[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 25C: “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector”

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From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sat, Oct 26, 2019 9:28 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 25C: “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector”

Dear Friends, This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “The Pharisee andthe Tax Collector” and is based on the gospel (Luke 18:9-14).  Here it is:   Today we heard another ofJesus’ parables- this time the one about the Pharisee and the taxcollector.  It’s so very easy to put downthe Pharisee in this story, yet he really was a very good and religious man.  In fact, he was in many ways more faithful tohis religion than we are to ours.  Listento his list: he isn’t greedy; doesn’t lie or cheat or steal; and isn’tunfaithful to his wife.  He even goesbeyond the rules.  He only has to fastonce a year (on the Day of Atonement), but he fasts twice a WEEK.  He gives one-tenth of everything he earns,not just one-tenth of his produce.  Hegoes to the temple twice a DAY to pray ( 9 AM and 3 PM ).  Those are the positives.  How does your faithfulness match his?  How does mine?  Not too well. Now the negatives- did you hear his prayer- 6 “I’s” in it!  It’s almost as if he is telling God how luckyGod is to have him on his team!  On topof that, he compares himself with the tax collector and thanks God that he isnot like that unfortunate person.  In away, that probably came very naturally, because Jewish men prayed daily fromthe time they were little boys thanking God that they weren’t born a dog or aGentile or a woman.            The tax collector, on the other hand, was really tellingthe truth about himself.  He reminds meof an old, old story I heard (JokesWareHouse.com) about an encounter betweenthe pope and past-President Bill Clinton. The meeting that was supposed to be short lasted for two days. Finally,a weary President Clinton emerged to face the waiting news media.  The president was smiling and announced thesummit was a resounding success. He said he and the pope agreed on 80% of thematters they discussed. Then Mr. Clinton declared he was going home to be withhis family.  A few minutes later, thepope came out to make his statement.  Helooked tired, and discouraged, and was practically in tears.  Sadly he announced his meeting with thePresident was a failure.  Incredulous,one reporter asked, “But your Holiness, President Clinton just announced thesummit was a great success and the two of you agreed on 80% of the itemsdiscussed.”  Exasperated, the popeanswered, “Yes, but we were talking about the Ten Commandments.”  The tax collector would have been on the sideof Mr. Clinton, because he understood sin. He had been a truly evil person- lying, cheating and stealing from hisfellow Jews, a traitor to his country. Jesus ends the parable stating that only the tax collector went homejustified, which must have really surprised the people who were listening.Whatwas Jesus trying to teach us from this important parable?  What changes do we need to make in ourlives?  Check these out:1.     Our culture is not an excusefor our behavior.  Remember the prayer that thePharisee was taught to pray daily from his mother’s knee- thanking God that hewasn’t born a dog or a Gentile or a woman? That didn’t excuse him; and our cultural brainwashing won’t excuseus.  The summary of the law- “Love God;love neighbor” and Jesus’ commandment, “Love one another as much as I haveloved you,” is the measure by which we will be judged.2.     Strive for excellence.  It wasn’t the excellence of the Pharisee’scommitment to trying to follow God that messed him up.  It was his motivation- he did what he did toprove how great he was.  His behaviorwasn’t coming from his heart.3.     Don’t be selfish in yourprayer life.  Don’t just pray for yourself and those youlove.  There was a little girl who toldher mother she didn’t need to say her bedtime prayers- didn’t need anythingtonight.  Don’t be like that child!  Widen your prayer life.  Praise God! Thank God!  Confess your sins.  Pray for others, including those you do notknow.  A friend noticed that her husbandchanged his prayer life.  He used to readthe Bible and pray every morning as soon as he got up while he was drinking hiscoffee.  Now he watched the newsfirst.  When asked, he said that heneeded to watch TV to see who he should pray for, then he could do his devotionsas God intended.  Very wise!  So, inform yourself, watch the news or readthe paper.  Then, ask God to heal andbless those nearest and dearest to you.4.     Don’t compare yourself toother people- compare yourself to the best that you can be, and compareyourself to Jesus.  When we do this, we won’t findourselves saying that we didn’t sin today. Stephen Covey, author of the popular book “Seven Habits of SuccessfulPeople,” tells of riding a subway in New York City .  Allthe passengers were reading or sleeping or sitting quietly until a man got onwith several children.  The children wereunruly beyond measure.  They werefighting and throwing things.  One of thechildren grabbed a newspaper from the hands of one of the passengers!  The father was doing absolutely nothing.  While the children ran wild, the father wasjust sat there staring off into space. Covey knew his own children would never have acted like that, so hefinally decided to take action.  He wentto the father and said, “Sir, we need your help.  Your children are bothering people.  Could you do something about it?”  The man awoke as if from a daze and said,“You're right.  I guess I should dosomething about it.  We've just left thehospital.  Their mother just died.  I really don't know what to think, and Iguess they're not handling it too well either.”- OUCH!  Been there; done that.So,copy the Pharisee’s faithfulness.  Copythe tax collector’s humility (facing reality). Be the best that you can be and confess your sins when you are not.  Compare yourself to Jesus, not those behindyou in your spiritual walk.  (In otherwords, focus on where you’re going, not where you’ve been.)  Most of all, be lenient with other people andreasonably tough on yourself.  Understandand forgive.  May God bless us as we tryto live what we believe. For anyone whois interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements areposted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org . Blessed preaching,Judy BoliSt. Paul's Episcopal ChurchSaginaw, Michigan-- 
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