Stephen
Baldwin
GOSPEL:
Luke 18.9-14
A Reversal of
Roles: How Do You Pray?
When
Albert Einstein was making the rounds of the speaker's circuit, he usually
found himself eagerly longing to get back to his laboratory work. One night as
they were driving to yet another rubber-chicken dinner, Einstein mentioned to
his chauffeur (a man who somewhat resembled Einstein in looks & manner)
that he was tired of speechmaking.
"I have an idea, boss," his
chauffeur said. "I've heard you give this speech so many times. I'll bet I
could give it for you." Einstein laughed loudly and said, "Why not?
Let's do it!"
When they arrived at the dinner,
Einstein donned the chauffeur's cap and jacket and sat in the back of the room.
The chauffeur gave a beautiful rendition of Einstein's speech and even answered
a few questions expertly.
Then a supremely pompous professor asked
an extremely esoteric question about anti-matter formation, digressing here and
there to let everyone in the audience know that he was nobody's fool. Without
missing a beat, the chauffeur fixed the professor with a steely stare and said,
"Sir, the answer to that question is so simple that I will let my
chauffeur, who is sitting in the back, answer it for me."
This week’s Scripture tells the
story of a reversal of roles as well. In
Jesus’ day, tax collectors were not popular.
Imagine if you were responsible for paying your federal taxes to your
neighbor, who set the rates and skimmed what he wanted off the top. Would you like him? No, tax collectors were despised.
Pharisees, on the other hand, were
adored and respected. They kept the
religious law, lived holy lives, and served as an example to their community of
righteousness.
Yet, the Pharisee is set up as the
villain and the tax collector is the hero of this story. This is a stark reversal of roles.
Today we know that Jesus often
picked the most unlikely people to help, right?
What were some unlikely people that Jesus helped? Samaritans, prostitutes, tax collectors,
lepers, etc. Today, we also know that
while Jesus had some Pharisee friends, what role do the Pharisees mostly play
in the Gospels? They are mostly the
villains.
Because we know that today, we get
this story the first time we read it. “The
Pharisee is a self-righteous hypocrite.
The tax collector is a repentant sinner.
Check that one off the list…lesson learned…I got it, preacher!” But if it were that simple, I would be done
preaching now, and I’m just getting started.
Let me ask you something. Have you ever walked into a trap? I’ve walked into traps. One night Kerry and I were eating some lasagna
she had made. Several times, she asked
me if I liked it. That should’ve been a
sign. “Yes, it’s good!” I said. “Why do keep asking me?”
“Because I added lots of things in
very small pieces that say you don’t like—onions, mushrooms, zucchini to name a
few—but you do like it!” She set a trap,
and I walked right into it.
This parable is a trap for modern
readers. In its day, it would have been
highly controversial, because it sets up a good guy, the Pharisee, as a bad guy
and a bad guy, the tax collector, as a good guy. That would’ve blown people’s minds and
shocked them into humility, for they wouldn’t have expected that lesson from
Jesus. Today, we expect the Pharisee to
be a self-righteous hypocrite and the tax collector to be a repentant
sinner. So if we’re not careful, we read
this story and think, “Lord, I’m so glad I understand the Scriptures better
than those disciples ever did. And Lord,
I thank you that I’m not like that Pharisee—self-righteous, hypocritical, and
proud. I come to church every week, am a
good Christian, and say my prayers before I go to bed every night. I’ve learned how to be humble, and I sure do
feel sorry for those who haven’t.”
Do you hear me? This story is a trap! In order to avoid the self-congratulatory
prayer the parable condemns in the first place, we have to remember how
shocking it would have been to people in Jesus’ day. It would be like praising the prayer of the corner
drug dealer instead of your minister’s prayer.
The parable is supposed to shock you.
One time I was writing a press
release for the newspaper about one of our Christmas services, inviting the
community to attend. I was trying to
find a simple, succinct way to say that it was an informal service, you didn’t
have to dress up, you didn’t have to bring anything, and you didn’t have to
know anyone. I decided to write, “Come
as you are.” I think that’s the shocking
point of the parable.
The Pharisee came to worship not as
he was but as he was supposed to be. He
looked the part. He played the
part. He seemed like a faithful
man. But the prayer he prayed was
selfish; it had nothing to do with God! The
tax collector did not look the part. Running
around beating your chest made you look like a weak fool. But he came as himself, a child of God in
need. The Pharisee came seeking people’s
approval. The tax collector came seeking
God’s forgiveness. Which would you
rather have? Which do you need?
That’s a trap question. We would all say we need God, but something
about our human nature makes us act like our pride is the most important
thing. It feels good to be exalted,
doesn’t it? We like to be noticed,
recognized, and praised. So much so that
sometimes we begin to think the things we do (like attend church, tithe, make a
good salary, serve as upstanding members of society) and the things we don’t do
(like rob, cheat, or steal) can justify us before God.
Jesus says only one man goes home
justified. (By the way, “justified”
means “forgiven” or “right with God.”)
Only the tax collector is justified.
Even though he’s lived a terrible life up until that point. Even though the Pharisee by all accounts had
lived a good life. Only the tax collector
is justified. The point here is that we
cannot be saved by what we do or refrain from doing. Only God justifies. Only God saves. Only God judges such heavy things.
The good news of the parable, for
Pharisee and tax collector alike, is that no matter how harshly we’ve been
judged by our world or by the harshest judge of all, ourselves, no matter how
good or how bad we think we are, we don’t get to make that decision. Only God does.
That’s a reversal of roles. We’ve come to think that our actions can save
us. Our service to the hungry can get us
to heaven. Our teaching of the Bible can
impart truth others don’t have. Our
prayers work while others don’t. That’s
the shocking reversal of roles in today’s parable.
Who is justified? The tax collector. Why?
Because he shows humility. He
prays to exalt God, not himself. He
prays to in a way that lets God be God, not to pretend like he in the center of
the universe. He prays in search of the
truth, not because he thinks he already has it. He prays out of humility, not out of
pride. How do you pray?
Amen.
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