Sunday, Scriptures for October 23, 2022

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Genesis 4:1-15
Psalm 5
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-17

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

The Psalter was Jesus’ hymn book. He learned it in the synagogue and on His mother’s lap. It was close to His heart and He often quoted verses from the Psalms, even from the cross. The Psalter was special to Martin Luther, also. As a monk he learned to 150 psalms by heart, able to sing them at will. He also quoted the psalms often, and looked to them for comfort and hope. He heard Jesus’ voice in the psalms, not only those He quoted, but all of them. He loved the Psalter because it proclaims God’s grace and teaches us to trust and believe in Him. We study the Psalter today because when we look at the past we are reminded that God can act for us today. His past gives us confidence for the future. The psalms are a literary sanctuary, a textual place where worshippers speak in the very presence of God. The ultimate message of the Psalms is to praise the Lord. It is said that the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. The psalms can be troubling at times, filled with laments, complaints and imprecations, yet they continually encourage us to trust in God and worship Him. They show us what God has done in the past and what He will do in the future. They teach us why He is worthy of our praise.

We love the psalms, at least some of them. We love when they focus on praise and thanksgiving, when they help us remember the great things God has done. We love when they point to the generosity and grace of God, particularly when we hear the story and voice of Jesus in the words. However, we struggle with others because they include curses and laments. Though we identify with the words of the psalmist, those psalms make the singer seem more like whiny children than faithful believers.

We also know that there are unintended consequences that come with our prayers. We may have every reason to ask God to deal with our enemies. We’ve been hurt; we have suffered. We know that God will take vengeance on those who harm His people. The psalms are filled with imprecatory prayers. We want to ask Him to deal with them, and perhaps God will answer that prayer. However, we do not always know how our desires will impact others. Even our enemies have families. They have spouses and children. They have people who rely on them. They have daily responsibilities. They have debts that need to be paid. Wiping our enemies off the face of the earth might solve one problem, but how will it destroy the lives of innocents?

We also look at these psalms with the knowledge that we are sinners, too. Who am I talk about evil, arrogance, and iniquity? Who am I to suggest that others are so wicked that they can’t stand in God’s sight? Even worse, who am I to think that I can?

Yet, we all know that there are times when the world seems to be against us, and we need a reminder that God takes care of the faithful. Today’s psalm is a morning prayer. It is a lament, but it is also model prayer for God’s people when they are assaulted by evil doers. The psalmist contrasts the sinners and the righteous. While we know that we are sinners in need of a Savior, we also know that Jesus takes care of those who look to Him for forgiveness by repenting and seeking His mercy. The psalmist believed in God and boldly prayed, trusting that He hears and will answer according to His Word.

If we met the Pharisee and the tax collector on the streets of Jerusalem, we would count one as righteous and the other as a sinner. Unfortunately, we would see them through the eyes of eyes of our own understanding of righteousness and disagree with Jesus. The Pharisees were known for their piety. They kept the ritual law and expected the same of others, including those who were not priests. They applied Jewish law to mundane activities in order to sanctify the everyday world. They believed they were righteous because they lived according to their understanding of the scriptures.

Our Gospel lesson is preceded by the question, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Jesus answered the question with a story of two men: one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector. Each man approached the altar of God, desirous of being in the presence of the Most High. They approached with very different attitudes. The Pharisee thought he belonged there; he thought he deserved the grace of God. The tax collector approached God with a humble, repentant heart. He knew that he did not deserve God’s forgiveness, but he asked in faith knowing that God is merciful.

The tax collector was a man who was reviled not only for his vocation but also for his religious impurity. He was a sinner and as a sinner he had no right to stand in the presence of God. He was not even good enough to be in the presence of the righteous Pharisee. Jesus told them, “This man went down to his house justified rather than the other.” It was the sinner that humbled himself before God that was found to have faith. He was granted forgiveness and was justified before God. God is not fooled. He knows the heart. He knew the hearts of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Cain and Abel.

The Pharisee thought he was righteous and tried to justify himself; the tax collector knew he was a sinner and he left justified by God’s grace. The humble will be raised, and the proud will be set low.

It is a natural human response to that question of faith to think about the marks of Christianity, going through a checklist of our religious actions like worship, Bible study, and active service. Will Christ find us doing what He has called us to do? Will He find us living the life of discipleship? Will He find us glorifying God? When we are asked this question, we measure our righteousness in the only way we know how, by counting all our good works. When we can put a check next to all the marks, we can breathe a sigh of relief and rest assured that He will find faith, at least in our life.

The Pharisee’s words are incredible. He sounds a little like the psalmist, doesn’t he? “I know you will deal with the wicked, but you will pour your lovingkindness on me!” He thanks God that he is not like the sinners, even points out the tax collector praying nearby. He proclaims before God his list of good works. We are offended by this prayer, wondering how anyone could be so self-serving with his words. However, this was a typical prayer for the day as we can see in the psalms. There is a prayer of thanksgiving in the Talmud which was used by the rabbis as they entered and exited bible study. They thanked God that they were not like the people who did not study the scriptures. It was not considered self-righteous to recite this prayer; it was expected of those set apart for studying the Torah. In other words, this prayer of the Pharisee was probably an acceptable rote prayer that was regularly said by the Pharisee and his peers. This was the way things were done.

However, Jesus calls their attention to the other person at prayer in the room. The listening crowds were probably sympathetic to the Pharisee, perhaps even proud that the leaders were so righteous. They would have shaken their heads at the comparison to the tax collector who was a man reviled not only for his vocation but also for his religious impurity. He was a sinner and as a sinner he had no right to stand in the presence of God or the Pharisee who was so good. Jesus tells them, “This man went down to his house justified rather than the other.” It was the sinner that humbled himself before God that was found to have faith. It was he that was granted forgiveness and was justified before God.

We can’t say anything about the Pharisee because we all have moments like we see in Jesus’ story. How often do we beat our breast and fall before God because of our sinfulness. We might confess our sins once in a while, but do we really think that we need God’s mercy because we are sinners? Or do we compare ourselves to others thinking that we are better and deserve God’s grace?

This has been the problem with human beings from the beginning. We even see it in the story of Cain and Abel.

Martin Luther wrote about this text: “The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews has looked at this passage with pure and clear eyes when he says (Heb. 11:4): ‘By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God bearing witness concerning his gifts.’ Cain also brings an offering, and indeed first; but when he brings his offering, he is puffed up by the glory which was his by birth, and he hopes that the sacrifice will please God because it is brought by the first-born. Thus he comes without faith, without any confession of sin, without any supplication for grace, without trust in God’s mercy, without any prayer for the forgiveness of his sins. He comes in the hope that he will please God by nothing else than that he is the first-born. All the work-righteous do the same thing even now. They are concerned only with their own work, and so they hope that they will please God because of it; they do not trust in God’s mercy, and they do not hope that God will pardon their sins because of Christ. Cain, too, was such a person, for he could not have displeased God if he had had faith. Abel, on the other hand, acknowledges that he is an unworthy and poor sinner. Therefore he takes refuge in God’s mercy and believes that God is gracious and willing to show compassion. And so God, who looks at the heart, judges between the two brothers who are bringing their offerings at the same time. He rejects Cain, not because his sacrifice was inferior (for if he had brought the shell of a nut in faith as a sacrifice, it would have been pleasing to God), but because his person was evil, without faith, and full of pride and conceit. By contrast, He has regard for Abel’s sacrifice because He is pleased with the person. Accordingly, the text distinctly adds that first He had regard for Abel and then for his sacrifice. For when a person pleases, the things he does also please, while, on the contrary, all things are displeasing if you dislike the person who does them.”

Isn’t that what we see happening in today’s Gospel lesson? The Pharisee is a man puffed up by his position, blessed by birth and by the community, honored for his work in the world. He believed in himself. He didn’t need God; he wasn’t praying. He used his time in the Temple to point out to God how great he was; he was there to show God how much better he was than the others.

George Matheson was a gifted young man. He was a preacher and theologian who lived in Scotland during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He went to the University of Glasgow and graduated first in his class. He decided to become a minister and in 1879 he earned his Doctor of Divinity from the University of Edinburgh. He did all this with a disability. He was born with poor eyesight and was almost totally blind by the time he turned twenty years old. His sisters learned Greek, Latin and Hebrew to help him with his theological studies and despite his blindness became an amazing preacher. He was able to memorize scripture and his sermons were so well presented that many people did not even realize that he was blind.

George was engaged to be married to a young lady until she discovered that he was going blind. She did not know how to deal with the life of a blind man, so she broke off the engagement. He tried to be a theologian, but his lack of eyesight made it difficult for him to do the necessary research. His colleagues found grave errors in one of his publications, so he gave up that work to return to parish ministry.

On the eve of his sister’s wedding, George was feeling abandoned. Though he was happy for his sister and wanted her to be happy, he recalled the pain he felt when his fiancé left him. He did not attend the wedding and felt utterly alone in the world. He was a blind man who did not know who would care for him once his sister had a life of her own. He did not know who would help him with his studies, with his sermons, with his ministry. On that night as he sat alone, he wrote the hymn “O Love That Will Not Let Me God.” The words of this famous hymn tell the story of a man trusting in God and recognizing His presence in difficult circumstances. It is a hymn of humility and commitment.

“O Love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be. O light that foll’west all my way, I yield my flick’ring torch to thee; My heart restores its borrowed ray, That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day May brighter, fairer be. O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, And feel the promise is not vain, That morn shall tearless be. O Cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from thee; I lay in dust life’s glory dead, And from the ground there blossoms red Life that shall endless be.” (George Matheson, 1882, public domain)

Paul wrote the his second epistle to Timothy during his second imprisonment in Rome shortly before his martyrdom. He was imprisoned several times during his missionary travels, but this was the most uncomfortable. At other times he was kept in house arrest with access to his friends. He was able to minister, preach and teach. He was comfortable. In at least one case, he was able to leave the house to visit the Christians because he’d earned the trust of his captor. But the last imprisonment in Rome was not comfortable. He was in chains, probably in a cold, damp dungeon. He had confidence in other imprisonments that he’d be proven innocent, but he had so such confidence this time. He knew his time was soon.

Today’s Epistle lesson skips a few verses. They aren’t important to the point that Paul is making; it is a list of tasks Paul wants Timothy to accomplish. However, it is interesting that in this list we see Paul addressing a difficult situation. Paul asked Timothy to hurry back to Rome to be his helper. Paul listed all those who left him alone, asking Timothy to come and to bring others who might help.

In his letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.” Taken out of context, Paul looks almost like that Pharisee in the Temple and those to whom Jesus addressed today’s parable: “certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others.” Yet, his writing was not a self-righteous attack on those who had left, for Paul confessed that it was the Lord who was his strength through the persecution. “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me for his heavenly Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Paul fought the good fight, but it was time to pass the baton to the next racer. He felt abandoned, left to face the end alone. Yet, Paul knew he had not been totally abandoned. God was with him. God gave him the strength to go from grace to grace, to preach the Word even when it was dangerous. He gave the glory to God, never taking credit for the good that he did. He knew that faith meant trusting in God, not man, so even when he felt abandoned, he was never alone.

We see in the Old Testament and Gospel lessons that God is not fooled; He sees our hearts. God called out to Cain, “You can do better.” Jesus pointed out the self-righteousness of the Pharisee. If they learned to be humble and thankful, they would experience the same regard of God as Abel and the tax collector, whatever the offering might be. “If you do well, won’t it be lifted up? If you don’t do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it.”

An old Native American Proverb reads, “There is a battle of two wolves inside us. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope humility, kindness, empathy and truth. The wolf that wins is the one you feed.” God warned Cain that there was a battle within his heart and that if he didn’t change his attitude, he would sin. He could change and please God and be blessed. The same is true for the Pharisee. The same is true for each of us.

Cain did not humble himself. Instead, he called Abel into the field and killed him. He rejected God’s warning and sin won in his heart. God knew what happened, but He asked Cain, “Where is Abel?” A humble heart would have recognized God’s test and would have confessed, but Cain continued in his arrogance and pride. “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain suffered the consequences of his sin: he was left without a means of support or a home. He could no longer farm the land and he was sent into the world as a fugitive and a wanderer. He was afraid. His pride led to anger which led to fear. He never trusted God and the evil wolf inside him won.

How do we feed the good wolf? We spend time with our Father. Devotional time is vital to feeding the faith that dwells in our hearts. I think we all can identify times in our lives when we were faithful in our devotional lives. During these times we pray regularly, are disciplined in our study practices. We manage to find the time even if we are overwhelmed by our schedule because it is a good habit we have developed. We can also identify times when we were not so faithful. We get caught up in the daily grind, think we don’t have even five minutes to give specifically to devotions. We pray on the run, eat the scriptures like we eat fast food. When we practice the daily routine of our devotional time, it is a natural extension of our being and we find our days go better. When we stop, for even a few days, it gets harder to keep up the practice and things in our life get out of control. Our devotional time, or lack of it, becomes visible to the world around us. It is when we lose that connection to our Father that we begin to think we are good enough to deserve what He has to give. The Pharisee may have thought he was more righteous than the tax collector, but the tax collector was closer to God because he recognized his own need for God’s righteousness.

Ignace Jan Paderewski, a polish pianist, once said, “When I miss a day of practice, I can always tell it. If I miss two days, the critics will pick it up. If I miss three days, the audience will notice it.” The same is true about everything we do. Though our devotional time is private, our time spent with God is obvious to the world around us. We go forth in faith, with joy and love, to do all that God would have us do. When we stop spending that time with the Lord, we lose touch with the source of our strength and faith. It does not take long before it becomes difficult for us to even find a few moments alone with God. We claim a lack of time and we try to go at it on our own. We find, all too quickly, that it is only with God’s help that our world is really under control. It is not enough to cry out to God occasionally in passing. It takes practice to develop a good pattern of time with God, but it is well worth the trouble. For our daily time with God will help us to live more closely in His heart and kingdom.

The psalm for today sounds much like the prayer of the Pharisee as he prayed for God’s help against the wicked ones. Yet, the prayers were very different. The Pharisee cried out from his self-righteousness, the psalmist for God’s righteousness. The Pharisee lifted himself above others, the psalmist lifted God above all. The Pharisee thought he deserved God’s grace; the psalmist knew that it was only by God’s grace that he could even enter His house to pray and worship. The Pharisee took refuge in his own works, the psalmist knew that the only place where we can find true refuge is in God and that those who trust in Him will be blessed.

Sin crouches at the door, but we can rule over it. God calls us out of our pride and arrogance to trust in Him, to change our ways, to humble our hearts. God will bless those who have humble faith, who trust in Him as a child trusts in a father. He is our strength; He will deliver us from evil. Everyone who humbles themselves will be raised up and God will be glorified in all that they do.

When the Son of man comes, shall He find faith on earth? He will find it in those who have humbled themselves, who have recognized their sinfulness and who have sought God’s mercy and grace. They will be justified. They will be the ones who can rest assured that they will spend eternity in heaven. It is not by our good works it is not because we can claim a list of right actions, that we can count on God’s promises. We can’t be sure we will be going to heaven because we have prayed right or worshipped right or done all the right things. Christ finds faith in the hearts of those who know that they are not worthy to receive the gifts but trust in God’s faithfulness. Those are the ones who will be justified, they are the humble ones who will be exalted.