The Pharisee and the tax collector

Two elderly, excited women were sitting together in the front pew of church listening to a fiery preacher. When this preacher condemned the sin of stealing, these two ladies cried out at the top of their voices, "AMEN, BROTHER!" When the preacher condemned the sin of lust, they yelled again, "PREACH IT, REVEREND!" And when the preacher condemned the sin of lying, they jumped to their feet and screamed, "RIGHT ON, BROTHER!  TELL IT LIKE IT IS...AMEN!" But when the preacher condemned the sin of gossip, the two went very quiet.  One turned to the other and said, "He's quit preaching and now he's just meddling."

There is a danger for all of us at times of hearing what we want to hear – and with regard to our faith that is no different – most of us at some time or another have interpreted some part of the bible in the way we want it to sound rather than the way we suspect it actually does !

The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once said that ‘The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation’. I’m not sure of the context in which he was speaking but it could well have been said in relation to the Pharisee mentioned in our gospel reading this morning (Luke 18:9-14).

The Pharisees were tremendously religious – the name ‘Pharisees’ in its Hebrew form means ‘separatists’ and many of the group had effectively separated themselves from most people because they considered themselves to be superior. This level of superiority had become so great that when Jesus was there with them they witnessed his miracles, they heard his words, but instead of receiving him with joy as the Messiah, they did all they could to stop him.

And Jesus was well aware of their hostility towards him and told this parable. The Pharisee, standing by himself, we’re told, offered his thanks that he was better than anyone else – he listed all the good things that he did, even comparing himself with the tax collector praying in the same temple.

Jesus was well aware of the Pharisees loathing of almost anyone else, and they would have deemed the tax collector almost unworthy to stand and pray in the same place, except that it offered them someone to compare themselves with !

In contrast to the Pharisee Jesus described the tax collector as standing far off, afraid to even look up to heaven, and praying simply for mercy as a sinner.

As we read it through the eyes of faith and with a knowledge that the Christian faith emphasises the first will be last and the last first, and the need for the grace of God to allow us to achieve salvation rather than any good works we may be able to do, we immediately recognise the wrongs of the Pharisee and the right of the tax collector.

We know our faith is not about how good we are, or what good things we have achieved or are doing. It is not about being perfect and certainly not about telling others how perfect we are – it is about relying on the God who loves us immeasurably, who, in spite of all our failings, still desires a relationship with us, a God who calls us back to him time after time.

As Christians we are to be people displaying faith in a God who loves us whoever we are. And we are to be people displaying a faith in a God who shows this love to all people – when God thinks of the Pharisee or the tax collector he makes no distinction in the amount of love he shows, and he calls on us to do the same. The American pastor and author Rob Bell wrote, ‘If the gospel isn’t good news for everybody, then it isn’t good news for anybody.’

And so this parable is very clearly about recognising the power of God and not ourselves to achieve salvation. It is about the love of God reaching out his hand to each one of us…

But there is a danger in this parable for us all too. Because we look at it very often with clear eyes that say the Pharisee was wrong and the tax collector was right – and as soon as we do that we are beginning to run the risk of judging others. You see, the Pharisee wasn’t all bad – he did all that he said he did.

A man once went to the doctor complaining of headaches. And the doctor asked him if he was stressed at work, and the man said he was really relaxed and enjoying his job. And so he asked if he was sleeping well at night, and the man replied that he slept perfectly. And so the questions continued, ‘do you drink too much’ to which the man replied he didn’t drink at all. ‘Do you smoke too much’ and the man said he didn’t smoke at all… Eventually the doctor replied, ‘I know what’s causing your headaches – your halo is on too tight !’

The Pharisee was a good man – he did fast twice a week to grow closer to God through prayer, he gave away a tenth of his income to help others – but he was so caught up in his own world that he failed to see God.

And we often look at the tax collector and want to give him a pat on the back for doing all the right things but we can’t because he actually, as he himself has recognised, is a man who does things wrong, and who needs to get his life into a better shape.

And so this parable is a bit about prayer, and laying ourselves open to God in prayer honestly and humbly; it is a little bit about recognising our weaknesses, and not bragging about the things we get right; it is a little bit about not looking at others, and how they behave, but looking at ourselves; but it is a lot about looking at God and who he is.

It is about looking at the God of love, who stood in the form of Jesus in front of the Pharisees and they didn’t notice him. It is about looking at the God of love who came to earth in the form of Jesus because he didn’t want to give up on humanity. It is about looking at the God of love who wants to walk with us on absolutely every step of our journey of life – in the good times, in the bad times, in the run of the mill times !

When God is truly involved in our lives and in our church, there is no time for being part of a private club. There is no time for being like the Pharisee or the tax collector… There is no time for labelling others, or criticising them for their beliefs or lack of belief…  For God is only truly involved when his people are involved in radical acts of service and compassion expecting nothing in return – when his people are reaching out his hands in love.

The Pharisee and the tax collector teach us things about pride and humility, but it is not to them but Jesus to whom we are being called to look. May our eyes be focused on him, and our lives be built on his example, so that transformed ourselves we may play a part in offering God’s transformation to others. AMEN