The Simple Truth

Based on Luke 18:9-14
First delivered Oct. 27, 2019
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr


            The Christian life in many ways is a paradox. It is in losing your life that you find it. If anyone wants to be the greatest, they must be the servant of all. Some of those greats, the saints of our ancestors in the faith, have talked about how the more they find themselves growing in their relationship with God the more they realize how sinful they are. The closer you come to God, the more you become aware of your need for God and God’s forgiveness.

            That may not make much sense. We are supposed to become less sinful as we grow in our relationship with God. And we do. I suspect if you think back over your life, and you have been working on your Christian discipleship, that you a more mature Christian than when you were younger. You don’t sin like you used to. There are probably less sinners than you but there are a lot of people who sin more than you do. It makes more sense that the deeper you grow in your Christian discipleship the more you live like Jesus.

            Still, some of the great saints of the past have written how they have felt more sinful the closer they have drawn toward God. I think the reason is because as they have drawn closer to the light of God’s glory they are better able to see their flaws. It’s like if you are in a dusty room but you don’t realize how much dust is floating around in the air until a ray of sunlight bursts through the window and then you realize how much dust there is. In the same way, the more we live in to our Christian discipleship the more the Spirit reveals aspects of our lives that need mending. We didn’t realize how far short we are in living a Christ centered life until we start taking our life more seriously.

            Every year, high school graduates head for college. Many of them experience some shock that first year of college. Before they went to college, they had been very successful in school. They had good grades. Maybe they didn’t have to study that hard. They had lots of friends and lots of support from their teachers and parents. But now they find themselves in a lecture hall with 300 other students, none of whom they know. The professor is talking about stuff that is over their heads. Tests are no longer multiple guess or fill in the blanks. Suddenly it takes a lot of effort to get those good grades. Hours and hours of homework. And there are a lot of fellow students who are a lot smarter than they are. All this confidence they had when they arrived at college starts to fade when they realize they aren’t as smart as they thought they were. But they are still smart. They still belong in college. They still have the ability to achieve their goals and do well. But that first year of college can be a reality check. It can be a bit humbling. It also is an example of what we often find ourselves doing: comparing ourselves with others.

            That’s what this parable is about which we heard this morning. Jesus is addressing a common temptation of Christians: the temptation to compare ourselves with others in order to justify ourselves. In this parable it seems obvious that the lesson is we should not be self-righteous. We shouldn’t be like the Pharisee who reminds God of all the good things we do that makes us more religious than others. Instead, we should be like the tax collector who doesn’t even try to justify himself but only begs for God’s mercy.

            One way to respond to this parable is to say to yourself, “I hope I’m like that tax collector and not like the Pharisee.” Or maybe you are thinking, “I’m off the hook for this sermon because I know I’m like the tax collector. I know I’m a sinner and have to depend on God’s mercy. I know I’m not like that Pharisee. If there is one thing I’m not it is self-righteous.”

            But is it possible to become prideful of one’s lack of self-righteousness? I have heard a lot of people give their testimonies over the years. I sometimes wonder if some of them try to outdo others in the level of their sinfulness. They have to talk about how bad was their drug problem, how much sex they had, how they used to be devil worshippers, etc. Think about the worst possible sinner and I was worse than that, they say. I think the point of almost bragging about how sinful you used to be is to make the point that if God can love me and save me, God can surely love you because there’s no way you are as bad as I used to be. It almost seemed like the people giving these testimonies were bragging about how sinful they used to be.

            I wonder if it is possible to wear your humility on your sleeve and smugly think to yourself, “I’m glad I’m not like those self-righteous hypocrites. I confess all my sins and know I’m a sinner saved by grace. Yup, I’ve got the right attitude. I am a humble person.” This sounds like comparing yourself to others and considering yourself better than others. I’m more humble than you. Too bad for you.

            But look at how the tax collector prayed. He did not say, “O God, I am worse than that Pharisee over there. Of all the Jews, I am the worst one. I haven’t done this or that. I am a messed up person, the worse kind of sinner.” The tax collector didn’t list all his sins in his prayer. Instead, he gave a simple and direct prayer. All he said was, “God have mercy on me. I am a sinner.” That’s it. He didn’t compare his sinfulness with others. He didn’t list all his sinful deeds to validate his claim to be a sinner. He probably didn’t feel the need. He knew that God was aware of his sinfulness. It was obvious. He knew there was nothing he could say to get out of the judgment that he deserved. His only hope was for God’s mercy, so that’s what he begged for. And we are told that he went home justified because he asked for God’s mercy, not for God’s approval.

            So, what is the lesson of this parable? That we are not to ask for God’s approval. Instead, we are to ask for God’s mercy. When we ask for God’s approval, we are trying to justify ourselves before God. Trying to get God’s approval isn’t only by telling God how great we are in being a Christian. We also try to get God’s approval by trying to convince God we know how bad we are. We say something like “God, I’m thankful that I’m not self-righteous. I know that I’m saved by grace. I know I’m a bad person and mess up all the time. So, since I know all these things, will you forgive me?” It’s like we want God to reward us because we can detail how bad we are. If we can tell God how bad we think about ourselves then maybe God will forgive us, have mercy on us. Maybe what we are hoping for is that God will have pity on us.

            But God doesn’t want us to grovel or obsess about how sinful we are. It’s enough to acknowledge that you and I are sinners. No matter how much our daily life is patterned after the life of Christ, we still fall short and always will. We are and always will need to rely on God’s mercy. That’s simply the truth. It’s not something to dwell on. It’s not something to obsess about. It’s not something we need to brag about. God doesn’t need to be reminded of our faults or of all the good things we do. God knows what we do. God knows our motives. God knows our intentions. We can’t hide from God. So, really, there’s not anything we can say that is going to earn God’s mercy. God’s mercy, God’s forgiveness, God’s grace, is all pure gift. God offers us this simply because God loves us.

            No one likes to be judged. No one likes to be looked down on. The Pharisee was not only bragging about how good he was with his fasting and tithing, but he also was a jerk. It is not our business to compare ourselves with others. Nor do we need to try to justify ourselves. As the old saying goes, we should all mind our own business. By that I don’t mean that we should ignore other people and only focus on ourselves. What I mean is that we should avoid judging other people or looking down on other people. Nor should we judge or look down on ourselves. Instead, we should have the courage to acknowledge that we are not perfect, that we are all works in progress, and that we are all dependent on God’s mercy. And this simple truth can make a way for us to live our lives in freedom, unbound from the chains of guilt and shame. Because the one whose judgment matters the most has already forgiven us. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. We are free. Thanks be to God!