Sermon 10/24/04
The Pharisee - Luke 18:9-14
(view lectionary notes for this text)
Ah, the Pharisees. Our gospel lessons are filled with stories of Jesus in confrontations with the Pharisees, and today is one more example, this one in the form of a short parable that Jesus tells. We read that Jesus shares this teaching in response to some attitudes that he perceives in the society, in response to "some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt. He talks about two men who enter the temple to pay: a Pharisee, and a tax collector. The Pharisee prays that he is thankful not to be like other people - he does exactly what he is supposed to. The tax collector, however, prays only for God's mercy. Jesus concludes by saying that it was the tax collector who went home justified rather than the Pharisee.
What can we make from this story? First, it's helpful to remind ourselves of exactly who those Pharisees were that we're always hearing about. While tax collectors have the same essential duties and the same lack of admiration from us today as in Jesus' day, it's harder for us to get a handle on who the Pharisees were and how they relate to our world today. Pharisees were part of a sect of Judaism. Other sects that we meet in the gospels are the Sadducees, who we'll hear about in a couple weeks, and the Essenes, of who John the Baptist was part. But the Pharisees emphasized upholding the law, the rituals, the traditions. They insisted on oral tradition as well as written tradition, and in that way were viewed as quite liberal by the other sects. The Sadducees, for example, insisted on a much more literal interpretation of the text. The Pharisees were behind such movements as the synagogue as centers of worship and education, extending learning to the whole Jewish world. They added prayers to the Temple services of animal sacrifice, and insisted that priests were "but deputies of the people." They added qualifications to laws like "an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" so that executions took place in less situations. On the other hand, however, their additions to the law through oral code sometimes added many new requirements for people to follow, like around issues of observing Sabbath, for instance. And their learning and education began to set them apart from the rest of the people, making them their own aristocracy. (1) Basically, the Pharisees were not the bad guys - they weren't people who were trying to hurt or destroy the faith. They were, in fact, trying very hard to live faithfully and to create a tradition that inspired faithful living. And, like all humans, their efforts sometimes had results that were less than perfect, or even destructive in consequence.
So, with our background explored, let's return to the text. I've read this story many times in my life, and I'm guessing it is probably also one you know well. And my response has always been to shake my head at the Pharisee, and to sympathize with the tax collector. I tend to quickly declare that I am not at all like the Pharisee - Ok, maybe I pray out loud and in public - but that's a part of my job, right? And you all, I'm sure you don't see yourselves as ones who boast about your faith, who lord your status over others who are less fortunate than we are. But we must remember, that in our gospel stories, Jesus usually speaks to us not as the underdog of the story, but as the sinner of the text. Yes, we may aspire to be more like this tax collector who actually is praised by Jesus, but we start our faith journey typically in the role of the Pharisee, as the one who has a lesson to learn. It's our job to figure out this morning how we live like the Pharisee, and what it is that is so wrong with that after all!
Today, we tend to interpret the word Pharisee like a dirty word in the church. We read stories in the Bible and when we see a Pharisee appear, we can quickly identify them as the source of wrong ideas, misguided beliefs … No one wants to be like a Pharisee. And, in truth, Jesus' arguments almost always seem to be with Pharisees. And we wanting to be on the winning team in these arguments, try to place ourselves firmly on the side Jesus, sure we are not like and not a part of this group of Pharisees, these religious elite. We talked about these Pharisees in our Companions in Christ bible study last week. Most often, they seem to be clinging to the letter of the laws and customs that guide them rather than getting the spirit of what's meant by the commands that shape our faith. But, as we've learned with our quick history lesson this morning, the Pharisees didn't see themselves that way or start out that way. They saw themselves as faithful disciples, who had given their whole lives and energies to their faith journey, no small commitment.
So, this story, though it may at first seem straight-forward, quickly raises, at least for me, many questions. The text obviously indicates that the behavior of the tax collector is preferred over the behavior of the Pharisee. That much is clear. But the question is: why? Why, exactly, is the one right and the other wrong? Is this a story about prayer and how we should pray? Is the Pharisee wrong in thanking God for what he considers the blessings in his life? Is he wrong to be glad that he is not a thief or an adulterer? Often when we characterize this story, we think of the Pharisee as standing in the center of the room, trying to draw attention to himself, praying loudly. Based on those assumptions, we criticize the Pharisee for his showiness, his pride, his big ego. But the text only shows that he was standing by himself, praying, and that the tax collector was standing far off, praying as well. What is it that is misguided in the Pharisee? What is it that the tax collector has struck on?
Bishop William Willimon shares his own modern-day update on this text: "Two people were in church on Sunday. One, lifetime member of the church, frequent teacher of the Bible, member of the Board, prayed, "God, I thank you that my parents brought me to church, taught me the Bible as a youth, planted in my heart a love of and a strong commitment to your will. I give 10 percent off the top, volunteer each month with Habitat for Humanity, and tutor underprivileged children at an inner-city school, and never drink to excess." Another man seated near the rear of the church, only muttered, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." That's all he could say. You see, when his liquor store went broke, after his marriage dissolved, just before that unfortunate scrape with the law, he had begun coming to church. Thus far, he had not joined the church; nobody had asked him. He was lousy at prayer; didn't know which words to say. These two persons then went to their homes after church. Frankly, the Bible-believing Christian, member of the board didn't get much out of the service. Something was missing. Nothing in the service touched his heart. He already knew the scripture for the day. Old hat. The music was a repeat of last week. The preacher was conventional. Oh well, perhaps next Sunday. The other man stayed seated in his pew long after the benediction, crying, overcome with joy, or grief, he knew not which. He could not explain what had happened to him during the service. All he could say to anyone who would listen was, "God loves me." (2)
I like this modern day update, because it helps me connect myself to the story and to the Pharisee. Nothing that the Pharisee says or does is in itself, perhaps, so wrong. But where he goes off course is in thinking that his list of righteous acts will earn him God's favor. He is wrong in two important ways: First, he is wrong because he acts as if without his list of good deeds he is not good enough to receive God's grace. And second, he is wrong because he acts as if he is so great as to by his own actions make himself worthy of God's grace. This Pharisee seems to get the picture wrong from both angles. And I think we might be able relate. We often feel like we don't really deserve or aren't truly worthy of God's love. On the other hand, our actions, and our attitudes about our actions sometimes suggest that we become to prideful about how good we are, or at least about how much better we're doing than some others we know of! We begin to act as though we just have to do enough good things and we'll be alright, as if we have a quota of righteous acts to fulfill before God will be forced to let us in on the grace deal.
In truth, it's the tax collector, standing far off, beating his breast, who's got it right. He cries, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." This is enough - not too little: this tax collector admits his sin and his need for God. And not to much: this man doesn't make any claims about himself, try to puff himself up, try to act as though he could possibly manage without God. Can we do the same? We forget that none of us are worthy of God's grace - as Romans tells us, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." But we also forget that none of us are excluded from God's grace, unworthy though we are. And that means for the Pharisee and the tax collector, that our good deeds, and our ever-before-us sinful behavior - neither of these privilege us or exclude us - or privilege or exclude our neighbors - from God's grace. God asks us to live faithfully - not as a test to see if we deserve grace, but as a path of discipleship that will give us deeper satisfaction in our relationship with God. God asks us to live faithfully - not to raise ourselves above others, but to be better servants to God and neighbor. Oh God, have mercy on us, sinners. Oh God, help us to live faithfully as receivers of your grace. Amen.
(1) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharisee
(2) Willimon, William. http://www.chapel.duke.edu/chapel/worship/sunday/viewsermon.aspx?id=71