Thank God I’m Not…
Yeshua: The Jesus We Never Knew - Part 3
Sunday, January 23, 2022
Luke 18:9-14
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.
Luke 18:11
Listen to this week’s sermon here:
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Jesus’ parables often invite us to identify with the characters in the story, but if we’re honest, our tendency is only to identify with the one we think is the best. Last week, for example, we saw how natural it was for us to identify with the “Good Samaritan”, not with the priest or the Levite, and definitely not with the dying man on the side of the road dependent on a potential enemy for help.
This week we find ourselves in a similar situation. We want to see ourselves as the humble tax collector crying out to God for mercy instead of what appears to be a self-righteous Pharisee. Only this time the parable traps us. The moment we say to ourselves, “Thank God I’m not like that Pharisee,” we have become the very person we didn’t want to be, comparing our own righteousness to someone else who makes us feel better about ourselves.
Perhaps instead of jumping to a conclusion about who we want to be like, and thereby getting caught in the humility trap by becoming proud of our humility, we might take some time to look in a mirror and honestly reflect on where we stand with God.
As you look in the mirror, invite the Holy Spirit to reflect back the person God sees. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. In this moment it’s just you and God.
Who do you see in the mirror?
Who does God see?
Remember, it is not what we do that makes us right with God. We don’t have to prove ourselves worthy of God’s love because quite honestly, we’re not. That’s precisely the point of love.
God’s mercy is undeserved.
Perhaps we might learn to pray like the tax collector, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner”, while at the same time learning to come before the Lord with the confidence of the Pharisee, knowing our worth, only not because of our works, but because of God’s unconditional love for us.