GOD LISTENS TO THE HEART

When I read this morning’s parable, the following line from an old Country and Western song immediately came to mind: “Lord, it’s so hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way!”

Two men go up to the temple to pray. To keep himself from being defiled by others, the first, a Pharisee, stands by himself. His prayer begins like the prayers of most people – “God,” he says. But that’s where it ends – God fades into the background as the Pharisee zooms in on himself. He is thankful, he declares, thankful that he is not like other people.

Then he goes over his mental checklist:
Fasting twice a week – check
Offering a tenth of my income – check
Offering not only the tenth of those foods or animals that the law requires, but a tenth of all my income – double check!

Before we get all down on the Pharisee, it may be helpful to remember that the Pharisee’s commitment to his religious duties is admirable. He is a committed, generous, reliable person – the kind of individual that most churches would love to welcome as a member, the kind of person whose generosity pays the heating bills in winter and restores church buildings to their former glory.

Not so with the tax collector! He’s someone most decent folks tend to avoid. His behavior is self-serving, manipulative, and dishonest. His dishonesty affects all aspects of his life –
how he acquires money,
how he regards other people’s property,
how he treats those he’s called to serve.

To a respectable person such as the Pharisee, the tax collector falls in the same category as thieves, rogues and adulterers – people who cannot be trusted. Like thieves, rogues and adulterers, the tax collector disrespects, demeans and devalues people. Not only does he steal a living by extorting money from his own people, he keeps a substantial portion for himself and gives the rest to the foreigners who are the main beneficiaries of his country’s crooked tax system.

The tax collector is definitely no Pharisee! And if God looked at actions only, the Pharisee would go home justified and the tax collector would not.

But remember what Jesus tells us over and over again? He says that what comes out of a person’s mouth is a pretty good indicator of what’s going on in that person’s heart –

about their attitude toward others,
their motives for doing what they do,
their relationship with God.

So if we listen as God listens, we might hear how:

The Pharisee’s assertion that he is not like other people exposes
his self-righteousness,
his belief that he is the standard by which others should be judged,
and his lack of awareness of the chasm between his goodness and God’s goodness.

The tax collector’s plea that he is a sinner reveals his awareness of
his sinfulness,
his understanding that God is the standard by which goodness is judged, and
his appreciation that, with God’s mercy, forgiveness and grace, he can become the man he is meant to be.

Two weeks ago, some of us participated in a Day of Reflection with Bro. Robert, the Franciscan friar who spent three days with us. Bro. Robert reminded us that God is not a God of contract – “you do this, I do that; you don’t do this, I won’t do that,” but a God of covenant – a God whose priority is to be in relationship with us, whether or not we are as “good” as we think we should be.

The Pharisee’s attitude reveals that he sees God as a contract God. As long as he did everything he was supposed to, things would be fine. But what would that God do to him:

if he didn’t fast twice a week,
if he didn’t give a tenth of his income,
if he didn’t come to the temple to pray?

No mercy. Only judgment. The Pharisee’s image of God is much too small!

But there’s more! The parable itself does not include the first and last verses – they are Luke’s interpretive comments. There is actually no judgment on either of the two men in the parable itself. So what are we to make of this?

Well, first we note that, in the latter half of the first century, Luke’s community was undergoing a painful break with Judaism. The Pharisees, those entrusted with upholding Jewish religious traditions, were not regarded in the best light, and tax collectors, some of whom gave generously to the budding Christian community, were cast in a more favorable light. So, not surprisingly, the interpretive comments shed a more negative light on the Pharisee and a more positive light on the tax collector.
But when we listen to the entire passage – with the interpretive comments – as we did this morning, we are primed to conclude: “Thank God I’m not like that Pharisee!” Which defeats the purpose of the parable by enticing us to become Pharisees in tax collectors’ clothing - proud of our humility . . !

In his book, Seeds of Sensitivity: Deepening Your Spiritual Life, Robert Wicks shares the following story about a famous rabbi: “The rabbi stands inside his synagogue and stretches his arms to the heavens. He says loudly, ‘God, I am nothing! Absolutely nothing!’ When his cantor sees this, he follows suit. Standing next to the rabbi, the cantor stretches his arms to the heavens and cries ‘God, I am nothing! Absolutely nothing!’ Seeing the two men at prayer, a janitor comes over and stands next to the two men. He, too, stretches his arms to the heavens and cries ‘God, I am nothing! Absolutely nothing!’ At that point, the rabbi turns to the cantor, and says disdainfully, “Well, look who thinks he’s nothing!”

It’s so hard to be humble!

Perhaps both the Pharisee and the tax collector have gifts to offer us.
Perhaps we are more alike than we are different.
The fact is that we are all sinners – we may just have different ways of sinning.

But the fact also remains that we are God’s sinners – and God is big enough to handle our sin. God knew what God was getting when God called us! And God doesn’t give up on us – even when we aren’t on our best behavior or we don’t have the best attitude. God continues working in us to transform us – to transform us into persons whose words reflect the attitude of the tax collector and whose actions reflect the behavior of the Pharisee. . .because being in covenant with God helps us to appreciate the mercy of God, and, in turn to share that mercy with others.

After all, isn’t God the only one who’s truly qualified – qualified to judge each of our hearts?