21st Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 25
Luke 18:9-14
Sermon
"Pride, Humility, Forgiveness
9* ¶ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others:
10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11* The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ’God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’
13* But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ’God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
14* I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
A pastor wrote:
There were seven or eight of us men sitting at the round table for the luncheon meeting in the hotel ball room.
The conversation got around to religion. One of the men whom I had never met before was ecstatic about the congregation to which he belonged.
He went on to enthuse that his church now numbered some 3,000 members even though it was only ten years old.
He said that the building being used at present was worth over one and a half million dollars and that it was debt free. During the ten years, he explained, they had had two finance campaigns and were able to stay out of debt, even with their magnificent building. Attendance filled the church each week. He indicated that he was sure that the church was open twenty-four hours a day with a ceaseless round of activities that were planned for everyone.
The entire tone of his enthusiasm made it very clear that he was, in effect, thanking God that he and his church were not as so many other churches are: small, struggling, poor and in debt.
The true meaning of his boasting became evident when another man sitting at the table, also a stranger, asked, "Well, with all that activity going on there, do you know what you believe?"
Our friend hesitated, was a bit embarrassed, and then said honestly, "To tell you the truth, I am never sure what I believe."
The questioner pressed the issue: "Well, if you did not have all that activity going on, what would you be doing?"
And the reply was, "I have no idea, I never thought about it."
Obviously the man was interested in the statistics of his congregation, not its faithfulness. He was boasting, not confessing.
Our gospel lesson this morning concerns this very fact, confessing verses boasting.
The Pharisee came into the temple to boast. God, look at me and how great I am. I am not like other men, I tithe to my church, I have never even looked at another woman, I am as good as I can be.
He boasted about how great he thought of himself in the eyes of God.
This man was not evil, but he was filled with self pride. and as that old saying goes, Pride cometh before the fall.
Some Christians are like that Pharisee. They can only see what is good in their lives and then project that onto others who do not measure up. They say look at me, I must be blessed by God, for I have health, wealth and prosperity.
And they look around at others like the Pharisee did and say I am glad I am not like them. What is wrong with them any way. Aren’t they faithful enough? Do they pray enough? Why aren’t they blessed by God like me so they can be healthy, wealthily and wise?
And then there was the Publican. He could not even dare to enter the door of the temple let alone raise his eyes to God. And all he could do was “beat his breast, saying, ’God, be merciful to me a sinner!’”
He looked at himself and knew in his own heart that he was a sinner and needed the forgiveness of God.
The difference between the Pharisee and the Publican is that the first looked at everybody else except himself, while the second dared to look only inwardly at his own soul.
A little girl comes into the kitchen from playing out in the sandbox, where she has been making mud pies. Spattered and stained by her play, she causes her busy mother to exclaim, "Oh, Suzie, just look at yourself!"
Oh you fill in the blank just look at yourself. Yes look at yourself and what do you see? Do you see someone who thinks as the Pharisee did? Someone who thinks that you can gain salvation by your own merits and devices?
If you consider that point of view, I have a question for you. When are you ever good enough for God? When can you stand before the throne of God, having God look at your life and look you straight in the eye and you say, okay God I am good enough for you!!
Or are you like the Publican knowing that you are a sinner and in need of God’s forgiving grace through His son Jesus Christ?
The Publican knew he needed the forgiveness of God through Christ. he knew he could not stand at the throne of God to have God look inot his eyes, but He knew that if Christ would stand with him, then God would see the whiteness of Christ’s forgiveness covering his sinfulness.
It is like the child and mother in the following:
A story from Scotland tells of a mother’s dramatic rescue of her child. Workmen were blasting rock in a quarry. One day after they had attached the fuse and retired to a safe place and gave the alarm they saw a three year old child wandering across the open space where danger threatened. Every passing second meant death was closing in on the child.
The workmen called to the child and waved their arms, but he only looked on their strange antics with amusement. No man dared run forward knowing the explosion was only seconds away. The child most certainly would have been killed, had not his mother appeared at this moment of crisis.
Taking in the situation at a glance she did what her mother’s heart dictated. She did not run toward her son or yell to frighten him. Instead, she knelt down, opened wide her arms and smiled for him to come. Instantly the child ran towards her. Shortly later the area shook with the force of the explosion, yet the child was safe in his mother’s arms.
What a picture of the grace of God and of the cross.
Jesus says in the parable that those who know who they are and what they are “this man went down to his house justified rather than the other”.
If we know who we are, God’s children in need of forgiveness and what we are, God’s child who has been chosen in Baptism to be His, then will will humble ourselves before Him.
God acts, we respond. God acted in our Baptism to make us His and now we are to live in that grace and forgivness each day.
A closing story sums up very well the focus of our gospel lesson this morning;
Listen:
The great American businessman, Samuel Colgate, told of an interesting thing which happened in a church where he .was once a member. During an evangelistic service, a prostitute responded to the altar call and confessed her sins. She was humbled by her wicked life and wept openly. She asked God to forgive her, and then expressed a desire to Join the church. "I’ll gladly sit in some back corner," she said.
The pastor hesitated to call for a motion to accept her into membership, and, for a few moments, the silence was deafening. Finally, a member stood up and suggested that action on her request be postponed. At that point, Mr. Colgate arose and said with a note of sarcasm, "I guess we blundered when we prayed that the Lord would save sinners. We forgot to specify what kind of sinners. We’d better ask him to forgive us for this oversight. The Holy Spirit has touched this woman and made her truly repentant, but apparently the Lord does not understand that she Is not the type we want him to rescue."
Many In the congregation blushed with shame. They had been guilty of judging, like the Pharisee in the temple who exclaimed self-righteously, "God, I thank you that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers." Another motion was made, and the woman was unanimously received Into the membership of the congregation.
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ’God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale October 18, 2004
