Looking in the Mirror

Luke 18:9-14New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray,one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Last Sunday I wasn’t focused.  I was distracted.  And I failed to make God and the Holy Spirit a part of my worship.  I felt this way immediately following the service last Sunday but when I turned the page to start preparing for this morning, I couldn’t help but to still feel this way.  I couldn’t help but to place myself within the category of the pharisee described in the scripture I just read to you.  (**Re-read like a snob for the Pharisee and with passion and conviction for the tax collector).  I was the pharisee.  I was confident in my own righteousness which means I elevated myself above others.  I don’t think this was intentional on my part.  Rather, it was a byproduct of not being dependent on God.  My lack of focus and my inability to keep from being distracted was because I placed my confidence in me rather than God.  God and how we worship Him is bigger than any one of us.  When our faith becomes self-centered it fails.  God does not fail.  Instead, we have failed him.  I believe that this is the point Jesus is making in our scripture for this morning.

The pharisee appeared to be faithful because he showed up to pray three times a day at the Temple.  He gave his tithe and fasted twice a week.  Instead of using this faith of his to bring himself closer to God in worship, he used it to separate himself from the meek and lowly.  Instead of nurturing the sinner and having compassion on them, the pharisee thanked God he was not “like other people.”  In the parable Jesus shared, the pharisee did not go to offer worship to God.  Instead, he went to remind God how good he was.  I wonder if this was part of my distraction last week?  Was I here to remind God and myself of just how pious I was?  Again, I don’t believe it was intentional but a byproduct of God not being the center of my focus and intentions.  I could rattle off any number of good excuses as to why this happened but instead I should look in the mirror, pray sincerely for forgiveness and do better next time.  

Later in that same day, I was humbled.  And looking back on last Sunday, I can see God’s hand at work.  He was still focused on me.  And despite my effort to lose focus on God, He was still there for me.  Griffin enjoys going to the nursing home with me to converse with the residents and this is when I began to see God’s hand at work.  I do my best to let Griffin know that there may be some confusion on the part of those whom we visit with and that they may ask him the same set of questions a few times.  As we sat in the truck we went through the same set of guidelines that we typically do before we go into the nursing home and I am so proud of how he handled himself.  He was asked the same set of questions a few times by one lady in particular and handled himself with such patience and class.  I was so proud in that moment.  And as I look back on it, I wonder if this is how God feels when we place others above ourselves?  Does God feel like I felt when we choose to focus on God and others above all else?

I wonder if part of my distraction was the fact that I made the comment to Cheyanne earlier in the week that it was the first Sunday I was going to be able to watch my complimentary Sunday NFL ticket.... Honestly, I was looking forward to it a lot because I have been busy the past 5 Sundays and was unable to watch so last Sunday was the day I was finally going to be able to enjoy watching some football.  Yeah, God had other plans.  As Cheyanne and I were coming home that afternoon from painting the last couple driveway letters, my excitement couldn’t help but to continue to build to watch the NFL ticket.  Cheyanne asked me to drive by one of our friends’ new house who had happened to be building a fence in their backyard that day.  I knew that this fence was being built and had done my best to avoid asking said person if they needed help with the fence (NFL Sunday ticket, remember?).  Since I avoided offering my assistance, I knew that he had garnered other help.  We just went by to check the status of how the fence was going.  Then it happened.  As we drove by and slowed down to check the progress there he was.... By himself.... Running a two-person auger drilling holes in the ground.  And in the moments before he saw me sitting there, my mind was racing.  It was the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other arguing about what to do... The angel said, “Look at him... he is running that auger by himself and he doesn’t have very many of the holes dug.... Poor guy.”  And the devil on my shoulder said, “But we have Sunday NFL ticket, the Chiefs are playing and the kids will be napping... GO HOME! NOW! QUICK, BEFORE HE SEES YOU!!!”  As badly as I wanted to go home, and trust me, it was in the worst kind of way, I just couldn’t do it.  He saw us sitting there as he was man handling that auger by himself and comes over to the street to talk to us.  As he is walking over, the angel and devil and still having their conversation: “Come up with an excuse... Cheyanne needs to go grocery shopping... Um, the cars need washed, the house is on fire.... Anything!” and the angel just gives you this look like, “You know the right thing to do...”  Instead of immediately volunteering my help, I ask where the other guy was in the hopes he was out getting something and would be right back.... He wasn’t.  So instead of going home to get comfy and put my feet up in front of my UNLIMITED NFL GAMES ACCESS, we went home and put the kids down for a nap and made arrangements for Cheyanne to still go grocery shopping all the while muttering things under my breath and in my head.  I didn’t want to look in that mirror.  I didn’t want to go help dig holes and set posts.  But in that moment, God gave me a choice.

That is where I hope this message finds you this morning.  This sermon isn’t a lamentation about my poor focus last week or my bigger lamentation of still not being able to watch Sunday NFL ticket.  It is about that choice we are freely given by a God who loves and adores us.  I know my good deed of helping out my neighbor doesn’t necessarily make up for not using a time and a place of worship to properly worship and thank God for what He continues to do for me but it did offer God a chance to still work through me in two different circumstances despite my best effort to avoid it.  We are given a choice in so many moments of every single day to either be the pharisee or the tax-collector found in our parable for this morning.  But as the parable points out, it’s not just the choice, it is the intentions behind that choice.  By all accounts, the pharisee was faithful and devout to God and he wanted to make sure that God and everyone else knew it and last Sunday reminded me that I was doing the same thing.  Faith is not just worship and prayer for the sake of others seeing us do it.  It reminds me of Matthew 5:5-6 “‘And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.’”  Faith is a choice of our heart, our actions and of our words.  Be willing to look in that mirror.  We will all have days like I had last Sunday but in those moments we can either remind God of how great we are or we pray to God with passion and conviction “O God, be merciful to me -- the sinner!”