals himself to us.
The only way we can see him is in the attitude of the Publican in this
story. “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.” Its me, its me, its me O Lord,
standing in the need of prayer.”
In some of my remarks today, and in the past, I have been judgemental
of some of the trends I have seen in society and in some of our countries
churches. Whether my judgement was fair or not, God will decide . . .but
it is Me O Lord, Its me who stands in the need of prayer.
Christians, we have our cross to bear. We who think we stand, must take care lest we fall . It is we, it is we, it is we O Lord, who stand in the need of prayer.
You see, Jesus could have reversed the roles in this story, and at times probably did. He could have made the publican out to be a sorry excuse
for a human being and portrayed the professional in religion, the Pharisee as exemplary and showing the proper attitude. But at this time, in this
particular lesson, he was showing that even the most despised in society, the
persons most exposed to temptation and moral hazards can be right with
God by approaching him with humility.
To you and I and other people considered to be “religious role models”,
Jesus said, (Luke 11:42ff) “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgement and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others.Woe to you Pharisees, you love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplace. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk. Then one of the scholars of the law said to him “Teacher, you are insulting us. . .and He said, Woe also to you scholars of the Law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them. . .You build the memorials of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. Consequently you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building. Therefore the wisdom of God said, “I will send to them prophets and apostles, some of them they will kill and persecute”, in order that this generation might be charged with the bloood of all the prophets since the foundation of the world. . .Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When he left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things. For they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.” (Luke 12:42-54.) That is what they did to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others of the confessing church, and, if APA remains true to the Lord, approaches Him in humiillity and teaches truth. . ..this Church will also be interrogated and spoken evil of, and find itself carrying the Cross.
Don’t forget to do the good that your religion taught you, but also, don’t forget to keep the attitude of the Publican. . .Lord have Mercy.
