The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
October 24, 2010

Today we are going to look at how we pray. First let's look at how the two men in the parable pray, then look at Jesus at prayer, and then at how we pray. But as we look at the first three, we will be thinking of how we pray. And then we will end up with prayer.

In the parable there are two men, a good religious Jew and a religiously lax Jew. The first is a strict Pharisee, the other is a tax collector, a public employee, and so is often called a "publican." We will look at both the good and the bad points of the Pharisee's prayer, and the good points and the dangerous points of the publican's prayer.

First, they both come to the Temple to pray. They could pray at home, but as we know, to pray in the temple or in the church is to feel closer to God. Maybe because it is quiet and there are fewer disturbances. The Pharisee starts by giving thanksgiving to God. This is good. This is praise. But his prayers are then centered on himself. I am sure that he is genuinely thankful that he is not like other men. He is not an extortioner or unjust or an adulterer. But he would claim that it is so because he has kept himself pure. And he has pride in his religious activities. He fasts twice a week, although the Old Testament only has one obligatory fast in a year, on the Day of the Atonement, Yom Kippur (Lev. 16:26). And he is scrupulous in his tithing. He is proud of himself. He thinks that God should be happy with him and bless him even more. His real problem seems that he is so self-centered that he prays only for himself. Rather than looking down at the tax collector, he should be praying for him. That is one of the problems of pride. It ignores the problems of others. Pride even ignores the problems of oneself. The Pharisee overlooked his own problems and sins, and so did not ask for forgiveness. Therefore, he was left in his sin. He did not return home that day forgiven, justified, made righteous before God.

The other man, the tax collector on the other hand, humbled himself before God. He was ashamed of his sin. He would not even lift up his eyes to heaven. He beat his breast, maybe he wrung his hands. "God, be merciful to me, a sinner" he prayed. He knew his sin. Perhaps he was the extortioner, unjust and an adulterer like the Pharisee said. He threw himself upon the mercy of God. He did not try to justify himself. And so he was the one whom God forgave. He was the one who went home justified that day.

Perhaps there is a bit of both the Pharisee and the Publican in each one of us. We thank God for blessings us, and we pray for forgiveness. But we cannot claim credit for our good behavior. That too is an answer to prayer, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." The Holy Spirit has kept us away from temptations that otherwise we might have succumbed to. Even humility can be a trap for us. That is when we pray, "I thank you God that I am not like other people, and especially not like that Pharisee. That person is conceited and self-centered and a hypocrite. Oh, I am so glad that I am not one of those!" Humility is when we recognize that we are a sinner. Humility realizes that we have done nothing to gain God's favor. Only when we pray, "God, have mercy on me" can we have peace in our hearts, minds and souls. We have that peace when we return home justified.

Jesus could have honestly boasted like the Pharisee. He was not like other people. He was not an extortioner, unjust, an adulterer, or a sinner like the tax collector. That is because Jesus is both God and Man, and Jesus never committed a single sin. And yet, on the cross he took upon himself our sin, and the sin of the world. He became a sinner: he became the extortioner, the dishonest, the adulterer and all sin. The Lamb of God became the Sinner of the World in order to take away the sin of the world. Jesus did not use the words "God, have mercy on me," he used words like this.

* "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" Luke 23:34.
And yet, Jesus was praying for us, he did this for us. "God, have mercy not on me, but on the sinners of the world who believe in Me and are forgiven through my sacrificial death on the cross." And we see that mercy in the resurrection. Jesus died, was buried, descended into hell, rose on the third day and ascended into heaven. He was truly the one who returned to his home justified. We too, through him.

At the Last Supper, Jesus prayed for his disciples and all believers. He prayed for their salvation, their safety, and their unity in love and mission. He promised to send the Holy Spirit. And it is the work of the Holy Spirit today to fulfill that prayer of Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives us faith, salvation, love, and guidance in the mission of Christ.

How shall we pray? We can pray the Lord's Prayer. We can pray the Psalms. We can sing some of the hymns that are actually prayers. We can groan in pain and have the Holy Spirit translate that suffering into a prayer. We can pray elegant prayers, we can pray confusedly, we can pray like a child. We can pray silent prayers. But every prayer we make is acceptable to God only through faith in Jesus Christ. And so with the humility and confidence of a child we pray, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." And God is merciful.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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