SCRIPTURE: Luke 18:9-14
TEXT: 13But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ THEME: Close your eyes, fold your hands and bow your head. INTRODUCTION At Preschool Chapel time, when we pray, I ask the children to close their Eyes, fold their hands and bow their heads. We close our eyes, so we don’t get distracted by what other people are doing. We fold our hands as a physical way to center ourselves so we can center ourselves with God. Then we bow our heads as a way for us to be humble before God. SCRIPTURE Today’s story from the Gospel of Luke is about two people who have gone to the Temple in Jerusalem to be right with God. One of them was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. Pharisees were known for how seriously they took their belief in God and practiced it following what the Commandments of God require us to do, Tax Collectors are also known, but not for their practices of faith. Instead, they are known for taking away our money to give it to the Roman Empire oppressors. They are members of our heritage who were betraying us to our enemy, by taxing what we have to live on, to support the Roman Empire and then by keeping a portion for themselves. They seem to get richer while the rest of us have gotten poorer. At the temple, these two people have come to seek God and to make things right in their relationship with God. But the Pharisee did not close his eyes and got distracted by all of the other people who have come to the temple to pray. His prayer takes a turn as he begins to compare himself to those who were there: thieves, rogues, adulterers, and a tax collector, thanking God that he was not like them. This is where, the folding of his hands to center himself would have helped, so that he could be more reflective about his life and his relationship with God. Fasting is a good discipline, for allowing ourselves to be tender to God, transferring our desire to eat with a desire for God, not just as something to do for God to appreciate us. Giving a tenth of our income is a noble discipline, but it means nothing if it is not done as an act of worship that brings gratitude into our heart for what God is doing in our lives. A tithe helps us to be a steward of God’s gifts in our lives, to be generous towards others and to depend upon a loving God to provide what we need, it is not a paid admission. He did not bow his head before God but saw himself as one who had done all of the right things and was in no need of any kind of change, improvement or transformation in his relationship with God. And left his temple experience unchanged. While the Tax Collector, placing himself in the Temple of God, could not even look towards heaven, He beats his breast, feeling his humanity and the pain that he had inflicted upon others. He considered his relationship with God and felt a chasm, so wide and unbreachable that all he could do was to cry out for mercy. God who listens to our prayers, who is loving and merciful, answers with what we pray for according to what is best for us. In Jesus, we see God not pulling away from sinners, but moving towards them and including them in the fellowship at his table. APPLICATION The humble tax collector is a justified citizen of the community of God’s people. This gives us a glimpse of what the People of God here and in heaven might look like. A whole bunch of people seeking God, in process, some self-righteous, others contending with deep seated sin, milling around in the community of God, finding lots of love and mercy. How are the People of God Jesus is creating, though love and mercy, living into rich relationships? This passage gives us a bird’s eye view of the temple in Jerusalem. It is almost like a “Where’s Waldo?” picture with square concentric circles, filled with a crowd of people, each doing their own thing, seeking justification in their relationship with God. In the midst of all of the people, are two diametrically opposite characters that God sees, the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Almost to say that the diversity of the people found in the Kingdom of God is wide and varied. From proud and standing, to whimpering and sorrowful. Multi-cultural ancestry. Multi linguistic, Broad theological perspectives. All being informed by with new revelations of God, changing attitudes and being transformed by God’s ways. Loved and cared for by God. Less uniformed than the Pharisee may like but filled with compassion for a tax collector to feel loved and accepted on a journey towards God. We are all welcomed as good in the community of God’s people. This is how God sees us, in relationship with God’s self and unfolding relationships with each other. CONCLUSION When my family sits down to have supper, we say a prayer before we eat that starts out like this: Dear Jesus, Thank you for this day And thank you for this food. Amen. Sometimes I say it, sometimes my grandson says it, sometimes my other grandson says it, sometimes my son says it. But something always gets added to that prayer. A good day, exciting time, Fun things. And often times, concerns get added; For those who are sick, those who have pain, people we miss, even our dogs. Anyone can add to the prayer, it doesn’t matter who is praying. God hears everything. God is listening to everyone. God likes to hear what we are Thankful for, as well as what is going on in our lives. Close our eyes, fold our hands and bow our heads.
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