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Lectionary Scripture – Luke 18:9-14 NRSV
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' But 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!' I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."
“But for the Grace of God”
“There, but for the grace of God, go I.” It’s a saying we often hear and may even use ourselves from time to time. Supposedly it was first said by a Church of England priest named John Bradford around 1553 when he saw a criminal led to execution in the Tower of London. Imprisoned himself at the time on trumped up charges of stirring up a mob, Bradford was eventually executed as well; a deed sanctioned by Catholic Mary Tudor. Zealous upon her assent to the throne, Queen Mary (aka Bloody Mary) sought to abolish the Church of England set up by her father, King Henry the Eighth. Called “Holy Bradford” out of respect for his deep dedication to God, Bradford had embraced the Church of England. Coupled with his popularity among the people, Bradford constituted a serious threat to Mary and her inner circle. He was a threat that had to be eliminated so Mary could restore England to Catholicism.
Humble to the end, authorities burned Bradford at the stake before a large crowd that came to witness his execution. Reportedly before executioners lit the fire, Bradford encouraged a similarly condemned prisoner to, “Be of good comfort brother, for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night.” It is also said that before Bradford died he asked for forgiveness from anyone he had wronged. He then extended forgiveness to those who had wronged him. Vilified eventually for her murderous arrogance trying to return England to Catholicism, a marble tablet monument commemorating martyrs like Bradford was erected three hundred years later in Smithfield London. Known as the time of “Marian Persecutions” the monument in Smithfield is named obviously enough as “The Marian Martyrs Monument.” There are several other such monuments in England honoring those whom Mary burned simply for being Church of England adherents.
“There, but for the grace of God, go I.” It’s something I can even imagine Mary saying, or at least thinking, on an occasion or two of the burnings she allowed. Out of arrogant self-righteousness like that of the Pharisee in the scripture above, she felt justified and acceptable before God for the actions she took. I can also imagine that she pitied most everyone she burned. She pitied them like the Pharisee pitied the tax collector for not seeing and understanding and obeying God in the manner she did. Unfortunately this strange, distorted, and dangerous thinking has but one end and Jesus makes clear what that is, i.e. such persons will not be justified but split off from God and in God’s own time they will be forcibly humbled.
Human history is replete with other examples of sanctimonious arrogance like Mary’s. Hitler and his Nazis are one example. Saddam Hussein and his followers are another. Idi Amin and his murderous band killed hundreds of thousands in Uganda. One can also add those who are religious and/or political extremists of any stripe. All are individuals who proclaim their way as the right and only way to live before God. It’s a kind of arrogance that exists not only at the national or macro level but also at the micro level such as a faith community or even a family. In Mary’s case, one might wonder that if her relationship with her father, Henry the Eighth, had been stronger and more loving, perhaps Mary herself might have been burned at the stake by some religious zealot.
For most of us, we can probably see the Pharisee’s arrogance and personal aggrandizement. He strokes his ego. He exalts himself. He anoints himself with his own brand of salvation. He makes the assumption that he and God are in good stead with each other and there’s tremendous personal satisfaction as a result. But Jesus’ take on the Pharisee is something quite different, “Not so fast,” he says, “things aren’t quite what they seem. You won’t be the one leaving the Temple justified. Instead, it will be the tax collector prostrate on the floor who is justified. See him, he’s there beating himself up for everything he is now and all that he’s been in the past.”
All the above begs a certain question, i.e. “Who of the two men would you rather spend time with and why?” For the persons who answer that they’d rather keep company with the Pharisee, they probably have certain things motivating them. My guess is that one of the motivations is this, “I would rather keep company with an educated person like the Pharisee.” Another comment might be, “The Pharisee looks successful. If I hang out with him, some of that might rub off onto me.” Others might say, “The Pharisees are part of the societal upper crust. I want to be part of that even it means that I get but a few crumbs.” Others might be attracted to the authority the Pharisees wield, so their thinking might be something like this, “The Pharisees have power over others because of rigidly adhering to certain ways of living and being in the world. If I do as they do and live as they say I should, I too will become influential and powerful.” There are also those persons who simply need someone to look down on them condescendingly because it’s all they have ever known. Such individuals lack the means, perspective, energy, and perhaps the courage to tackle a more constructive and empowering life journey. They choose to live in such space because they have been beaten down all their lives by those wanting dominion over them.
Again however, Jesus makes one thing clear, i.e. justification will not happen for such persons. It will not happen for the Pharisee nor will it happen for those seduced into following the Pharisee. This is why Jesus offers such a parable to his followers and raises their awareness to its lesson which is that justification cannot be self-administered. It is alone an act of God and the experience of such forgiveness is so incredibly phenomenological and emotional that it can never be forgotten. And as Jesus points out, this will be the case for the tax collector.
So let’s further consider the tax collector. Jesus declares that this person will be forgiven, justified, and made righteous. What can be said therefore of his condition and station in life? Well most of us know that in any established society or civilization there will be taxes. Most of us know that taxes must be collected and that workers will be required to collect those taxes. Then, like today, most people experience tax collection and tax collectors as scary. To a large degree, we want their involvement in our lives to be an absolute minimum. Many of us shudder at the thought of going through a tax audit. Some people even revolt and don’t pay their taxes. I have a relative who felt that way and behaved accordingly for quite a few years. Eventually however the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) caught up with the person and back taxes had to be paid. Hardship resulted. Lastly, I’m sure there are situations that break the hearts of even tax collectors. Today those stories are probably countless such as families being foreclosed on and their homes seized because of taxes that couldn’t be paid. Families get evicted to the streets because of parents who lost jobs as a result of the follies of Wall Street and the mortgage and banking industries. If you’re a tax collector with a conscience and you’ve had to seize property and people experienced hardship as a result, my guess is that you have had occasions of feeling like the tax collector in the above scripture.
While I have never had to seize property, I can recall heartbreaking occasions of forcing others to do things they didn’t want to do. One example comes from enforcing civil commitment laws a number of years ago. The situation involved a poverty-stricken mentally ill young adult suffering schizophrenia. He would not work with me to get attention for medical issues debilitating his physical health and jeopardizing his community boarding home placement. The time finally arrived that either the young man hospitalize himself voluntarily or I would commit him involuntarily. The young man refused and told me to leave his room at the boarding house. Later that day, deputies took him into custody and transported him to the hospital. That very night, his hospital roommate attacked him and blinded him in one eye. For me, there was no forgiving the guilt I felt.
A couple of weeks later I saw the young man in the community. With a big smile he eagerly approached and said it was great to see me. In my mind, I did not deserve the friendliness and I felt my guilt all over again as he showed me the injury to his eye. “Why are you not cursing me,” I thought, “why are you not angry with me?” In time I realized the young man did not hold me responsible for his misfortune. Yet for me, I would always feel responsible and always feel regret for what happened. Perhaps however in the young man’s demeanor, there was something I needed to consider – something which said that even God forgave me when I could not forgive myself.
This week at a community appreciation luncheon for local faith leaders, one of our number reminded us of the importance that people of faith hold for the community in these hard and difficult times. She challenged us to see that our only reason for existing is to care for the poor and if that’s not happening then there is really no reason for our existence. She then issued a call to care less about our churches and public images and to do more in terms of keeping staff on board and keeping staff resourced for their jobs. This is not for our benefit, she said, but for the benefit of the burgeoning numbers of the poor who we must be care for. They are our responsibility now because of the sanctimonious self-serving arrogance and greed that brought on their plight. Whatever may or may not have been our collusion in this state of affairs, our collective guilt must drive us to the altar of their care. There, like the tax collector, we dare not look up nor dare we declare ourselves justified. Only when God has declared our task done, when poverty and injustice and war have been eradicated along with the evil that begets them, then will God justify us. And perhaps something like a blinded eye or a martyrs’ monument will remain behind to remind us forever of our culpability so in the Temple of our souls we will pray unceasingly for the mercies we so desperately need.
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