A Tale of Two Sinners: Luke 18:9-14 - 23rd Sunday after Pentecost

⁹[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt:¹⁰“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The 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. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ ¹³But 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!’ ¹⁴I 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.” (NRSV)

The American Psychological Association is calling it“Election Stress Disorder.”  It is what52% of all U.S. adults are experiencing this election season—because the presidential race is causing just as much stress as the economy, finances, work, or family.

It’s the fear that candidate you despise is going to get elected—and that the country is going to go right down the tubes, along with you, your family, your job, and your life savings…

But that’s not all…  We have become a United States of Two Americas.  There’s “my America”—the good, honest, hard-working, just, freedom-loving people—and then there’s “those people” who’ve nominated a president who will write them a blank check, leaving you in the dirt with the bill. 

Let’s not forget that there are Christians supporting both candidates who believe that the other is, essentially, against everything Jesus and the bible stand for.

Perhaps this is why Jesus is still speaking his parable that you could call A Tale of Two Sinners…

It happens in the holiest place on earth: the Jerusalem Temple.  Two men enter—one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.  Morally and spiritually, one of them does not belong—and it certainly isn’t the man who knows the Hebrew Scriptures inside and out, and follows God’s Law to the letter.  It can’t be the man who consistently fasts twice a week and tithes his income… 

It must be the one works for the evil Roman government; who uses his authority and his position to extort money from his fellow Jews…  I wonder how many stares and evil eyes he faced as he entered the building from the people who knew who he was and what he was… His being there was like a skunk walking into our sanctuary.  He didn’t belong.

At this point, you’re probably thinking what a wretched man this Pharisee is for his arrogance and pride.  But it’s not a sin to learn the Scriptures and obey the Law!  It’s not a sin to fast and tithe!  He should be thanking God for who he is and what he does out of devotion to God.  Only problem is, he’s giving himself all the credit… 

In the Pharisee’s mind, he’s a saint—and the tax collector is scum.  He believes he is entitled to God’s blessing—and the tax collector to nothing.  He’s choosing suspicion, separation, and conquest over love, humility, and mutuality…

This is what is happening in today’s world.  I’m not going to single out one candidate or political party because it’s bigger than the election.  It’s happening in schools, communities, workplaces, and churches… 

Fear and uncertainty are everywhere.  The world is changing rapidly.  We’ve been at war with terror for fifteen years.  The economy is a house of cards in a windstorm.  Up and coming generations are leaving behind the Christian faith.  But instead of kneeling and praying, we’re blaming and attacking. We’re fighting against “those people” who act like the whole world revolves around them… “Those people” who are being allowed to take what’s rightfully ours…  “Those people” who are defiling the one, true faith… 

Bear in mind that Jesus clashed with Pharisees all the time.  And—he’d likely been exploited by corrupt tax collectors.  But Jesus ministered among Pharisees, Roman centurions, tax collectors, prostitutes, and pretty much everyone else whom the general public would’ve regarded with contempt.  Many of these people became disciples.  Even a murderer like Saul went on to write two-fifths of the New Testament.

So as we face this very hostile and threatening world, we do well to listen to what Jesus is saying…

Jesus has opened wide the doors of God’s mercy—but you can’t come before God with a chip on your shoulder.  Truth is, we all come before God like the tax collector.  You have nothing with nothing to offer up to God but your complete dependence on God’s mercy.  And God delights to give it to you, because you are God’s child!

But you also need God’s mercy, every bit as much as the world.  You’re a sinner, and as such your actions hurt God’s people.  The reason why we see so much poverty and prejudice and hatred is that some people benefit from it.  We trample on each other to get what we believe to be our rights.  When people say how important this election is, they may just be thinking that if their candidate doesn’t win, they’re going to lose…  Nobody wants to come out on the losing end…

The Kingdom of God doesn’t work that way.  The truth to remember about society’s ills is that we’re in this together.  Our problems are created by people—and only people can solve them, with God’s help.  But as God brings the ugliness of your sins to light, God’s mercy is revealed all the more.  God gives you eyes to see “those people” as members of God’s family, just like you.  God’s kingdom arises when you listen to those people; hear their stories; learn of their struggles.  As the walls of division come down, God’s healing begins.  In God’s kingdom, you can live peacefully with people you don’t like or agree with!  You can face the future knowing that if you fall, someone will be there to pick you up!  Together, we see Jesus more clearly—because it’s no longer “us” verses “them,” but children beloved by one God.

Photo credit: JESUS MAFA. The Pharisee and the Publican, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved October 22, 2016].