Sermon for Oct. 24

Twenty Second Sunday after Pentecost
Oct. 24, 2010
Luke 18:9-17
God, be merciful to me, a _________!

In the name of Jesus, amen. In case you were unaware, and you very well might be because there are plenty of other things that demand our attention, we follow what is called a lectionary. It is a series of readings for the Sundays in the church year. Over a three year cycle we are privileged to hear some wonderful lessons from the Bible, from the Old Testament, from the letters in the New Testament, and from the blessed Gospels of our Lord Jesus Christ. This year happens to be Year C, and it is the Year of Luke. I hope you’ve noticed that all of our Gospel lessons this summer have come to us from Luke’s pen. What a tremendous portrait of Jesus we have been blessed to receive.

Today’s Gospel lesson does not deviate from presenting Christ. It does not shift our attention to anyone but our Savior, our Redeemer, the One who spent his very life seeking and saving the lost.

In our lesson, we might get the impression that we have been transported back in time. When the text says “Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” it should feel as if the room got a little hotter, our collar got a little tighter, and that some unknown critter keeps poking us in the ribs.

Self-righteousness is a problem. It is a human problem. You might hear it called as justifying your own sin, or as having a holier-than-thou attitude and that your excrement doesn’t stink. Or it is simply being dismissive, judgmental of others, and hypocritical.

Whatever we want to call it or however we care to define it, it is a problem. It is a people problem and it is our problem.

Jesus highlights two people, and they represent two groups. Jesus uses a Pharisee as one example. This Pharisee belonged to the group who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. Lord, I thank you that I am not like… Who? Fill in the blank.

The living Word has been spoken in our ears and to our hearts this morning. God, I thank you that I am not like: the cheaters, the haters, the adulterers, the extortioners, the bullies, the arrogant, the proud. We could be more specific and call out the gamblers, the porn addicted, the substance abusers, the liars, the credit stealers, the pedophiles, the people who abuse the elderly, the people who prey on the weak and defenseless, those who abuse the environment and suck all the natural resources they can without having any regard for anybody else.

Calling out sinners is kind of fun, especially when we delude ourselves into thinking it’s not us. I thank you God that I am not like them. You must be pretty pleased with me God. You must feel lucky to have me as your child. I tithe. I show up for things. I fast. I pray with fancy words and a loud voice. I volunteer at homeless shelters. I help old people across the street. I don’t cheat on my tests at school. I am kind to kittens and puppies. I call my parents once a week.

The Pharisee left the temple thinking “What a good boy am I!” We go to sleep at night contemplating the Ten Commandments and check off the ones we have kept. My ledger is clean and so is my conscious, I’ll go to sleep in peace. We pray for all the others, that they could sleep as soundly as we do.

This tax collector also was in the temple at the same time as the Pharisee. He dared not even raise his eyes to heaven. He beat his breast saying “Mea culpa! Mea culpa! Mea maxima culpa!” That is, “My fault. My fault. My own most grievous fault!”

What could the tax collecter say but what St. Luke records? “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” Tom the tax collector knew it. He lived with that knowledge. He knew that others knew it. He knew that God knew it.

He said the only thing that could be said. There was no sense hiding behind false words. It would have done no good to pretend at pious living. The tax collector, standing far off, figuratively stripped himself bare before God and begged for mercy.

Mercy is a beautiful spot to be in. And mercy is found at the intersection of Love and Forgiveness. The tax collector sought mercy and he found it. God loves and God forgives.

Sometimes we love yet are not forgiving. Sometimes we forgive without loving the other person, we forgive reluctantly. And so our mercy is not where it should be.

But it is imperative to remember who we are- we are imperfect people. We are tax collectors and extortioners. We are adulterers and abusers. We are arrogant, proud, judgmental, hypocritical. We seek the spotlight and broadcast loudly all the wonderful things that we do. We think unkindly of others who disagree with us and demean them for disagreeing. We pick on those who are weaker, who cannot defend themselves.

And when we look in God’s mirror of the Law, what is our position, our posture? We fall on our knees. We hang our heads. We beat our breast: Mea maxima culpa! God be merciful to me, a cheater, a slanderer, a lazy self-centered, self-gratifying human being. God be merciful to me a sinner. God love this loveless creature. God forgive this hard-hearted wretch.

I tell you, says Jesus, this man went down to his house justified.

We fall on our knees. We won’t even look God in the eyes. We beat our breasts and repent. God picks us up. God lifts up our faces so that we can see His love. He takes our repentance and gives His forgiveness. At the intersection of love and forgiveness, at the foot of the cross, we stand in God’s mercy. We stand justified before God for the sake of His one and only Son who came to die our death so that we might live today. So that we might live eternally!

It’s a beautiful story, our Gospel lesson today. It’s a human story that deals with a human problem. We dare not trust in ourselves that we are righteous, because we know how that story ends. We trust Christ our Lord. We know how that story ends too, in the empty grave of Jesus, in our own empty graves at the Last Day, when the merciful Christ comes to bring all believers to Himself in heaven. God be merciful to me, your child, your beloved, your redeemed. For the sake of Christ, we return to our homes, we go out into the world justified, strengthened to share and live the hope that is found at the intersection of love and forgiveness. To God alone be all the glory, amen.