The 23rd Sunday after Pentecost - Confessing Pride?

Today we consider Luke's account of Jesus' telling of the Pharisee and the tax collector. There are three themes on which we need to reflect:  holiness vs. sinfulness, pride vs. humility, and, lastly, dependence on God.

In this parable Jesus sets up to contrasting characters that come from different groups in first century Palestine.  They may well be modeled on real people, but they are prototypes.  The Pharisee is a model of the responsible follower of the Law who doesn't cheat or harm anyone.  He gives to God the amount of money expected. He shows great spiritual discipline by fasting twice each week.  What is there not to admire and respect?  The tax collector is part of a system set up by the Romans that emphasizes the oppressive nature of their rule.  The tax collector pays the civil authorities the amount they specify, but then he can charge the person taxed as much as he can extort.  The difference between these sums was his profit--and tax collectors tended to be wealthy and despised.

Because we are aware of Luke's point of view in his gospel, we know that Jesus will turn the relative status of these two men upside down.  Luke prefaces this parable with this comment: "[Jesus] also told this parable to some trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt."

We shouldn't be surprised by Luke's use of this parable. Remember that Luke's gospel recounts Mary's song upon encountering Elizabeth's welcome of blessing: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."  Mary's response, as reported by Luke, contains these words: "[God] has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly."  Mary, of course, was reflecting on how someone without any standing in her society has been blessed by God.

So holiness mixed with pride does little to find favor with God in Luke's view.  It smacks of idolatry when our pride leaves us blind to our faults and super aware of the faults of others.  Our following the rules and practices of holiness are leading not to righteousness, but to self-righteousness.  These rules and practices are religious in this example, but they could be related to any aspect of human society.  Anytime we look at ourselves as deserving of some privilege or reward because of our own accomplishment, Luke--and Jesus--would tell us to watch out.  For if the next step is automatically look at ourselves as superior in character or effort to others less fortunate, we run the risk of making an idol of ourselves.  And in doing that, we negate what blessings we have been given by God and what help we have been given by others to achieve what we have.

Indeed, the penitence of the tax collector and his asking for God's mercy was considered exemplary by Jesus and deserving of God's receiving him (justification).  This wasn't because the tax collector would now turn his life around and only be good from then on.  Rather it was because the tax collector acknowledged his dependence on a power outside himself to help him avoid self-righteousness: God's never failing grace to all of us who recognize we--by what we have done and by what we have left undone--have separated ourselves from God's love and want to turn back to God.

If we are honest with ourselves--and with God--we are, at times, full of self-righteous pride like the Pharisee; yet at other moments we turn to God fully aware of our shortcomings.  Because we rarely use Morning Prayer for our public worship on Sunday anymore, we don’t have much experience with the prayer called "The General Thanksgiving."  It very neatly sums up the sort the approach to God and to the way we should live that this parable from Luke commends.

Let us pray "The General Thanksgiving" together:

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, 
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks 
for all your goodness and loving-kindness 
to us and to all whom you have made. 
We bless you for our creation, preservation, 
and all the blessings of this life; 
but above all for your immeasurable love 
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; 
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. 
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, 
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, 
not only with our lips, but in our lives, 
by giving up our selves to your service, 
and by walking before you 
in holiness and righteousness all our days; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, 
be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.