Made Righteous
A Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
October 23, 2022
The Rev. Robin Teasley
Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, `God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, `God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted." Luke 18:9-14
I met her when I was a young mother at the Women’s Bible Study at our church. Despite our age difference we became close as I watched her follow Jesus, loving and caring for those around her. She was a fine, Southern woman who could recite from memory, massive amounts of poetry by the likes of Longfellow and Shakespeare, when she was well into her 90’s, and she always had a great quote to share.
A strong woman with a great sense of humor and a twinkle in her eye, she taught me much about how to navigate life and about God’s gifts of mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Despite her larger-than-life personality, she was very humble. Our relationship grew as we spent time together, studying God’s word. I continue to be blessed by having known Blanche, and that blessing was made possible because we were in community with one another.
In our Gospel reading today, the problem is that the Pharisee and the tax collector were not in community. While they were both in the temple, the Pharisee was standing by himself, and the tax collector was standing far off. It seems the Pharisee did not think he needed community, and the tax collector did not think he was worthy of it. I have to wonder what might have happened if these two could have attended a Torah study together. Imagine how they might have helped one another, and grown to love one another despite their very real differences.
One piece of wisdom Blanche shared with me often was that you can’t judge a book by its cover, and she was not talking about books at all, but about people. Not all Pharisees and tax collectors were bad. It’s never helpful to stereotype people based on our assumptions, because as we see in today’s parable, the tax collector worked for the Romans who occupied the land and he claimed to be a sinner, but we have no way of knowing if he was taking more than was due for his own gain, as many tax collectors were accused of doing. And the Pharisee actually was righteous in that he followed all of the religious Law. So what is happening in this parable? What does Jesus want us to see?
The Pharisee was righteous but he was self-righteous in his judgment of others. Don’t we do that? O Lord, I thank you that I am not like other people. Just look at my neighbor who mows his grass instead of coming to church, or my boss who plays golf on Sunday mornings. O Lord, I thank you that I am not like my friend in that other political party who does not understand your will for our nation. I volunteer to teach Sunday School and pledge faithfully. I serve on three church committees and volunteer at the food bank. What is wrong with those people who don’t do all the things that I do?
Then we have the tax collector who may not have been righteous according to Judaic standards. He appears to have a difficult time believing that God loves him, since nobody else does. Don’t we do that too? Don’t we choose sometimes to focus too much on our own weaknesses, failures, and sins? We fling ourselves on God’s mercy over and over, yet we refuse to get up and do the work needed to make the changes that would lead us to new life. Perhaps even worse, there are so many in this world who have never been told that God loves them. I'm guessing Jesus wants us to see that.
I suspect there are times when we can identify with both the Pharisee and the tax collector, when we are either the ones doing the judging or we are the ones feeling like we cannot do anything right, all the while refusing to be in community helping one another. Our world today is full of judgment and self-deprecation; we stand alone and far off, preferring to believe we do not need community, and judging others so that we can avoid having to judge ourselves. But judgment is not our job, that is God’s work.
So what is our work? What is the Church called to do? How are we to be the Church, the faithful community modeled on the life of Jesus and the mercy and grace of God? We do what Jesus showed us how to do.
As Jesus walked toward Jerusalem, he was walking through our world, our lives, reaching out to a ragtag bunch, inviting them to follow. Pharisees and tax collectors, widows and unjust judges, women with reputations and men who had lost their reputation, farmers managing crops and women managing households, rich and poor, lost and found, humble and prideful, prodigals and jealous siblings, as well as the sick, lame, and demon-possessed. It’s a good bet that most of us can identify with someone on this list of unexpected disciples chosen by Jesus. Chosen to be healed, to be made new, to be brought into a community of love. None of us are made righteous by our own merit or because we have somehow earned it, but because we know we are in need of it, and so we say, “Have mercy, Lord, for we are sinners in your sight.”
In this world where chaos abounds, where no one seems to have anything kind to say about anyone anymore, I have come to treasure this community we call Church. Yes, it is a safe place to retreat from the hardships of the world, but it is also a place where we are called together to be an example to the world of a better way to live. We are not perfect. Some days we are the Pharisee and other days we are the Tax Collector, and every day we are worthy of God’s grace. As my wise friend often reminded me –
There is so much good in the worst of us
And so much bad in the best of us
That it hardly behooves any of us
To speak about the rest of us
As we reflect on our experiences in this faith community, who have been our shepherds, our wise women, our encouragers, our vision enlargers? Who do we continue to think of and even hear their voices reminding us of our true selves? Let us thank God for these people, giants of the faith, blessings in our lives. In our gratefulness, we return the favor as we hand down the faith through the generations, offering gifts of time, talent and treasure. But perhaps even more so it is the offering of our presence in the community, our sharing of wisdom, and our love of Christ that is the blessing.
Through our gratitude we are made righteous in this place where we learn to follow Jesus, where we learn to become disciples; disciples who will stand, not alone or far off, but together in prayer. Then we go out of the temple to bring much-needed peace and healing to a world that is longing for love.
Title Image: Church Interior With the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, Dirck Van Delen
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