Sermon Index
October 23, 2022
When the Holy Spirit inspired Saint Luke to write The Gospel according to Luke, Luke was led to include this story which is only in his Gospel: “The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector Praying in the Temple.” The readers of this Gospel Book were Christians, or people interested in Christianity. It was not written for Pharisees or tax collectors, but for members of the church. The parable is about the people in the church, not some other people. The people in the church were like the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Some people in the church were like the Pharisee in their prayers, boasting about how good they were. Other people were like the Tax Collector who worried about their sin. Ever since the time of St. Luke, this is the way it has been throughout the history of the Church, and today, also, and so it is a warning or a challenge for us, too, as we consider our prayer life and our lives as Christians. We read in the first verse, “9[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.” Also, the parable is to curb the abuses in the church, and at the same time to give the assurance of the forgiveness of sin.
11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
The Pharisee was probably a good person, he was honest, fair, and faithful. He was diligent in religious things like praying, fasting and tithing. He would make a good, respectable church member. He would be active in the church and contribute generously. But he felt that he did not need to be “justified” by God because he justified himself. He did not think that he had sinned, so he felt he did not need forgiveness or justification. The height of his pride and contempt was when he said, “I thank you that I am not … like this tax collector.”
On the other hand, 13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” Unlike the Pharisee, maybe he was not honest, fair, and faithful. Maybe his spiritual life lacked prayer and service. But he knew that he could not stand on his own deeds to be justified before God. Before the judgment seat of God, he could only beg for mercy. And he did receive mercy from the God of love and compassion and hope and grace. He was justified. His sins were forgiven. Jesus said, “14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
I think that most Christians are a mix of these two men. At the same time, we are both the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, we are both proud and humble, we are both saint and sinner, “Simul Justus et Pecattor.” We know that we are not completely good, but at the same time not completely bad either. However, that is not what the Latin phrase means. It means we are completely bad sinners, and yet in God’s mercy we are completely forgiven and justified.
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 comfort and peace in our hearts, minds and souls. We have that peace and 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, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” Luke 22:42. “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?” Mark 15:34. “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. He could have prayed something like this: “Father, 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