Righteous Humility - Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 23C (Luke 18)
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 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. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13 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!’14 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.”
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What
does it mean to be righteous? Does it mean that you are religiously devout and
follow all the protocols of the faith to the letter? Or does it involve humble
submission to God? These are questions that emerge from this parable. It’s one
encounter and one more parable that redefines what God is looking for from us.
The characters in the parable stand as far apart as possible in ancient
Jewish culture. The Pharisees were upstanding religious leaders; tax collectors
were not only collaborators with the Romans they often robbed from their own
people to benefit Rome and themselves. The Pharisees were respected; tax
collectors were reviled. It should be noted that both Pharisees and tax
collectors tended to be wealthy. We know where the tax collectors got their
wealth. It's less clear how a Pharisee got his wealth, though perhaps it was
inherited wealth.
Two
people from opposite ends of the social spectrum, even if not from different
economic ones, come to pray, and their attitudes to God and to each other are
worlds apart. When we read about the Pharisees as Christians we must always
acknowledge the possibility of anti-Jewish sentiment creeping in. The Gospel
writers have a tendency to portray them in a bad light, and we needn’t embrace
that sentiment. At the same time, the Pharisee in this story does exhibit the
self-righteous tendencies that can afflict many a religious person. And here is
the question for us—while we judge on the basis of outward things, God isn’t
bound by our judgments or even our criteria. That seems to be the message of
this parable.
Self-righteousness
isn’t simply a religious sentiment. It emerges in a variety of contexts when we
feel morally superior to those who do not follow our lead. We see this in our
political stylings. We see this in the myth of American exceptionalism, where
in the name of patriotism Americans (and I’m an American) feel superior to
other nations, and this can lead us to a place where we are blind to our own
faults. We believe that we can do no wrong. The Pharisee in this parable
exhibits these tendencies. He looks down the line and compares himself with the
tax collector and feels good about his superior morality and spirituality. He
can take pride in his fasting and his tithing. He’s not like those “other
people,” who are “thieves, rogues, adulterers,” and of course tax collectors.
He is righteous and he wears it on his sleeve! Does this describe you? Or me?
In
contrast to the Pharisee who is satisfied with his spiritual place, the tax
collector seems contrite. He’s self-aware. He understands that he has fallen
short of God’s best. He might even look across to the Pharisee and envy his
uprightness. He can only wish that he was in the other’s shoes, but he’s not.
He knows that despite his wealth, the people around him despise him. Not only
that, but he feels as if God has similar feelings toward him. Thus, he comes to
the altar in a spirit of repentance. He wants to change things. While God receives
the tax collector with grace and mercy, there is the expectation of change.
It is
probably helpful to take note of the encounter that will follow in Luke’s
Gospel. Jesus will encounter a tax collector, one named Zacchaeus, and
Zacchaeus gives evidence of his changed heart. In a reading that will appear a
week from now on the 24th Sunday after Pentecost in the year C,
Zacchaeus will search out Jesus and will give evidence of a changed heart
(Luke 19:1-10). Of course, that is next week’s reflection!
Before
we get to Zacchaeus, we need to address the vision of God with regard to the
“righteous” and the “humble.” The Pharisee represents self-satisfied
self-righteous moralism. He’s got the religious system down. He knows how to
play the game—something many of us have learned over time. But in his air of
superiority, he forgets who God is. The tax collector on the other hand may not
have the same theological pedigree but he seems to better understand God’s
nature.
Miguel
de la Torre reminds us as well that those who are marginalized, and this tax
collector probably made the decision to collude with the Romans because he knew
that it was one of the few ways to survive, make decisions that enable survival, not morality. We make those kinds of decisions, that may appear unrighteous,
but are the result of systems that oppress. So he writes: The salvific message
of the gospel that the publicans of the world, the pimps and prostitutes of
today, need to hear is that they are precious and are due dignity because they
are created in the very image of God. Jesus understood that part of his
liberating message was to humble the proud and uplift the lowly” [Feasting on the Gospels: Luke, 2:136]. So the message of today
isn’t really about the humble prayer of the tax collector (publican), but the
superior airs of the self-righteous religious person.
The
question becomes, how do we who are religious and hopefully seek to do what is
right, that is achieve righteousness, respond to our neighbors who find
themselves marginalized by systems beyond their control. Sometimes elections
reveal the voices of people who feel unheard, and while we may not like what we
hear, there is something important revealed by their cries. In our day there
are numerous voices that aren’t getting heard. That may have something to do
with the attack on the “elites,” and if I’m honest I live among the elites. The
reason populist demagogues get a hearing is that they tap into feelings of
abandonment on the part of those with power. So, while I may not like to admit
that I live within the world of the elites, due to education and privileges
accorded to me due to religion, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, I
can be deaf to the cries of my neighbors. The good news is that God is not deaf.
The
difference between the Pharisee and the tax collector is that the tax collector
has come to recognize his need for grace. He hasn’t let exceptionalism take
hold. He’s ready to receive God’s blessing. Are we? How is this expressed?
Could it be in the way in which we treat one another? Could it be that it starts with recognizing
our need for God? As Cynthia Hale puts it:
Admission of human weakness and failure is taboo in our culture. It is not cool to admit your mistakes or you need help. This admission gets the attention of God, though, and it is God’s attention and approval that we need and want. [Feasting on the Gospels: Luke, 2:138].
Righteousness isn’t the same as “morality.” That is, it’s
not about fulfilling our moral and religious obligations. Righteousness is
rooted in justice. It has to do not with right observance, but right relationships
that begin with God and spread outward. By recognizing this truth, we put
ourselves in a position to be justified.
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