The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

Luke 18:9-14

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

C.S. Lewis once wrote in his book Mere Christianity, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”

This quote brilliantly captures what pride does to the heart of man, how pride leads man to believe he is superior to others, even idolizing himself and making himself into a god. Which of course, distracts one from having faith in the one true God. 

Well, the Gospel today is about pride and humility. Jesus teaches a simple lesson through contrasting figures, and if you want to know the meaning of the Gospel, just go to the last verse, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

But to begin to understand the entire text, let’s start at the beginning of the Gospel reading as we heard,

Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

The Gospel began with Jesus telling a parable. A parable is a short, simple story that typically teaches a moral, spiritual, or religious lesson. It uses everyday situations and human characters to explain a deeper, harder-to-understand truth by placing a familiar idea side by side with a new concept.

When Jesus tells a parable, He does so to teach truths about the kingdom of heaven.

This parable teaches that the holier-than-thou attitudes of the Pharisees won’t lead them to heaven. Instead, their trust in themselves, belief that they are more righteous than anyone else, and despising others will prevent the Pharisee from being brought into heaven. 

For the Pharisee, this high view of themselves is how they see the world around them. It’s a worldview that sees others as worse off and, in many ways, is built into who they are, prompting them to look down on others with disregard. 

Alright, so who is being compared to the Pharisee in today’s Gospel? Jesus went on to say, “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. (Luke 18:10)

In this verse, Jesus now presents the identities of both men; besides the Pharisee, we have a tax collector. Remember, tax collectors were not seen as good men. They were Jewish men who worked for the Roman Empire and were therefore viewed as traitors. It was often believed they skimmed money from the top for themselves. 

But here we are with two men coming to the temple of God. The temple is an important location throughout Scripture. At the beginning of Luke’s gospel, Jesus was brought to the pinnacle of the temple, where Satan tempted Him to throw Himself down. But the temple is also mentioned near the end, when Jesus is crucified. The temple is where God’s presence resides.

When Jesus came to the temple in last week’s gospel and cleansed it by throwing out those who treated the place as a den of thieves, He was foreshadowing what was to happen through His crucifixion and resurrection. Not only would the temple now become obsolete, but the kingdom of heaven, of peace, forgiveness, and eternal life, would reside in Him, the true temple of God.

So now the question might be, how does one approach and enter the presence of the temple of God?

In verses 11-12, the Gospel said,

The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  Luke 18:11-12)

Alright, both men have come into the presence of God in the temple, and now we hear the Pharisee’s prayer, which isn’t odd because prayers were often spoken aloud. Speaking prayers aloud can be a good thing, too. This exercise can provide additional focus to your prayers and ensure your mind doesn’t wander during prayers.

We don’t pray like this because, for one, we’re afraid others will hear our prayers. We also don’t want people to think we’re weird for praying aloud or in public, so we allow our faith to be completely silenced and just don’t pray at all. 

Which is wrong.

But back to the Pharisee, he’s praying aloud for all to hear what a good guy he is; maybe he’s trying to impress those around him. The image you see is a man who believes he’s better than others and is an elitist.

With all the “I’s” he says, he’s sure happy to not be like the others, and he sure gives thanks to God for himself. What a guy!

The Pharisee is very thankful to not be like the extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. He does his good works by fasting twice a week and giving tithes of all he receives.

What a guy!

It’s almost as if the Pharisee is justifying himself. If this were a court case or trial, he’d be presenting the evidence to the judge and saying, please look at me; look how good a guy I am. 

Again, let’s hear the quote from C.S. Lewis, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”

You can see the pride of the Pharisee’s heart. He has set the stage for everyone to look up to him as he looks down on everyone else. There is no humility or humbleness in the Pharisee’s heart.

The contrast between this Pharisee and the tax collector will be clear as we continue hearing the parable from Jesus. He says,

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13)

What a difference between the two men: the Tax Collector stands far off because he knows how sinful he is, and when one is sinful, they are weighed down with sorrow. Reflect on a situation in your life when you did something to cause harm to a husband or wife, a mother or father, sister or brother. When we sin against those we deeply care for, it’s hard to enter their presence, let alone to confess our sin to them, because of how unworthy we feel.

But the recognition of sin should create humility within us, just as it did in the Tax Collector. He can’t even raise his eyes to heaven, just as you cannot raise yours to make contact with those you’ve harmed. You can sympathize with the Tax Collector, can’t you?

He also beats his chest, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

The beating of the chest was a physical sign of unworthiness and a visible expression of contrition.

We don’t use physical expressions of faith as much these days. But physical expressions of contrition and faith are okay. Which of you, as a child, did not bend over in tears when you did something wrong, broke a window while playing baseball, got in a car accident, and went to your parents to ask for forgiveness? We simply don’t always recognize the ways we have expressed our contrition in the past. 

If one wished to beat their chest or make the sign of the cross to confess their sin and need for the Savior, that would be most appropriate and acceptable. It is not required, but it is acceptable. My guess is that over the years we’d probably become like the Pharisee, which is ironic, looking down or with difference upon another Christian who came before Jesus beating their chest or making the sign of the cross to express contrition and their need for a Savior.

To be sure, the physical actions of the Tax Collector do not save him or earn God’s forgiveness, but they do confess what’s occurring in his heart, namely the desire to be justified and forgiven. 

And in the last verse of the Gospel, Jesus says,

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)

The Tax Collector, who approaches the presence of God in humility, goes away forgiven, while the holier-than-thou Pharisee continues to be caught up in the sin of pride.

What do we learn from this? Simply coming to the temple of the Lord and confessing sins does not automatically mean you are absolved. No, instead, one must come into the Lord’s presence with humility, as the Tax Collector did, recognizing one’s wretched state and need for a Savior. 

One must not look to oneself for salvation, but to Jesus for salvation. Because it was His death upon the cross that won for you justification and redemption.

Reflect on this for a moment. Even as Jesus was lifted up on the cross, He did not look down with begrudging eyes as He hung there for the sins of the world; He looked to His Father. He looked up and fulfilled His Father’s will.

As you journey throughout the days of the week, catch yourself when you begin to look down upon others, when you begin to believe you are better than someone else, repent of these sins, then come before Jesus, confess your faith in Him, shift your eyes up to His cross, beat your chest, bend a knee, and say with the sinful and wretched Tax Collector, “God, be merciful to be, a sinner!”

And having heard the absolution from the pastor, been fed through the flesh and blood of Jesus at this altar, go to your home, forgiven and at peace. +INJ+

Rev. Noah J. Rogness

Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Tomah, WI

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Website: www.goodsheptomah.org

The Shepherd’s Voice Podcast: https://goodsheptomah.podbean.com/