Self or Sorry

LukeLuke 18Prayer

17 Oct

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Prayer

Sermon preached at St Andrew’s on 13 February 2005

Setting the Scene
Find which member of this Happy Family, Mr & Mrs Bunn the bakers and the Bunn children have nothing to hide.
Mrs Bunn is a maker of fine jams and cakes. Mr Bunn is the CEO of Bunns Bakery well respected in the community. Ida Bunn age 16, likes films music and dancing. Jim Bunn age 9 is into skate boarding, and sweets.

Which one of these has a guilty secret? Something they are ashamed of …….
Mrs Bunn (so proud of her house that she looks down on her neighbours), Mr Bunn is a bully at work. Ida Bunn, cheats at school (copying work and writing notes on her hands for exams) Jim Bunn (steals from his mum’s purse to buy sweets.

The Pharisee thought because on the outside he looked good and he did lots of good things, God would think he was good enough and that he was better than the tax collector. The Tax Collector was ashamed of himself.

Most of us were so busy blaming the Pharisee we did not realise this story is about US.

We can look at the wrongs in others and ignore the wrongs in our own lives.. God looks at what we are really like, not just what we do or how we behave …… On the outside the Bunns were an alright Happy family but each of them had something to hide, to be sorry about.

Introduction

We think we know that this parable is about the Pharisee’s who thought they were better or holier than the rest. Read again v9 “Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves, that they were righteous….’ Famous parable is a story of opposites (the Pharisee & the tax coll), the 2 men are opposites, the Pharisee is righteous in his obedience to his religious practise. The tax coll is corrupt in his working practises. Their postures are opposites.

The Pharisee stands and prays, the tax coll stands and is bent over in despair.

The intro sentence sets the context of the story. Jesus tells the story to some who were sure of their own goodness. One of the most common views of people today who believe in God is that they are ‘good enough.’ God will see us right because we haven’t been that bad, wouldn’t say bad of anyone, would do ‘out’ for anyone. Well those people are aligning themselves with the Pharisee in this story. [Illustr] Muhammad Ali had just won another boxing title. On the airplane the stewardess politely said to him, "You need to fasten your seat belt." Ali replied, "Superman doesn't need a seat belt." To which the stewardess politely responded, "And Superman doesn't need an airplane either; please fasten your seat belt." Ali trusted in himself but this parable is also about us. Do we think we are good enough, have we done enough good deeds to please God, do we no say a wrong words about others… are we trusting in ourselves.?

Let us explore Prayer by looking in three directions, Look at Me, Look at Him, Look at Us

Look at Me

The Pharisee may have been adopting the normal stance of praying lifting up holy hands, praise… all good stuff. But look again. This man has a sense of self-confidence, personal boldness/cheek before God. This person is saying in his prayers ‘look at me.’ There is a dangerous side to prayer (public) is that it says ‘look at me’ rather than look to Jesus. It is a danger also with good deeds or even regular church going is that it could become self-righteous and a way of saying ‘look at me’.

This man has a sense of his own personal worth (cf. to others). He prays but he doesn’t admit he needs anything from God (least of all forgiveness). Sadly this may ring bells with some of us – if we examined our own prayer life, do we admit our need of God in our prayers? Do we admit we think s.times we are good enough. Do we admit s.times we judge/look down on others (at least sub consciously). Are we a bit like the Pharisee who thinks all his activity MUST make him acceptable to God , his life’s performance, his achievements, He is a winner… others are LOOSERS in his view.

Bent To The Ground
I was brought up in a farming community and I remember in the summer when my friends from the town came to play, we loved to play in the wheat fields. They used to be most impressed with the wheat golden brown and ready for harvesting some of the wheat stood tall in the field, whereas some of it was bent low, touching the ground. They loved the tall sheaves but they didn’t know the bent-over wheat was ladened with a rich harvest and most of the tall stalks were empty of seeds But the one bent to the ground was full of the promise of a rich harvest. It’s a good picture of the way we approach God in prayer, bent and burdened and broken but so full of promise because we come to the one who says he can take our burdens. John Moore song, Burdens are lifted at Calvary

Troubled soul, the Saviour can see, Every heartache and tear
Burdens are lifted at Calvary, Jesus is very near

If we are honest there are Pharisee tendencies in all of us, things that we need to open to God , things to despise and allow God to show us our absolute need of him and absolute dependence on him for our Salvation.

Look at Him

Looking at the tax collector in our parable. He is no saint, he makes no plea of ‘I’m innocent,’ or it’s just circumstances that made me a tax collector.
He does not appeal on the basis of the good things he may have done. He had nothing to parade before God. Here was someone who knew he was dependent on God’s grace and mercy. He realises what counts is WHAT GOD DOES not what we have done. It is a comparison of Do v Done.
He realises it is not about what we think we are doing for God but what God does and has done for us. In our daily Morning Prayers there is a prayer where we call out three times Lord have mercy - It is called Kyrie, eleison…times three is just about right… that’s what we are in need of because we are all sinners, like this Tax Collector. We are all in need of divine mercy (we are not accumulating spiritual Brownie points).

Notice the contrast in the Tax collector’s posture as he prayed. His body language is the opposite of the Pharisee. He stood at a distance, barely inside the temple…(the words ‘far off’ may remind us of the prodigal son). His prayer is not one of praise but of pleading and despair. He is recognising the pain and sorrow of his own sinfulness. in the Anglican church services, the ‘blanket’ confession can unintentionally avoid the sorrow of confession, naming and shaming and acknowledging the ugliness of sinfulness. The tax collectors head is bowed, chest beating (I had a friend at Bible College called Simon who actually did this. The taxman speaks with the opening words of Psalm 51 ‘God be merciful to me a sinner. That Psalm goes on to say ‘my sacrifice O God is a broken & contrite heart….’ (verse 17).

Look at Us

As with so many of Jesus’ parables we want to see ourselves as the goodie but we must examine our prayer life in the light of this parable.
There is a bit of the tax collector and the Pharisee in all of us. We have seen which is acceptable to God …can we learn from the tax collector the need to recognise the pain and sorrow of our own sinfulness, indeed, the ugliness of sin as we confess it to God and plead for his forgiveness (as we say three times - Lord have mercy - Kyrie Eleison ).

But this is also a challenge t for us to look at ourselves as a church. What are we like. What is our prayer life like as a church? What about our House groups? Morning prayers? Prayer Meetings? In Church? What are we like as a church when people visit us or move in to the area.
Are we humble and gracious, welcoming. Are we sinners saved by grace, we have received God’s mercy (forgiveness)
Look at us. What do they see? Cliques, Self-righteous, self-confident, do-gooders? What do the people see here in this church?
This parable speaks to us as a church as well as to me as an individual.

Samuel Colgate, who created the toothpaste, was a devout Christian, and he told of an incident that took place in the church he attended. During an evangelistic service, an invitation was given at the close of the sermon for all those who wished to turn their lives over to Christ and be forgiven. One of the first persons to put her hand up was a well-known prostitute. She knelt, she wept, she asked God to forgive her, and the congregation looked on approvingly. Then, after the prayer she stood and testified and said that she believed God had forgiven her for her past life, and she now wanted to become a member of the church. For a few moments, the silence was deafening…..Finally, Samuel Colgate got up and said, "I guess when we prayed that the Lord would save sinners. We forgot to specify what kind of sinners. The Holy Spirit has touched this woman’s heart and made her truly repentant, but it seems the Lord doesn't understand that she's not the type we want him to rescue. …." Immediately, someone proposed a motion and unanimously approved that the woman be accepted into membership to the church.

Conclusion
God accepts us as we are. There is not a sin too black, not a deed too awful, not a thought too horrible for him to forgive. The important thing is to know that God wants to pour his mercy, his forgiveness, his peace, his comfort and his Holy Spirit upon us so that we can be free.

Burdens are Lifted at Calvary

Days are filled with sorrow
Days are filled with sorrow and care
Hearts are lonely and drear
Burdens are lifted at Calvary
Jesus is very near

Burdens are lifted at Calvary
Calvary, Calvary
Burdens are lifted at Calvary
Jesus is very near

Troubled soul, the Savior can see
Every heartache and tear
Burdens are lifted at Calvary
Jesus is very near

Discussion questions:

1 Life – Pharisee-style:
What was it really like? Find out by checking out Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14:22–29; Deuteronomy 16:1–12.
Look at Luke 18:11 and think again. Was he bad or just a very religious man who had failed to get the message?

2 Life – Tax-collector-style:
This man had no illusion about himself or his lifestyle. Share together what you know and then find Luke 3:12–13, Luke 5:27–32, Luke 7:29, Luke 15:1 and Luke 19:1–9 to learn more about him and people’s attitudes to him.

3 Life – Church-style:
Make a list of church activities. What earns ‘brownie points’ in your church? Do we have a mental checklist that says some activities are more ‘worthy’?

4 Use the reflection below to provoke discussion:
‘It’s good to be back here Lord, in your house, but looking round I wonder sometimes at the company I keep. I go to house group every week and there’s Joan. When was she last there? I always manage to get there – why can’t she? Work stress – family responsibilities – I’ve heard all the excuses. It’s never stopped me though, Lord, not like some. Mike over there, used to come to the prayer meeting – that soon fell by the wayside. The heartbeat of our church is that prayer meeting and most of them never come! Just as well a few of us have our priorities straight – all some of them think of is the Lunch Club and the Soup Run, the Toddler Group and the Senior Citizens. And I’m at both services every Sunday unlike most of them! Where would this church be without me, Lord? It’s as well some of us know what being a Christian really means!’