11 August 2013 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA
Text: Luke 18:9-14 (Gen 4:1-15, 1 Cor 15:1-10)
In the name of +
Jesus. Amen.
Jesus
told this parable “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous
and treated others with contempt.”
That
about sums up the problem. That is the
problem with every sinner, with all of us, with natural man and natural
religion that naturally relies on man to be naturally righteous.
We’re
not. And the minute we think we are, we
look as ridiculous as the Pharisee in our Lord’s parable. From our standpoint, it looks very clear. We know that the proud self-righteous
Pharisee is the bad guy, and we know that the humble and contrite tax collector
is the good guy.
But
how often are we willing to say: “I am that Pharisee, and I need to repent”?
For
we are a proud people. We put bumper
stickers on our cars that say we’re proud: proud of our country, proud of our
honor students, proud of our golden retriever that is smarter than your honor
student, proud of our college, proud of our professional sports team, proud of
ourselves for being this or doing that. Proud,
proud, proud.
How
often we forget that pride is one of the seven deadly sins, that “pride goes
before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Of
course, there is nothing wrong in taking pleasure in the accomplishments of our
children, in expressing a preference for the home team, or in honoring one’s
school. And maybe “pride” isn’t exactly
the right word. But if it goes to our
heads, or as Jesus puts it: if we treat “others with contempt” or we trust in
ourselves that we are righteous, we have become the Pharisee in the story, and
we are in desperate need of repentance.
The
Pharisee is not simply being rude, nor does he need an attitude adjustment. Dear friends, the Lord Jesus says that this
Pharisee is bound for hell unless he repents. This isn’t just a quirky personality trait,
this is unrepentant sin, a rejection of Christ and His gospel, a worship of the
self above God. And he is also misusing
God’s name, rather than calling on God in genuine prayer, praise, and
thanksgiving, the Pharisee is taking the Lord’s name in vain, making a mockery
of prayer, praising himself, and perverting thankfulness into self-worship.
And
notice that the Pharisee has a lot of good works that he boasts about: he is
not an extortioner or adulterer, he fasts and gives alms. But, dear friends, he also puts his faith in
his works. He never thanks God for His mercy,
or for His forgiveness, for our proud Pharisee doesn’t think he needs to.
Dear
brothers and sisters in Christ, are we Pharisees? Do we have misplaced pride? Do we think that our offerings, our being in
church, our morals, our good works, make us in any way more worthy of eternal
life? Do we take pride in being
Christian? In being Lutheran? In being LCMS?
In being Salem members? Do we
think God counts us worthy of everlasting life because of our denominational
affiliation or worship practices? If so,
we need to repent.
And
this reading is truly the Gospel, dear friends, for it is a story. And it is a tale with a happy ending. For there is another character in our Lord’s parable:
a lowly tax collector. This man is a
sinner. He is likewise a fallen child of
Adam, a man who likewise broke the commandments, a man who bears the scars of
pride and mockery of God – but he has something else by God’s grace: a broken
and contrite heart. For “he would not
even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful
to me, a sinner.’” The tax collector
joins us in our liturgy. He prays with
us: “I, a poor miserable sinner confess unto You all my sins and iniquities.” He sings with us: “Lord, have mercy upon us.” And with us he hears these words: “I forgive
you all your sins.” For Jesus has these
glorious words for him and for us: “I tell you, this man went down to his house
justified.”
Though
his actions do not merit it, though his sins deserve death, though his righteousness
is as filthy rags before the holy God – the Father in His infinite mercy, for
the sake of His beloved Son, through the ministrations of the Holy Spirit – the
most holy Triune God has justified this man by grace alone.
And
the Lord Jesus gives us even more good news: “the one who humbles himself will
be exalted.”
Dear
friends, in our humility, the Lord elevates us. In acknowledging our sinfulness, the Lord
makes us righteous. In our contrition,
the Lord forgives us. He hears our
prayers for mercy. He answers our pleas
for forgiveness. He reaches out to us in
our lowly estate. There is truly nothing
in ourselves that is righteous. We have
nothing in which to boast – except in Christ and His cross, in what He has done
for us, and how, in spite of how much we do not deserve it, the Lord Himself,
in His mercy and pity, has justified us, made us righteous, forgiven our sins,
and has even taken away the sting of death itself from us!
The
Lord’s mercy answers the blood of Abel crying out from the ground. The Lord’s mercy even extends to Cain who
killed him. The Lord’s mercy answers the
prideful Pharisee with a call to repent according to the law. The Lord’s mercy even extends to tax
collectors and poor miserable sinners who pray: “Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ,
have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy
upon us” with the declaration of the gospel.
And
with St. Paul, who like Cain, had innocent blood on his hands and yet was shown
mercy by the Lord, we can truly say: “But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and His grace toward me was not in vain.”
For
when we fast and give alms and attend divine services and study the Bible and
uphold biblical teaching and Christian morality, let us never be prideful,
arrogant, or boastful. For it is not we
who are responsible for these works. Again,
we can say with St. Paul, even when we are working hard, that “it was not I,
but the grace of God that is with me” that accomplishes these deeds for the
kingdom.
Dear
friends, instead of thanking God that we are not sinners, let us rather thank
God that we are sinners who have been forgiven. Instead of taking credit for our own
justification, let us give the Lord Jesus all praise and glory for purchasing
our justification at the cross, paying it in full by His suffering and death,
sealing it by His blood, and delivering it to us by His Word and holy
sacraments. Instead of pride, let us
display humility. For we are beggars who
come to God with empty hands, but we are beggars whose hands are filled with
good things by a gracious and merciful God, whose blessings never cease, whose
blood always avails for us, whose Word always endures, whose grace knows no
limit, whose love is everlasting, and whose mercy endureth forever. Amen.
In the name of the
Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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