 | The New England Church PulpitNew England Congregational Church UCC |
"WHAT IS REQUIRED?" | Luke 18. 9-14 | October 24, 2004 |
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’
The Artists
from The Book of Rumi (13th century Persian Sufi poet)
Two men disputed before the Sultan about which of them was the better painter; and, in order to settle the dispute, the Sultan allotted to each a house to be painted. The first man procured all kinds of paints, and colored his house in the most elaborate way. The second, on the other hand, used no colors at all, but contented himself with cleansing the walls of the house from all filth, and burnishing them till they were as clear and bright as the heavens. When the two houses were offered to the Sultan’s inspection, that painted by the first man was much admired, but the second house carried off the palm, as all the colors of the first house were reflected on its walls with an endless variety of shades and hues. (Translated by Stephen Mitchell, adapted)
On a British Airways flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, a middle-aged well-to-do white lady found herself seated next to a native African. She called the crew attendant to complain.
“I can’t possibly sit next to this disgusting man.” Then she called him the “n” word, and demanded to be moved. “Calm down, Madam,” the flight attendant replied. “The flight is very full today, but I’ll see what I can do.” The woman in the seat copped a snooty look at the outraged black man beside her. A few minutes later the attendant returned with good news. “Madam, unfortunately economy is full. Business is also full. But we do have a seat in first class.” The woman looked around with a smug and satisfied grin. But before she had a chance to reply, the attendant continued. “It is most extraordinary to make this kind of upgrade, but under the circumstances we felt that it was outrageous that someone be forced to sit next to such an obnoxious person.” With that, she turned to the man sitting next to her and said “So if you’ll get your things, sir, I’ll show you to your new seat.” With that the passengers around them cheered while the man walked to his new seat.
Jesus had something to say about the way we conduct our lives, the attitude with which we approach others, and the manner in which we give. He does so in this poignant parable about two people on the opposite ends of the social spectrum in his society, and in doing so, he shocks his listeners. As Joe mentioned last week, a story like this turned their idea of God on its head, for they had been taught that it was the rich and pious who were favored by God. Jesus proclaims that the kingdom of God includes everyone; it is an egalitarian community. It was shocking to people in that day because tax collectors were despised because they were essentially robbers. They bid on the job to collect the required tariffs and then gouged the people to make a profit, robbing the poor to make themselves, and others, rich. Pharisees, on the other hand, were thought to be the favored by God because they devoted their lives to God, offering prayers and raising money for the poor.
Having heard this parable for a lifetime, many of us have done quite the opposite. We’ve vilified the Pharisee and elevated the tax collector because of the teachings of this parable. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, however, warns against distorting the image of the Pharisees. Despite some negative stereotypes encouraged by old stories, the Pharisees still serve as models of dedication and conviction. Their lives demonstrate a genuine concern for holiness. The contrast of the Pharisee and the tax collector in today’s gospel story could in fact easily be turned to the Pharisee’s advantage. The Pharisee would brave ten-inch snowfalls to be in his pew at the appointed hour. The tax collector would stay home close to the fire. The Pharisee would spend free time feeding the hungry; the tax collector would be off golfing, spending his ill-gotten gain. The Pharisees were good and faithful people; their imitators today would see that our churches embraced the marginalized and our neighborhoods became havens of safety and desirability.
(Homily Service, October 2004)
If we listen carefully to the parable, it is not about being good or bad. The parable is talking about attitude. It addresses the way we think about people different from ourselves, and the way we think about people informs the way we treat them. The kingdom of God is about an egalitarian society, a community in which everyone is respected and treated as a creation of God. It challenges us to confront the prejudices we all harbor in one way or another. This attitude influences the way in which we give as well, and Jesus throughout the gospels challenges us to give of ourselves not out of condescension but out of the desire to affirm the other.
James Joseph, a public policy professor at Duke University says that “most modern philanthropy still falls short of the most fundamental religious imperative, which is the movement from a consideration of why and to whom we give to a concern with how we give.” He cites a description by Jacob Neusner: “What is required,” Neusner said, “is consideration for the humanity of the recipient who remains no different from the donor. Those who receive are not less than or different from those who give. They have not only needs but feelings. They welcome not only the beneficence of the wealthy but also their respect. So the act of giving should be done in such a way that acknowledges the equality of the giver and the receiver. The religious imperative is not just an act of grace or even an expression of caring. It is for the faithful both an expression of duty and an act of respect. How one gives matters at least as much as what one gives. He summarizes the Jewish law of tsedakah, ‘We Jews move from what is required of us to what we are required to become.’ (The Living Pulpit,, April-June 2003)
So what are we required to become? Each week we pray ‘forgive us our sin as we forgive those who sin against us.’ Do we say this with the attitude of superiority, that our sin is not as great as others? Do we say it out of obligation?
Do not judge a fornicator if you are chaste, for if you do, you too are violating the law as much as he is. For he who said thou shalt not fornicate also said thou shalt not judge.”
(Thomas Merton, The Wisdom of the Desert)
Forgiveness means that I am continually willing to forgive the other person for not being God—for not fulfilling all my needs. I, too, must ask forgiveness for not being able to fulfill other people’s needs....The interesting thing is that when you can forgive people for not being God, then you can celebrate that they are a reflection of God.”
(Henri Nouwen, The Only Necessary Thing)
What we have is not of our own doing, for the most part. For the most part our success is due to things beyond us. If we are successful at our work, is it entirely our own doing? Have we not been gifted with good health in order to work? Have we not been given the ability to set and achieve our goals? Have we not been privileged with the talent to do our job, and with the education and the opportunity needed to be successful? Of course we have to engage all of those things, and many have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, but even that ability has been given to us. If you were born with depression or schizophrenia, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to gather the energy to do what you’ve been gifted to do. If you had been born into a society that didn’t offer you the opportunity or the education, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to be successful even if you were motivated.
What is required of people of faith? Is it not the ability to strive for the good things that the Pharisee represents with the attitude of the tax collector? Is it not to recognize that all are God’s creation, and that those of us who have much should give of our means and give of ourselves to honor those who haven’t been so fortunate? It isn’t so much about why or to whom we give as much as it is about the attitude with which we give.
On a bus waiting at the border in East Berlin during WWII, the SS came through the crowd to check documents. A woman at the back of the bus began to cry. When the man next to her asked why she was crying, she replied that she was a Jew and did not have proper papers and they would take her off to the concentration camps. All of a sudden the man started screaming at the woman, swearing at her and belittling her. “You stupid, stupid woman,” he kept shouting. The woman sobbed all the more. The guards immediately came to the back of the bus to see what was causing the commotion. The man, a Christian and a stranger to the woman next to him, showed them his papers and in a rage explained that his wife was so stupid as to have forgotten her papers at home. The guards looked at her and laughed, then turned around and walked away without even questioning the woman. This man’s willingness to put his life on the line meant life for the woman.
What is required? Jean Vanier wrote that “to love someone is not first of all to do things for them, but to say to them through our attitude, ‘you are beautiful. You are important. I trust you. You can trust yourself’...To love someone is to reveal to them their capacities for life, the light that is shining in them.” (The Christian Century, Sept 21 2004)
Amen.
–Gary L. McCann
| Copyright © 2004 by Gary L. McCann. All rights reserved. |