Sermon: 23 Pentecost October 23, 2016 Joel 2:23-32; Psalm 65; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14 G. Elmore

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1 Sermon: 3 Pentecost October 3, 016 Joel :3-3; Psalm 65; Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14 G. Elmore O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God. I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. I have a wonderful book by Amy-Jill Levine, titled Short Stories by Jesus and in it she unpacks several parables, with a first century historical focus as well as a Jewish understanding, reminding us that Jesus and his listeners were all first century Jews. She then concludes with the meaning for us today. Today s sermon is my attempt to summarize her insights while including some of my own, on Luke s parable of the Pharisee and the taxcollector. Parables have been in Israel s scriptures for centuries before Jesus. Their purpose, as well as the purpose of the teller of the parable is to enable the listener to see the world in a different way, to challenge the status quo, and sometimes to disturb or indict. If we think of parables as metaphors our question is often, what does it mean? But a parable isn t a metaphor so the question we should be asking is what does it do? Does it remind, confront, provoke, disturb,..? 1 Let s take a look at our parable. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.. Our ears (and minds) have been trained to hear bad, bad Pharisee and good good tax-collector, but is that what a first century Jew would have heard? Now granted Pharisees have been given some bad press in scripture, but are all Pharisees deserving of this? How about the ones who invite Jesus to dine with them, or the ones who warned Jesus to get away from here because Herod wants to kill you? Paul was a Pharisee and considered it a mark of distinction. Our first century Jewish audience would have a positive view of the Pharisee. They would know him to be a teacher of Torah, who practiced and lived the Torah teachings. A good man. 1 Levine, Amy Jill Short Stories by Jesus pg 4 1

2 And the tax-collector? Tax collectors were known for getting their hands in the till. It was pretty easy to do, and the temptation was always present. It s not so different today. Here in Mason Country we write our tax checks to the Mason County treasurer and put our parcel number on the check. However in California, we write the check to Don Kent who happens to be the Riverside county treasurer. Every time I write the check I wonder if it might get mis-directed! I think he s an honest man, but then there is Wells Fargo the doubt remains. To quote A.J. For Luke, tax collectors are invariably sinners on their way to becoming righteous. They come to John for baptism, they heed Jesus and dine with him; a tax collector named Levi becomes one of Jesus apostles. Many sermons have given us a tax collector who is a marginalized member of society but this just isn t so. Tax collectors were agents of Rome, often quite rich, and were known to charge more than was due, pocketing the difference. They may not have been well liked, but they lived well. The first century Jew would consider all the above and then ask the question, what is HE doing in the Temple? Is he there to abuse the Temple system as an agent of Rome? A tax collector in the Temple praying? his presence is unsettling. We now have a Pharisee and a tax collector in the temple praying, but apart from each other. The Pharisee s prayer is a prayer of gratitude, although to our 1st century ears it doesn t sound like one. Where he misses the mark is that he negatively judges the tax collector rather than bringing him into the religious community. The first century Jews also would be amazed at the extent to which the Pharisee keeps Torah he fasts twice a week, instead of once. He tithes on everything instead of only on what is proscribed. He is a super Pharisee. Amazing! Impossible to live like that! And the tax collector s prayer one of penance, but also missing the mark a bit. He doesn t mention his resolve to stop sinning. Perhaps to stop being uncaring, or charging more than is owed. A prayer of penance without the resolve to stop sinning is a prayer for cheap grace. ibid pg 173

3 In a nut shell, both prayers miss the mark a bit. But a Jewish audience would also hear that even a tax collector could be righteous. Really? Now for the punch line of the parable and it s so easy to miss. There is a problem with most English translations they translate the Greek preposition para as rather than when it could, and most often is translated as Amy Jill suggests, along side. Listen to how the last sentence reads when rather than is replaced with along side. I tell you this man went down to his home justified along side the other. Here is the punch line and the surprise of the parable. Both men are justified. Both men, about as far opposite as possible in profession and religious practices are justified. God s grace doesn t discriminate but is abundantly available to everyone. They went into the Temple separately, prayed apart from each other and came out and went home along side each other. This is the teachable moment the WOW! moment. Levine tell us: Judaism is a communitarian movement in which people pray in the plural and in which each member of the community is responsible for the other. It means that the sin of one person can negatively impact everyone else. At the same time it means that the good deeds of one person can have a positive impact on the lives of others. 3This understanding has allowed the tax collector to tap into the good deeds of the Pharisee and the Temple system for the betterment of all. And the message for all of us? Our actions have results that ripple out into the community for good, or not so good. Let me give you an example. A few years ago my daughter was getting her master s degree in education. She was in a class of about 0 students, and for their final project, they were divided into groups of 4. Each group was given a topic to investigate and write the final paper on. All members of the group would be given the same grade. Now every classroom has their super achievers as well as those who just scrape by, and then there is the mass in the middle. The professor was certainly aware of who s who and composed the groups accordingly. Each group got a super achiever and a scraper- byer. I was on the receiving end of the complaints as well as the appointed editor of the final paper. 3 ibid pg 193 3

4 The complaints I heard were not fair she can t write only two of us are doing the research and we re never going to get finished etc. etc. But the paper was completed and the students all got an A. Then the evaluation happened. What did you learn from each other? How did each one of you use your special talents in producing the final product? It was in the evaluation phase that each person in the group was able to realize that everyone contributed in her own way. The slacker actually contributed some good insights even though her writing ability was lacking. She also mentioned that she appreciated being included, because she often felt like the last kid standing when the team was selected. The writers and the researchers acknowledged the contributions of all. Another example how tapping into one another s talents works for the betterment of all. And what about us? We are constantly reminded that we are part of a global society. We are our brothers and sisters keepers. Do we look and experience life through mirrors or windows? Do we build fences or bridges? Do we share our talents with others? Do we graciously accept others to share their gifts with us? Do we secretly hope we don t have to mingle with either the arrogant Pharisee or dishonest tax collector? Last week Christie and I stayed home and listened to Matthew Fox speak and preach at All Saints in Pasadena. He called on us to make our lives a prayer of radical response. Lives where we say a YES to all the good life has to offer accompanied by a NO to injustice. We are all called to live out of our courage and out of our love. In closing a prayer from John Philip Newell In lives where love has been born today, Thanks be to God. In families where forgiveness has been strong Thanks be to you. In nations where wrongs have been addressed where tenderness has been cherished and where visions for earth s oneness has been served thanks be to you. May those who are weary find rest. 4

5 May those who carry great burdens for their people find strength. May the midwives of new beginnings in our world find hope. And may the least among us find greatness strength in our souls worth in our words love in our living. Amen. 4 4 John Philip Newell Praying with the Earth pg 7 5