A Sermon for the Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost
(Good Samaritan, Sauk Centre, 11:00 am service)
The Rev. Pat Gillespie

Jeremiah 14:1-10,19-22
Psalm 84
2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18
Luke 18:9-14

The Gospel according to Luke: Jesus 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."

Neither one.

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." If we define ourselves by judging the sin of others and hide our sins behind theirs, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

The picture Jesus paints is familiar because we continue today, like the pharisee in the temple, to put others down as a way of making ourselves look good. If we shine the light on someone else's problem, we hope ours stay hidden in the dark. And the sins grow there, as Jesus reminds us elsewhere, from tiny specks to blinding logs. They trip us up on our journey home to God.

Jesus paints picture of self-righteous judgmentalism. I don't like that pharisee. So I'm being judgmental about judgmentalism. We fear something in ourselves, so we search it out in others. A good psychologist, or a wise old women, can tell you that those things you find most upsetting in others are often the truths you fear most about yourself. It's there like a shadow. I'm judgmental about judgmentalism. See the shadow?

What we fear and deny about ourselves inside shows up in that which we most want to condemn: Hear the pharisee: "I give my 10% and secretly I think about money all the time; but I'm glad I'm not like that tax collector. Our faith feels fragile inside, so we set out hunting heretics. Our marriage is a bit shaky, so we obsess about our president's intrigues. Our culture raises hard questions about sexuality, so we crucify gay college students on fenceposts in Wyoming.

We don't want to look in the mirror, it's easier to look at the tax collectors & gays, or the fundamentalists & politicians, and give thanks that we are not like "them."

Jesus tells us that it is the one who sees his or her own sin who goes home justified, who is "home free" and made right with God. The one pointing the finger is only right with himself or herself -- and that is self deception, empty of the truth. Jesus is asking us to take a long hard look in the mirror. Rather than looking at others to decide for ourselves who we are not, we are to look at OURSELVES to find out who we are.

That's true humility. That's what Jesus is talking about. "Humility": You know the root word means "earthy, grounded." Solidly grounded, connected to the earth, not climbing on the backs of others, the humble person doesn't need to put anyone down to look good before God. And God reaches down and lifts them up -- justifies them.

Humility. It doesn't mean groveling. It means standing securely where you are. It means knowing the truth about yourself -- the truth about your sins AND about your gifts -- and about who you really are. Being humble, accepting the whole truth about yourself, means not putting yourself and your gifts down either: Humility might then include celebration, even pride. It means facing the truth about yourself -- the good and the bad --and walking with integrity. Today's psalm tells us:

But facing the truth and walking in integrity is hard work. It's easier to be a pharisee -- to know all the rules and to use them to make judgments about others. Facing ourselves with humility is hard.
Trust in God, not in ourselves, today's readings remind us. We don't have to do it ourselves. Yet God sends us into the world to do the work of love and forgiveness, but God is in the driver's seat. We don't need to be sidetracked by passing judgment on other people's journeys. Let us be humble enough to trust God at the scary turns in the road and leave judgment in God's hands. It's like that that old bus jingle: "Go greyhound, and leave the driving to us." God's driving. Relax.

If we live in true humility we don't have to do it all or understand it all. God is with us and willing to help. If we leave God's work to God -- and the judgment is God's work -- then God strengthens us "like a mighty warrior" so we are able to give help, to do what God has told us to do, to love as God loves us. Then the mirror into which we look to know ourselves is not a reflection of how we differ from our naughty neighbor, but a reflection of ourselves and our neighbors as images of Christ.

So we've got a variation on the greyhound theme, as we travel with our neighbors through life toward home: "Go love them, and leave the judging to Christ." Then we are home free.

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