As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church
Lk 18: 9-14; 1Jn
1:8-2:6; 2Sam 12:1-10,13 Publican & Pharisee
In the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit!
Confession.
It’s hard to miss. All three readings give us perspectives on confession. And
it is comforting to look at the example of the tax collector and model our
confession after his. Not many of us will be in King David’s position, having
sent a rival off into danger to get killed and then take his wife as his own.
But we all have our weaknesses that need to be faced, acknowledged and
repented. This is the Sunday when we begin anew the journey toward Great Lent
and Pascha. This journey gives us the opportunity to re-examine our lives and
bring ourselves closer to that place where God is always calling us: to love
one another as God loves us. And St. John in his epistle reminds us that we all
need to go through this cleansing process.
To
love our children, our grandchildren, this is not usually the difficult part,
although there can be challenges. But as that circle of friends and
acquaintances grows, the challenge to love them can also increase. And
sometimes, as we gaze on people we do not know well, or about whom we have
fears, bad experiences, conflict or anger, then to love as God loves may begin
to slip from our consciousness.
We
may think that since we are not in King David’s place, we do not really have
anything significant to repent. This is when we need to take another look, not
at the tax collector, but at the Pharisee. The tax collector has been cheating
people for his whole career, it was actually part of the system. His sin was
ever before him, as the Psalmist says. But the Pharisee is standing in the
temple before God and basically saying he has no need to repent since he has
been scrupulous in following and fulfilling the law. He is giving thanks to God
for this achievement. Being grateful is not a bad thing. Had he said he was
following the law and offering this to God knowing that this task is not done,
that would be one thing. But instead, after praising himself [and not God] he
then does what we all can easily do, namely, slide into comparing himself to
others, and specifically to the publican standing in the temple with him.
Comparing ourselves to the publican and his prayer for mercy is understandable
as we try to listen to Jesus teaching and follow it. However, my guess is that
everyone in this temple, and indeed everyone everywhere at some time, has done
what the pharisee did and may not have noticed it.
How
is that so? How often do we notice people we do not agree with politically and
disparage their views and wonder how anyone could hold a view contrary to our
enlightened views? To notice differences, to desire to promote the good and
discourage the bad, is not the problem. Its the added edge we put on that which
then discounts the person along with their views. It doesn’t matter where one
stands in the political spectrum, this attitude can arise from any position.
But the problem is not about politics. We can trip over this rock in any aspect
of life: social, economic, religious, interpersonal relations. We could
disagree with a co-worker, family member, student at school, casual
acquaintance, parishioner, someone in almost any context of life. We could just
be enraged by something seen on television or read in the paper and soon our
emotions have turned that issue and those connected to it into a great evil
that justifies our condescending attitude. But does it?
God
sends the rain on the good and the bad alike. God does not approve misbehavior,
but he also does not withdraw his love.
That is the challenge for us. In a world beset by evil, injustice,
conflict and despair, how can we be conduits for God’s love and not
contributors to the world’s disfunction? Its not easy. That is why this Lenten
period can be such a valuable tool for us to re-examine our attitudes and
reactions to the chaos around us. That is why this parable is set before us
every year at this time. It reminds us that our work on ourselves is never
done.
Glory
be to Jesus Christ!
