A Tale of Two Sinners

Today is the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity. If your church follows the historic lectionary, the gospel reading this morning comes from Luke 18:9ff.  Much wisdom may be harvested from this simple parable from Jesus, if we only have ears to hear. In order to properly understand the weight of Jesus' words, the political situation in Israel must be explained.

At the time in the Israel's history, they were ruled by the Romans. Because of unbelief, the Northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered by Assyria in 722 B.C. Some years later, the Southern kingdom along with Jerusalem was conquered by Babylon around 587 B.C. So for about 600 years, Judah was not a sovereign nation. They went from Babylonian hands to Persian hands to Greek hands to Roman hands. Yet, Roman law allowed Israel to keep their religion, so long as it did not conflict with Roman authority.

Pharisees were the righteous Jews of their day. They thought they could earn God’s favor by following every jot and tittle of the Law. Their hope was that God would destroy the Romans and set up Israel again as a nation as in the days of old.

Publicans, as the name implies, were public servants of Rome. They were Jews who worked for the Roman government, usually to collect taxes. Because the tax collectors were working for the enemy, they were seen as traitorous dogs by the majority of the Jews. Not only did the publicans collect money for Caesar, but they also lined their own pockets by ripping off their Jewish brothers. The Jews could not refuse the tax collectors because they were backed by the Roman military — and you didn’t cross the Roman military.

Now, let’s look at Jesus' words from the gospel of Luke:

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Notice how the Pharisee prays. He “stood and prayed thus with himself.” The Pharisee goes on to rehearse all the great things he does: he tithes faithfully, he fasts twice a week, etc. He’s the type of man that would do whatever the priest asks of him. If the priest needed him to serve on the altar guild, he would serve the best he knew how. If the priest needed him to vacuum the church, he would be delighted. The Pharisee truly believes that he is doing God a favor by doing all the good he does. He believes that he is justified by his good works.

Notice how the sinful tax collector prays, knowing that he is a law-breaker. He knows that he is not justified by his good deeds. He may live a cushy Roman life, but he is constantly reminded of his defection by his Jewish brothers who certainly ridicule him daily. When this man approaches God, he knows full well that he is not worthy. Yet, Jesus tells us that this tax collector is the one that leaves the Temple justified.

How does the idea of standing play into this parable? The Pharisee, a supposed righteous man, stood and prayed “thus with himself.” Jesus is painting a picture of a man standing right at the front of the room, standing on his own self-righteousness. The tax collector approached God penitently, knowing his sinfulness.

Notice what happens in the Old Testament when people come face to face with God.

The first chapter of the book of Ezekiel especially highlights this. God reveals himself to Ezekiel. Beginning in chapter 1:27, “...I saw as it were the color around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around.“ What happens when Ezekiel sees the likeness of God?

So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking. And He said to me, ‘Son of Man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.’ Then The Spirit entered me and He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.

The only posture Ezekiel can keep before Holy God is on his face. The Holy Spirit must enter into Ezekiel and stand him upon his own feet. Ezekiel, who I’m sure was faithful to his calling as a priest, had no righteous standing before God in himself. He was made to stand righteously by God’s Spirit. This is what the Spirit must do to us as well.

Right standing before God is a way of thinking about justification. We cannot justify ourselves by our good deeds the way the Pharisee attempted to do. St. Paul writes in Ephesians, “for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.” The Pharisee is certainly guilty of trying to save himself by works, which led to his boasting. He takes his stand on his own righteousness.

In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis explains the effect of growing in godliness. This quote illustrates Jesus’ parable well:

 “The right direction leads not only to peace but to knowledge. When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good; a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right.” 

Lewis' words resound with the same amount of truth today as when he wrote them. The closer we grow toward God, understand his Word and Sacraments, and grow into the life of the Church, the more we will understand that we are sinful creatures in need of God’s grace.