Below, for your consideration and reflection, is the sermon from Bethel's October 24, 2004 Sunday Morning worship service.

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Perhaps you once had similar thoughts upon first hearing the parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector. Roberta Bondi writes:

The first time I heard this parable was as a small child attending vacation Bible school at Pond Fork Baptist Church, where my great-grandparents, great-aunts, and grandparents all worshiped. I remember the end of the little curtained balcony where our class was held, sunlight coming into our room rejoicing through a dusty window, the buzzing of insects in the July fields outside, a flannel board with figures stuck on it, and best of all, the anticipation of a story, followed by Kool-aid and cookies.

And so I listened. There were two grown-ups who went to the temple to pray. One of them was rich and successful, while the other, whom nobody liked, was a tax collector. The rich man, a Pharisee, prayed first, and thanked God that he wasn’t a sinner like the tax collector standing next to him, and then he bragged about all the good stuff he had done.

The tax collector went next. When he prayed, he wouldn’t even look up at God. Instead, he just stood there banging his chest and asking God to forgive his sins. God listened to the tax collector’s prayer and saved him, but turned his back on the Pharisee. (Christian Century, 10/19/04, 22)

Strong stuff, the way we remember, and the places where stories intersect our lives, shape our values, form our identity.

The message of the parable does seem clear enough: the first man bragged about himself, refused to confess that he was a terrible sinner, and thought he was better than the tax collector. The second man, the hero of the story, got right down to the truth. He groveled before God, cried out for forgiveness, and God gave it to him, for he went home justified, that is, made right with God. The moral of the story: admit you are a sinner, ask for forgiveness, and stop bragging.

Jesus, then, it seems, offers a choice: there are two types of people, and we get to choose the one we want to be like. The Pharisee was a good person. He prayed a fine prayer. His good deeds went beyond the requirements of the Jewish law. But he is also caught up in the self-righteous pride and self-congratulation of not being a sinner like thieves, rogues, adulterers and tax collectors. He boasts that he practices all the right religious habits like fasting and tithing. The other person at prayer in the temple, the tax collector, or the Publican as he is sometimes often known, is not exaggerating when he says that he is a sinner. His work – fleecing the poor in behalf of the Roman occupation government – has meant that he is despised by all his fellow Jews for his collaboration with the Romans. But he, in self-deprecating humility, views prayer as a time of self-abasement before God, a time to acknowledge sin, a time to beg for mercy.

I always marvel a bit when a lectionary passage comes around that seems to speak to the events of a particular week or season. The lectionary, as you know, is a three-year cycle of scripture passages, offering biblical texts from which many priests and ministers across the globe preach each Lord’s Day. The gospel lessons, since early June, have been drawn from the Gospel of Luke, and thus, this week, the appointed text in the cycle turns round to this parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector.

It seems that in our current social climate, we are divided on many issues, as if there are only two types of people – those aligned with the Republicans or those aligned with the Democrats. And while we might want to respect the age-old wisdom to steer clear of politics, sex, and religion in polite conversation, that seems to be about the only thing people want to talk about these days, if you’ve noticed.

We all have our news sources that inform our opinions, and people on different sides have different sources. Some people have news sources that slant the news one direction, others that slant it a different way. And, so much of the time, it seems that there are basically two types of people: those with whom we agree and those with whom we disagree. But how much of those differences are based on assumptions, and how much on real face-to-face conversation? How much do we allow our news sources to color our opinions without really digging beneath the surface?

One commentator illustrates what I am trying to say in this fashion:

When I began teaching world religions, I discovered further problems
with my news sources. Like most Christians, I had gotten my reports
on Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Muslims from other Christians, or
at least from Westerners like myself, who so took their own worldview
for granted that it sat on their noses like a pair of forgotten glasses. As
I began to read what some Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Muslims have
to say about themselves, I not only realized how wrong I had been
but also how differently we conceive of the truth. In many cases I
ran into misconceptions that they had about me, based on their own
flawed news sources.

(Taylor, Christian Century, 3/9/04, 39).

When I think about this divisive election season, it seems that there are quite different news sources that we draw upon. And like the prayer of this Pharisee in Luke’s Gospel, there is a level of “scorching, escalating, judgmental scorn . . . that is grinding us all down to the bone” (R. Bondi). The level of scorn that one side has for the other is almost unbelievable, and the whole political scene is like being in a desert when a whirlwind comes along, sweeps everyone off their feet, litters the entire landscape, and leaves dust and dirt in the mouths and ears of everyone.

Where is the contrition and humility Jesus prizes so far above name-calling and innuendo? Where is the type of person, the type of candidate who, like this tax collector, truly sees his or her own need for mercy, instead of casting stones in contempt towards the other?

All the more reason for the church to pray, even in the words we will sing as the closing hymn today,

In times of great decision, be with us, God, we pray.
Give each of us a vision of Jesus’ loving way.
When louder words seem endless and other voices sure,
Remind us of your promise: your love and truth endure.

I believe that it is true that the one who “sings, prays twice.” In our praying in these days before Election Day, it is not the prayer of the contemptuous, judgmental, pious Pharisee – the one who trusted in his own righteousness -- but the prayer of the lowly, self-acknowledged sinner that offers the true gospel hope of reconciliation with God.

Closer to home, I want to speak more personally about my involvement and observations with regard to the Roane County School Board meeting this past Thursday night, which a goodly number of you attended. I don’t want to detour into details about the discussion over the controversial assembly of October 1 (you can consult your own news sources, if you like, for details, and I can be one biased source if you want more information), but I do want to thank those who attended, who spoke and listened, and all whose presence and speech modeled the kind of dialogue that is fundamental to the ongoing life of a democracy, and even more, I would contend, the kind of dialogue that is critical to life together within the broad contours of the Christian community.

It is risky, and it can be costly, to bear witness to the truth as one feels one has been led to understand the truth. Different people do have different news sources, and that is just part of the human condition.

I have several thoughts to share. One thought I echo with others, including Board members, is gratitude for all who listened and spoke, but especially for students whose presence and speech confirmed the very serious nature of the matter at hand. Both you and the adults who spoke did so with eloquence, passion, and deep conviction. I thank all who demonstrated the importance of an appropriate expression of one’s faith in the public arena.

A second thought I am also glad to share is that, as a congregation, your vows on behalf of those whom we have baptized, are working. The gospel message of treating people fairly and justly and respectfully, the message of loving your neighbor as yourself, the message of Jesus as peacemaker has been heard and is being acted upon – and we should celebrate, within this congregation, the fact that the teachings we desire to pass on are being passed on. And, when all is said and done, if a church can do only that, that in and of itself, might just be enough. Lord knows the many voices that compete for the ear and devotion of our young people today, but we can rejoice that the new covenant of grace beyond judgment has been written on their hearts.

My third thought is that I looked around Thursday night and saw many familiar faces beyond this congregation. A couple of students who have been at my house for sleepovers with my daughter witnessed to their own convictions that are different from mine. I went to them afterwards and thanked them for having the courage to speak. I met students I had not known before, and was glad to hear them speak of their convictions, as well. I saw other students who I have watched play high school soccer or who are new friends of mine, and I don’t know what all their thoughts were, but I believe they, as all of us, were there to further the aims and goals of public education. The reason we call it “public” is that regardless of our age, regardless of whether we have children or school-age children we all have a stake in the “public” part of education, on furthering the values we would hold dear and that are fundamental to the future of a free society.

It is very tempting to want to divide that audience into two types of people: into those for or against, into those who are right or wrong, into those who get it, and those who don’t get it. And the truth is, sometimes we do have to make assertions based on our reading, our leaning, and our leading towards truth. Consequently, we can find ourselves in strong disagreement on matters of conscience and principle. The hard thing is, of course, to keep our own sense of rightness in balance with the fact that we, too, fall short.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes, the stories Jesus tells are just too open-ended, without the kind of background or resolution that seem ultimately helpful. It’s clear from the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector who Jesus believes is wrong and who Jesus believes is right, but wouldn’t it be nice if Jesus could have had told us more. Mr. Pharisee, how did you come to believe that you are better than other people? You’re a religious person. Did you learn that from scripture, from your parents, from somewhere else? Tell us how you arrived at your manner of praying. And Mr. Tax Collector, why did you come to believe that its ok to take advantage of the poor? Why is it that you stand on the outside looking in and beating yourself up all the time? Why is it that you seem afraid to affirm that you, too, are beloved by God?

On the one hand, Jesus certainly condemns an attitude of judgmentalism and self-righteous contempt. On the other hand, Jesus privileges an attitude of humility. Humility, I take to mean, not false modesty nor a method for avoiding responsibility, but humility as a spiritual practice that calls us to make the best of what God has given to us, to be honest with ourselves about our motives, and to embrace whatever it is God calls us to do.

The main problem with humility is, of course, that when you think you are getting pretty good at it, chances are, you have already slipped into the sin of pride. It’s like the person who said, “ I have often wished I had time to cultivate modesty . . but I am too busy thinking about myself.”

The parable suggests that there are two types of people. It can be quite a powerful and provocative story in each of our lives. And like the person whose memory of the story goes back to her childhood days in Vacation Bible School, it just might be that for those of us who have traveled a difficult road in recent days, that this story about attitudes in prayer and attitudes towards others will help as we grow older, to continue to struggle to discern how best to bear the image of Christ.

Jesus says that one went back home “justified,” that is, made right with God, forgiven. Why? The parable does not say that one offered a better prayer or scored more points with God. The parable rather demonstrates that there is something about this God who loves to forgive sinners. It is a story, not about what we ought to do, but what God, in Jesus Christ, does for us, time and time again. This God surprises us by embracing those who, by their sin, seem far off, outside of God’s love.

The truth of Christianity is that the two types are not just out there, but both types reside within each of us, and daily, we too, must seek the forgiveness that can make us whole.

May God so grant us courage and wisdom for the living of these days. Amen.