"Dare to be a Sinner"
A sermon preached on Reformation Sunday after Pentecost, Octber 28 at Edgemont Chrsitian Church (Disciples of Christ), by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. The sermon is based on Luke 18:9-14.
The famous actor, Gregory Peck was once standing in line with a friend waiting for a table in a crowded Los Angeles restaurant. They had been waiting for quite some time, the diners seemed to be taking their time eating and new tables were not opening up very fast. They weren’t even that close to the front of the line. Peck’s friend became impatient and he said to Gregory Peck; "Why don’t you tell the maitre d’ who you are?" Gregory Peck responded with great wisdom; "No," he said, "if you have to tell them who you are, then you aren’t."
That’s the lesson that the Pharisee in our Gospel Lesson needed to learn. His prayer, if it can be called that, was largely an advertisement for himself. He was selling himself to God. In the original Greek manuscripts it actually says; that "he stood and prayed to himself." That’s a very apt description, isn’t it? "He stood and prayed to himself." Now, the tax collector, on the other hand, didn’t have to tell God who he was. He knew who he was and he knew that God knew who he was. In fact, his prayer was not an exercise in self-promotion, but a confession and a plea for mercy. He was not selling himself, but rather opening himself. And Jesus said that it was this man who went home justified, which is to say to be declared not guilty. It literally means to be declared right!
But it has been said that in this parable it is often difficult to tell "the good guy" from "the bad guy." Some might argue that the Pharisee was "the good guy." I mean, after all, he would have been devoted to keeping the Law of Moses. He would have been very religious. And the tax collector, on the other hand, could be seen as "the bad guy." I mean, after all, tax collectors were considered crooks - collecting money for the Romans and keeping what they could for themselves. Oftentimes, making their profit on over taxing the poor Jewish citizens. And yet, in this parable, as Jesus so often does, he turns cultural presumptions around. He puts a twist in the plot. And by the time the credits roll, the Pharisee is labeled as "the bad guy," and the tax collector is "the good guy" – the one who is justified in the sight of God!
Or is it as simple as that? This short parable confronts us with our own attitudes in worship and prayer, and dares us to be sinners, if you will. Confession is a necessary activity in honest worship and prayer. Confession is a necessary activity in the life of any Christian. Because, after all, we are all sinners, as Paul reminds us and as we all know first hand.
In that ancient paradigm for worship found in the book of Isaiah, we see the prophet Isaiah and his proper response to a vision of God’s holy grandeur. You remember what Isaiah said; "Woe is me! I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips and I live in the midst of an unclean people." You see, friends, worship includes not only praise, but also confession and, more importantly, repentance. Encountering God face-to-face, coming into the very real presence of the Holy, approaching God’s throne in and through worship and prayer, makes it difficult not to come face-to-face with our own selves. You see, in focusing on God we must also focus on ourselves. You remember what I said two weeks ago; "Worship gives us an understanding of who God is and who we are." Evelyn Underhill once said; "as we gaze upon our sinfulness, we see God." And that’s the truth of repentance and humility. That is the blessing of repentance and humility. That we can stand before the mirror of the Eternal and know the Truth – the truth that sets us free. To come before the holiness of God is to be reminded of our unholiness! Now, I know what you might be thinking, "Chris, this sounds an awful lot like a message for Lent!" But the fact is, oftentimes, we leave all of our confessing and self-reflection or self-examination to the somber and dismal season of Lent. During Lent we live as the tax collector in the parable from our Gospel Lesson this morning. But for the rest of the year we live in self-righteousness - we live as the Pharisee.
I believe Reformation isn’t just a reminder of a past event, but rather of our need to experience reform today, as the people of God. To experience reformation today, both individually and collectively. One of the great themes of Reformation Sunday is: "Reformed! Yet, always reforming."
In the familiar children’s story Snow White, we are told that each day the queen would stand before her magical reflecting glass and pose the question; "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?" And each day without hesitation the mirror would reply; "You are the fairest in the land." Then the queen would happily go about her business. But there came a day when the queen, once again, stood before her mirror and asked; "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?" And the magical mirror, which could only reflect the truth, answered; "Snow White is the fairest of them all." The queen flew into a rage, unable to bear this truth and… well, you know the rest of the story.
What do you see when you look into the mirror? Do you see the image you expect to see or want to see? Do you perhaps see a younger self, free of cares and wrinkles and puffy eyes? Would you honestly want to have a magical mirror, which would always tell you the truth about yourself? Now, I am not talking about a mirror that tells you when you've put on a few extra pounds, or a tells you when you have a new grey hair or a new wrinkle. Probably most of us would want such a mirror. I am talking about a mirror that tells the truth about your spiritual self. Would you dare to look into such a mirror?
To gaze into the mirror of the Eternal requires courage, but most of all it requires the grace of repentance and humility. How much of the truth are we willing to hear? How much of God’s truth are we willing to see? Our answer is directly proportional to our willing to gaze at our own sinfulness. To gaze into the mirror of the Eternal means looking into God’s eyes and seeing the truth of who we really are. It means that we are willing to ask God for forgiveness, to be prepared to let God change our image so that it conforms more closely to the image God intended is
But there’s something about confession that makes us uncomfortable. Perhaps, it is because we don’t want to admit our sins or our failures. We tend to be perfectly willing to talk about the pain inflicted upon us, but we are less than enthusiastic when it comes to talking about the pain we have inflicted. The great fault of the Pharisee’s prayer is not just his self-righteousness but the separation his prayer espouses not only with others, but also with God. C. S. Lewis once wrote; "A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down you can’t see above you."
Amber sent me a rather amusing story several weeks back about a woman named Mildred. Mildred was the church gossiper – she was self-righteous, always ready to point out the faults and sins of others without ever pointing the finger at herself. She had driven many members away and no one ever had the courage to stand up to her, until one day. She made a mistake by accusing George, a new member of being an alcoholic after seeing his pickup truck parked in front of the town’s only bar one evening. George, a man of few words just smiled at her for a few moments and then walked away. He didn’t explain, defend, or deny – he said nothing. Later that evening, George, knowing that everyone in the church would look to see where his pickup was parked, quietly drove his pickup in front of Mildred’s house and left it there all night. Needless to say, Mildred stopped her gossiping.
Will Willimon says that in confession we are forced into honesty about our sin. Many of us come dressed in our Sunday best, all washed and scrubbed, smiling and friendly, but we are not as pure as we like to think we are. We are to admit it here, right now, at the very beginning, our hymns, our praying, our preaching, are not some escape from reality. Confession keeps us tied to the truthful reality about our life together. You’re not going to believe this, but some people say that the Church is full of hypocrites. Well, confession allows us to admit that we are a gathering of sinners in hopes of avoiding hypocrisy. Confession allows us to admit that we are sinners in need of reformation – in need of reform. And we can’t experience reformation – we can’t experience this reform without first confession.
The Prayer of Confession is a willingness to know, to lay oneself open before God, to come "Just as I am, without one plea," as the old hymn affirms. So we pray each week; "Forgive us our trespasses."
The tax collector’s prayer is a plea for mercy: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." He comes as someone inferior to someone who is superior. There is humility to his words as he comes before a Holy God with his plea for mercy and forgiveness. And to make a "plea" means that there is no obligation on the part of the one being asked to grant mercy. He is saying; "Lord, I know that I don’t deserve it. I know that I am not worthy of it. But, please, I need your mercy. I need your forgiveness."
But, keep in mind, confession isn’t for the purpose of beating us into a sense of guilt. We confess our sins in the security that we are loved and that God will not let us go. Confession of sin is never an end in itself. We confess our sin in order to confront our guilt and be met by a loving and compassionate, merciful and forgiving God. In the words of Robert Benson; "Confession is not only about the stupid stuff we did yesterday, it is also about the magnificent stuff that God did while we were yet sinners."
I want to close with an illustration I came across this past week from the movie, Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Brian and his mother are walking through town when they encounter a beggar. "Alms for an ex-leper. Alms for an ex-leper, please;" said the beggar to Brian and his mother. Brian said; "What do you mean by ex-leper?" The ex-leper said; "Well, Jesus cured me; but now I have a hard time making a living, all I’ve ever known how to do is beg." Brain said; "Well, why don’t you just go back and ask Jesus to make you a leper again?" The ex-leper said; "Now, why would I want to do that; but maybe I can ask him to just make me a leper during working hours." How often we forget that confession brings about change – hence the word "repentance," which literally means "to turn." Confession brings about reformation! A change that this ex-leper was not willing to make, and a change that many Christians are not willing to make either. Sadly, there are many Christians today like the Pharisee, but we need to "dare to be sinners," dare to be like the tax collector. My friends, let us celebrate Reformation Sunday the right way, by allowing God to truly reform us to be a people he is calling us to be! And what better place to begin this reformation, then at the Table of the Lord!
But it has been said that in this parable it is often difficult to tell "the good guy" from "the bad guy." Some might argue that the Pharisee was "the good guy." I mean, after all, he would have been devoted to keeping the Law of Moses. He would have been very religious. And the tax collector, on the other hand, could be seen as "the bad guy." I mean, after all, tax collectors were considered crooks - collecting money for the Romans and keeping what they could for themselves. Oftentimes, making their profit on over taxing the poor Jewish citizens. And yet, in this parable, as Jesus so often does, he turns cultural presumptions around. He puts a twist in the plot. And by the time the credits roll, the Pharisee is labeled as "the bad guy," and the tax collector is "the good guy" – the one who is justified in the sight of God!
Or is it as simple as that? This short parable confronts us with our own attitudes in worship and prayer, and dares us to be sinners, if you will. Confession is a necessary activity in honest worship and prayer. Confession is a necessary activity in the life of any Christian. Because, after all, we are all sinners, as Paul reminds us and as we all know first hand.
In that ancient paradigm for worship found in the book of Isaiah, we see the prophet Isaiah and his proper response to a vision of God’s holy grandeur. You remember what Isaiah said; "Woe is me! I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips and I live in the midst of an unclean people." You see, friends, worship includes not only praise, but also confession and, more importantly, repentance. Encountering God face-to-face, coming into the very real presence of the Holy, approaching God’s throne in and through worship and prayer, makes it difficult not to come face-to-face with our own selves. You see, in focusing on God we must also focus on ourselves. You remember what I said two weeks ago; "Worship gives us an understanding of who God is and who we are." Evelyn Underhill once said; "as we gaze upon our sinfulness, we see God." And that’s the truth of repentance and humility. That is the blessing of repentance and humility. That we can stand before the mirror of the Eternal and know the Truth – the truth that sets us free. To come before the holiness of God is to be reminded of our unholiness! Now, I know what you might be thinking, "Chris, this sounds an awful lot like a message for Lent!" But the fact is, oftentimes, we leave all of our confessing and self-reflection or self-examination to the somber and dismal season of Lent. During Lent we live as the tax collector in the parable from our Gospel Lesson this morning. But for the rest of the year we live in self-righteousness - we live as the Pharisee.
I believe Reformation isn’t just a reminder of a past event, but rather of our need to experience reform today, as the people of God. To experience reformation today, both individually and collectively. One of the great themes of Reformation Sunday is: "Reformed! Yet, always reforming."
In the familiar children’s story Snow White, we are told that each day the queen would stand before her magical reflecting glass and pose the question; "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?" And each day without hesitation the mirror would reply; "You are the fairest in the land." Then the queen would happily go about her business. But there came a day when the queen, once again, stood before her mirror and asked; "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?" And the magical mirror, which could only reflect the truth, answered; "Snow White is the fairest of them all." The queen flew into a rage, unable to bear this truth and… well, you know the rest of the story.
What do you see when you look into the mirror? Do you see the image you expect to see or want to see? Do you perhaps see a younger self, free of cares and wrinkles and puffy eyes? Would you honestly want to have a magical mirror, which would always tell you the truth about yourself? Now, I am not talking about a mirror that tells you when you've put on a few extra pounds, or a tells you when you have a new grey hair or a new wrinkle. Probably most of us would want such a mirror. I am talking about a mirror that tells the truth about your spiritual self. Would you dare to look into such a mirror?
To gaze into the mirror of the Eternal requires courage, but most of all it requires the grace of repentance and humility. How much of the truth are we willing to hear? How much of God’s truth are we willing to see? Our answer is directly proportional to our willing to gaze at our own sinfulness. To gaze into the mirror of the Eternal means looking into God’s eyes and seeing the truth of who we really are. It means that we are willing to ask God for forgiveness, to be prepared to let God change our image so that it conforms more closely to the image God intended is
But there’s something about confession that makes us uncomfortable. Perhaps, it is because we don’t want to admit our sins or our failures. We tend to be perfectly willing to talk about the pain inflicted upon us, but we are less than enthusiastic when it comes to talking about the pain we have inflicted. The great fault of the Pharisee’s prayer is not just his self-righteousness but the separation his prayer espouses not only with others, but also with God. C. S. Lewis once wrote; "A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down you can’t see above you."
Amber sent me a rather amusing story several weeks back about a woman named Mildred. Mildred was the church gossiper – she was self-righteous, always ready to point out the faults and sins of others without ever pointing the finger at herself. She had driven many members away and no one ever had the courage to stand up to her, until one day. She made a mistake by accusing George, a new member of being an alcoholic after seeing his pickup truck parked in front of the town’s only bar one evening. George, a man of few words just smiled at her for a few moments and then walked away. He didn’t explain, defend, or deny – he said nothing. Later that evening, George, knowing that everyone in the church would look to see where his pickup was parked, quietly drove his pickup in front of Mildred’s house and left it there all night. Needless to say, Mildred stopped her gossiping.
Will Willimon says that in confession we are forced into honesty about our sin. Many of us come dressed in our Sunday best, all washed and scrubbed, smiling and friendly, but we are not as pure as we like to think we are. We are to admit it here, right now, at the very beginning, our hymns, our praying, our preaching, are not some escape from reality. Confession keeps us tied to the truthful reality about our life together. You’re not going to believe this, but some people say that the Church is full of hypocrites. Well, confession allows us to admit that we are a gathering of sinners in hopes of avoiding hypocrisy. Confession allows us to admit that we are sinners in need of reformation – in need of reform. And we can’t experience reformation – we can’t experience this reform without first confession.
The Prayer of Confession is a willingness to know, to lay oneself open before God, to come "Just as I am, without one plea," as the old hymn affirms. So we pray each week; "Forgive us our trespasses."
The tax collector’s prayer is a plea for mercy: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." He comes as someone inferior to someone who is superior. There is humility to his words as he comes before a Holy God with his plea for mercy and forgiveness. And to make a "plea" means that there is no obligation on the part of the one being asked to grant mercy. He is saying; "Lord, I know that I don’t deserve it. I know that I am not worthy of it. But, please, I need your mercy. I need your forgiveness."
But, keep in mind, confession isn’t for the purpose of beating us into a sense of guilt. We confess our sins in the security that we are loved and that God will not let us go. Confession of sin is never an end in itself. We confess our sin in order to confront our guilt and be met by a loving and compassionate, merciful and forgiving God. In the words of Robert Benson; "Confession is not only about the stupid stuff we did yesterday, it is also about the magnificent stuff that God did while we were yet sinners."
I want to close with an illustration I came across this past week from the movie, Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Brian and his mother are walking through town when they encounter a beggar. "Alms for an ex-leper. Alms for an ex-leper, please;" said the beggar to Brian and his mother. Brian said; "What do you mean by ex-leper?" The ex-leper said; "Well, Jesus cured me; but now I have a hard time making a living, all I’ve ever known how to do is beg." Brain said; "Well, why don’t you just go back and ask Jesus to make you a leper again?" The ex-leper said; "Now, why would I want to do that; but maybe I can ask him to just make me a leper during working hours." How often we forget that confession brings about change – hence the word "repentance," which literally means "to turn." Confession brings about reformation! A change that this ex-leper was not willing to make, and a change that many Christians are not willing to make either. Sadly, there are many Christians today like the Pharisee, but we need to "dare to be sinners," dare to be like the tax collector. My friends, let us celebrate Reformation Sunday the right way, by allowing God to truly reform us to be a people he is calling us to be! And what better place to begin this reformation, then at the Table of the Lord!
posted by Pastor Christopher @ 11:55 AM
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