Getting Real: Luke 18:9-14 ~ Ash Wednesday

Photo courtesy of Simon Howden
freedigitalphotos.net

Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. ¹⁰ "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers– or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.' ¹³ The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!' ¹⁴ I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14 NRSV)

The latest from the world of loony lawsuits:

A family in the town of Fayetteville, NY is being sued by the homeowners’ association of their community for parking their 2014 Ford pickup truck in their own driveway.  According to the complaint, the resident is violating its "restrictive covenant" that permits only "private, passenger-type, pleasure automobiles"—which his truck is not, even though it is his own personal vehicle and not associated with a business of any kind.

I don't know what it is about people, but we love to look down on other people.  We’re always on the lookout for other people’s flaws—and then we use those flaws as proof of our superiority.  Sin is all about pride-- and it's never difficult to be proud.

Jesus' parable presents a not-too-unthinkable example of this happening one day at the temple...

Two men show up to pray: one a Pharisee, and the other a Tax collector.

Now here was a place full of boundary lines separating the holy from the profane...  You may remember this: the Holy of Holies was off limits to all but the High Priest, and only once per year.  The Inner Sanctuary was reserved only for Jewish men.  Then there was a court for Jewish women-- and one for Gentiles.  Anyone who dared to cross these boundaries did so at the risk of their lives.

So there's little doubt that everyone would have been extremely conscious of this-- particularly the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  Just listen to how the Pharisee prays:

"God, I thank you that I'm not a low-life like this tax collector.  I fast!  I tithe!"

I can just imagine him, walking into the temple dressed in his fancy robes and remembering all his "righteous" deeds; seeing the tax collector and all the other low-lifes "below him." 

The tax collector's deeds and his public reputation afford him no such moral stature.  He knows where he stands.  All he can do is beg for God's mercy. 

But the surprise in this parable is where God stands...  The Pharisee came before God asking for nothing but a congratulatory handshake from on high-- and he'll get none, because that's not what God does.  Holiness is not something any human being can achieve.  All people are sinners-- and if anyone's going to be called righteous, it's not going to be by their own doing!  Righteousness has to come from God.  It must be a gift of grace.  There's no way around it.

Therefore, the tax collector, who begs for mercy, will receive mercy.

The Lenten journey we begin tonight is a time for us to get real about ourselves because we're not unlike both of these men.  Sin is sin-- and we're guilty of the Pharisee's pride and the tax collector's abuse of his neighbor.  We're sinful and we are mortal.  But Lent isn't about beating ourselves up for forty days. 

Jesus recognizes our desperate situation.  He knows that we're all beggars.  But he doesn't turn anyone away.  Jesus becomes the Savior we need him to be.  He chooses to die because we die.  He chooses to take our sin onto himself and die a sinner's death.  He chooses to give us his righteousness as a gift.  We therefore journey to the cross to die to the sin that drives a wedge between us and God and that brings so much harm on our neighbor.  We die with Christ to be made alive in Christ. 

This is the very heart of the Gospel. 

The work of Lent is then so much more than just a personal rituals of confession and devotion.  We're invited to live out these magnificent promises in relationships.  Our lives will be dramatically changed as we quit looking at others and calling them "insiders" our "outsiders;" "good" and "evil."  We have been given the grace to work miracles-- and one of the greatest miracles is for ordinary people like you and me to go out and meeting the broken, the lonely, and the outcast and testify, through our acts of mercy on their behalf, that they matter to God. 

This is a time for us to get real about ourselves—but we follow Jesus to his cross so that he may get real about who he is for us.  He accepts us as we are.  He raises us up from the dust and ashes of our sin and makes us alive with joy to go and heal this world.  He claims us into a life that can endure all of the trials and troubles of life—and that will endure forevermore.