We Are Beloved
Today’s gospel seems pretty straightforward.
There’s only 2 people in Jesus’ parable.
One is a Pharisee—a devout Jew, who has dedicated his life to following Torah—God’s Law.
The other is a tax collector—a Roman collaborator—a traitor who cooperates in the oppression of his own people.
In Jesus’ first-century context, there are fewer clearcut examples of good guy versus bad guy.
Pharisees, if not loved, they were at least respected.
Tax collectors were universally hated.
But, in a twist from the audience’s expectation, the bad guy comes out looking better than the good guy.
How does that happen?
The simplest explanation is that being judgmental casts us in a bad light.
It’s not that the Pharisee is wrong.
He is a righteous man.
He does the things he is supposed to.
He follows the law.
He fasts.
He tithes.
But he also judges.
And judgment is reserved for God.
So, in judging the tax collector, he assumes the role of God and that hubris offsets his righteousness.
It prevents him from being in right relationship with God.
The tax collector, in contrast, is humble before God.
He acknowledges his sinfulness and asks for mercy.
And, in so doing, he returns home in right relationship with God.
So, the simplest interpretation is that we should not judge, and we should be humble.
But, if we’ve learned anything about parables, it‘s that simple interpretations are rarely the only ones.
If the only message we take away from the parable is that we shouldn’t judge and we should be humble before God, we are prone falling into the same trap as the Pharisee.
If we hear the parable and say, “Thank God, I’m not judgmental like that Pharisee”—guess what?
We’re like that Pharisee.
If we mentally tick off all the wonderful things that we do that make us better than others—we’re like that Pharisee.
You see, if we take the lesson that we’re not to judge others to heart—that the responsibility for judgment rests solely with God—then we can’t say to ourselves, “Thank God I’m not like that Pharisee” because as soon as we do, guess what?
We’re just like the Pharisee.
There is also a subliminal message in the Pharisee’s dialog that is important for us to acknowledge.
The Pharisee talks about fasting and tithing.
He implies that our right relationship with God depends on what we do.
To be sure, fasting and tithing are good.
They are things that we should be doing.
But being in right relationship with God—our redemption and our reconciliation—depends solely on God’s grace.
Jesus did not die in order for us to be loved by God.
Jesus died BECAUSE we are loved by God.
And we are not loved for WHAT we do.
We are loved because of WHO WE ARE.
We are beloved children of God.
Children who God calls by name.
And children who God claims as God’s own.
The other problem in the Pharisee’s dialog is that he sets himself apart from the tax collector.
When we set ourselves apart—when we compare ourselves to others—our value becomes relative.
Think of all the ways we do this on a day-to-day basis.
I go to church every week.
I volunteer two days a week at the food pantry.
I went to the No Kings demonstration.
I support marriage equality.
I donate to Lutheran Disaster Relief.
Those statements all sound simple.
But whether we say it out loud or just think it, there is an implied comparison.
I go to church and he doesn’t.
I volunteer and she doesn’t.
I donate and they don’t.
And that comparison is a trap.
You see, someone can always do more or give more.
When our value is relative, we can always be outdone.
But because God’s love for us is unconditional and infinite—in God’s eyes—our value is absolute.
We are beloved—full stop.
No comparison is necessary—or even possible.
The final point about today’s parable is that the Pharisee leaves the story the same as he enters it.
He was righteous and law-abiding going in.
And he was righteous and law-abiding going out.
But Jesus said when he went home, he was not right with God.
The tax collector, though—the tax collector is changed.
He came in a sinner.
He humbled himself before God and asked for mercy.
And, in so doing, Jesus says that he is raised up—he is exalted.
The tax collector came in as a sinner, and he went home right with God.
That is a life-changing transformation.
We talk a lot about the transformational power of faith—the ability for us to be changed by our relationship with God.
When we are in right relationship with God, our actions in the world are BECAUSE we are recipients of God’s unconditional love.
We react in gratitude.
We love because we are loved.
When we are not in right relationship with God, our actions in the world are FOR God’s love.
We are trying to earn something that is already ours.
We are already beloved.
If we act in anticipation of reward, our hearts are not open to transformation.
When we act out of love—the love that we first received from God—then, we will find ourselves changed.
We will know what it means to be blessed to be a blessing.
So, what does this all mean in relation to Reformation Sunday and our welcoming a new member into this congregation?
How this applies to the Reformation is fairly simple.
One of the issues Martin Luther raised in the 95 Theses was the sale of indulgences.
An indulgence was a grant that people could purchase to offset their sins or the sin of a family member.
The church was telling people that there was something they could DO to become right with God.
If you really want to force the metaphor, the pope was like the Pharisee.
The pope said, “if you buy this indulgence, you will be right with God”—similar to the Pharisee thinking that his fasting and his tithing could do that.
Martin Luther was saying, “no, we need to be like the tax collector—humble before God and asking for mercy”
We receive mercy, not because of anything WE can do, but because of who God is.
And because we are beloved.
Today, we welcome James and Fernando as members of this congregation.
The idea of membership may seem counter to the point of the parable.
Because, by making someone a member, we are setting them apart, right?
We are saying that they are a member and other people are not.
I confess, until I was writing this sermon, I thought about it that way.
But that is not how we should think about membership.
Membership is not about setting apart.
Membership is about welcoming in.
It is not about singling out.
It is about including in the whole.
By becoming members, we are saying James and Fernando are parts of this Body of Christ.
With all their gifts—and their imperfections.
We are saying we recognize their gifts—and their imperfections.
As we ask them to recognize ours.
And in that recognition, we acknowledge the image of God in one another.
We say to one another, “your value is absolute—no more or less than anyone else’s”.
We are children of God—beloved by our creator—warts and all.
God calls us each by name and claims us for God’s own.
And isn’t that just a miracle?
We are beloved.
And we are forgiven.
Thanks be to God!
May this contemplation on God’s word keep our hearts and minds on Christ Jesus. Amen.