Looking Up / Based on Luke 18:9-14 / Delivered on October 23, 2016 to CCH

Looking Up / Based on Luke 18:9-14 / Delivered on October 23, 2016 to CCH

Hymns: Just as I Am, To God Be the Glory, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Luke 18:9-14

18:9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt:

18:10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

18:11 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.

18:12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.'

18:13 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!'

18:14 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."

The reading from Luke deals with the contrast between the way we think and the way God thinks.  It also brings out the beauty of God’s mercy.

My three ideas for today are:

There is no value in comparing

Our hope is in God’s mercy

Look up to God

There is no value in comparing

The example of the Pharisee and tax collector praying in the temple is an interesting turn for Jesus listeners.  It took two personalities that had very set status in the community and showed God didn’t think about them in quite the same way. 

A Pharisee was someone who had devoted his life to God, and the study of scripture.  They were viewed by the public as spiritually superior, and thought of in a positive light.  Certainly there were good ones and bad ones, but the focus of their life was something people admired.  They were who you went to if you needed spiritual advice.  They were also the kind of people to be invited to dinner parties. 

Tax collectors on the other hand were not viewed as positively.  The Romans wanted to deal with the Hebrew people as little as possible so gave a fellow Hebrew the job of collecting taxes for them.  They made their living by collecting more than Rome was demanding in taxes – basically stealing from the members of their tribe.  The fact they were friendly with the Roman oppressors, and made their living by lying about how much taxes the people owed, made their friends few.  This is not a person you would want to associate with in public.

Jesus listeners would have heard the prayer of the Pharisee and agreed with him.  He was far better spiritually than a tax collector.   

There is a joke that speaks to comparing.  Two men are in the woods hunting.  One puts on a pair of boots and the other puts on running shoes.  The man with the boots says, “why are you putting on running shoes?”  His companion replies, “I heard there is a bear in the woods and I want to be ready to run.”  “You can’t outrun a bear.” The first one laughs.  “I don’t have to outrun the bear”, the other replies, “I just have to outrun you.”

That sounds like what the Pharisee was counting on.  18:11 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”, but God is not like the bear.  He does not have a quota to fill.  He does not grade on the curve.  There is not a percentage of sinners that make it into heaven.  You either meet God’s standard or you fall short of it.  In God’s view both had fallen short of his law.  Comparing didn’t change that.  The scripture is clear that all have fallen short.   

So where does that leave us?

Our hope is in God’s mercy

The prayer of the Pharisee was one of thanks, but it was also one of boasting.  He was asking God to acknowledge how good he was.  His was depending on his own behavior.  He didn’t reach out to God because he felt he was good enough without Him.  Just look at his healthy spiritual life.  Verse 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.'   This is not to say his spiritual works were not positive.  They are positive, but they are still not enough.

The tax collector knew he was falling short.  He knew his only hope was God’s mercy.  He didn’t try to cover up what he had done when he came to God.  Verse 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!'

The sin of the Pharisee was in not acknowledging he needed God.  He was so focused on himself and his own spiritual superiority, that he failed to see the places in his life where he needed forgiveness.

God’s mercy is there for those who turn to Him.  Even for people as bad as the tax collector.  18:14 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."

The word “justified” is from a Greek word whose full meaning is to render just or innocent: —free, be righteous.

God loves us all right where we are and is there to make up the gap, large or small, when we confess it to Him.  In the end the Pharisee left the temple with his own human form of righteousness, but the tax collector had wrapped himself in God’s righteousness.

I sometimes see God’s mercy and grace like a life-saving ring thrown out to people that have fallen out of the boat and are at risk of drowning.  The tax collector grabbed that ring.  The Pharisee considered himself a good enough swimmer, but being a good swimmer doesn’t mean you won’t drown. 

Look up to God

This idea not only refers to who to compare to, it also is who we can look to for help in getting closer to that mark.

The parable is a reminder that we don’t get more points with God if we just stay better than our neighbors.  If we compare ourselves to others, we will find ourselves judging and taking a better-than-thou type of attitude.  We get trapped in what humans think and lose sight of what God thinks. 

Jesus taught us to call God, Father, so using the analogy of parenting works for me.  My father use to tell me, “you can always find someone behaving worse.  Do not compare down – compare up instead!” 

I would hear those words especially when I was trying to explain away my bad behavior when I really needed to acknowledge what I had done wrong and say I was sorry.  My father wasn’t interested in me telling him all about how the behavior of my friends was worse than mine.  He was quick to remind me that they had their own lessons to learn and I would be much better off if I focused on my own.  He wanted me to grow and become a better person.  Not better compared to them, but better than my current self. 

When I was young, to compare up meant to look at how my parents behaved as a benchmark.  As an adult, to compare up in a spiritual sense I look to Jesus as my benchmark.  The slogan, “What would Jesus do?” comes from this idea.

You cannot grow and improve until you know where you are failing to meet the mark.  If we only focus on our positive traits and ignore where we are failing, then we will continue to fail.  When I compared how much better I was then my poorly behaving friends, I was trying to get my Father to focus on my good qualities instead of my poor behavior that needed to change.  He was more interested in my willingness to improve in those areas where I had made poor choices.  I was blessed to have a patient earthly father that taught me to see where I had failed and seek forgiveness with my “I’m sorry.” 

I sense our relationship to God is the same.  He is interested in helping us to come closer to being the like Jesus.  “I’m sorry”, “forgive me”, and “be merciful” show we recognize where we have failed.  That is the starting point of being able to change our behavior.

We don’t know if the tax collector left the temple and changed his life around.  I’d like to think that the moment in prayer with God showed he saw where he was failing and resolved that moment to repay the money he had taken through deceit and find a new more honorable profession to earn his living.  That would be a happy ending.  All we are left with is the knowledge that he recognized his sin and asked for mercy.

We can assume the Pharisee made no changes in his life.  His future self has no hope of becoming better than his current self because he feels good enough already.  He is comparing himself to the wrong benchmark.

Here’s what I’m hoping we can all take away from this teaching of Jesus.

When we examine our life we don’t get bonus points for being better than our peers.  There is no value in comparing that way.  All of us have fallen short when we compare to what God desires us to be.  We are called to look within and recognize where we personally are failing, where we need forgiveness, where we need to change.

We are not alone in this.  God’s mercy, God’s life-saving grace, is here for us all.  We need to reach for it.  Release your guilt and accept His love and forgiveness.   The Holy Spirit is here to help guide us in this growth. 

May we confess where we have fallen short, and seek God’s mercy as we continue to grow from our personal life lessons.  Blessings on your journey.

Amen.