This Sunday we continue our sermon series on the parables of Jesus, guided by the book Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi by Amy-Jill Levine.
What a moving parable this is! What an opportunity for us to feel good about ourselves and to comfort ourselves… well at least if we identify more with the tax collector (think IRS) rather than the Pharisee (think of the uber-religious person).
Does that cause some discomfort? It does for me. I’m a religious person! And Jesus directs this parable to those who hold themselves above others in their religiosity. Frankly, I see this often. Consider this:
- “I’m saved and those people aren’t.”
- “I believe God will bless me, but God doesn’t bless those who don’t [insert prayer or rule or other practice].”
- “I don’t have to wear a mask for COVID, I don’t have to get a vaccine, because I have faith that God will protect me.”
Karl Barth writes that pride is the greatest sin of the religious person because in doing so we make idols of ourselves. (Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, IV; ed. G.W. Bromiley and T.F. Torrance (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1956), 358-513)
Luke 18:9-14 (CEB)
9 Jesus told this parable to certain people who had convinced themselves that they were righteous and who looked on everyone else with disgust: 10 “Two people went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself with these words, ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like everyone else—crooks, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week. I give a tenth of everything I receive.’ 13 But the tax collector stood at a distance. He wouldn’t even lift his eyes to look toward heaven. Rather, he struck his chest and said, ‘God, show mercy to me, a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this person went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. All who lift themselves up will be brought low, and those who make themselves low will be lifted up.”
Consider these questions:
- Have you heard this parable before? If so, what have you learned from it (consider personal study as well as group studies, sermons, etc.)? If not, what’s your first impression?
- What words, phrases, or images stand out to you in this parable?
- Do you identify with anyone in the parable? Who? Why?