Trusting in Mercy
“Trusting in Mercy”
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C, October 27, 2019
Joel 2:23-32 Luke 18:9-14
Pastor Andy Kennaly
Sandpoint, Idaho
In my front yard there are three tall trees in a straight row across the front of the yard, and with the strong winds we’ve been having, they’ve gotten a work out. Countless cones and smaller branches have come down, but the trees are still there, thankfully. One of them is a Ponderosa Pine, pretty big, and although it has some issues, generally it’s in good shape. It’s on east end of the line. In the middle is a Douglas Fir, and it has some branches mingling in with that Ponderosa, so they seem to help each other during storms by taking turns blocking the wind. That middle tree has good growth and is pretty big, and as a Douglass Fir it probably has a long life ahead of it. The tree on the west end is another Douglass Fir, planted at the same time as the other two trees, and while it seems like it’s a big tree too, something about it has a weaker look. It has branches, but they’re a little smaller than the other trees’. It has a trunk, but not quite as thick, and it has pitch leaking out. I thought it would be good to get it checked out.
What I was told from an experienced forester is that the pitch indicates a previous injury, likely inflicted when the tree was rather young. Growing on the curve of the driveway, it might well have gotten hit by something. It’s like a kid getting hurt, breaking a bone or straining a joint, and yet not really affected by it during youth. But when they get older, that’s when the aches and pains catch up from that previous injury. This tree is really leaking pitch. No wonder it’s unhealthy compared to the other trees!
Yet, I hadn’t noticed something else. The forester, with a discerning eye, pointed out small blotchy spots on the trunk and said that west tree probably has root rot; those blotchy patches are an indicator. The pitch is least of it’s problems. That Douglass Fir with root rot looks like a tree, acts like a tree, is good for the birds and wildlife, and on calm days it seems like its got it all together. But when the wind blows, uncertainty is in the air because not only are there inside wounds, but rotting from underneath is undermining the health and wellbeing of that tree. The tree has potential to inflict damage and pain on others in the process of root rot and decay from a festering wound. “Just in case,” the tree will likely be cut down as an effort to manage the inevitable. Hopefully the other two trees will continue to grow well together.
This morning’s passage from Luke has a somewhat similar dynamic. Things look to be a certain way, yet we realize something is wrong, but our first inclination is too limiting and what actually turns out is more involved and surprising than we would have guessed. Like those trees, this parable has something going on beneath the surface that can’t be ignored if we want to live the fullness of life freed from inner burdens, some we may not even see.
It seems like a slam dunk passage. The Pharisee has it all together, a master of following the rules and living well under God’s blessing. Yet, there’s an arrogance with him that is so strong we can’t help but think Jesus is using this devout Pharisee as an example of, actually, what not to be like. The tax collector is obviously messed up, distressed, and having a real breakdown. Yet, with this scoundrel, there’s a humility that draws us in. We don’t like the lifestyle and the ways tax collectors cheat people, but he seems so sincere that Jesus seems to be teaching us that humility is a good thing, something to look for and embody. We like the idea of being one who is justified, made right, put into proper alignment, restored to wholeness. If humility is the way to do that, let’s be humble! Trusting in Mercy to live a life of faithfulness seems like the ticket for this rather easy parable to take hold. Avoid arrogance, and it’s good to be humble.
David Lose, a Lutheran theologian, reminds us that a better word for our culture to use, rather than righteous, might be the word, “successful.” The Pharisee is successful at living according to the law, at putting his faith in action, and yet Jesus says he’s not justified. The tax collector, although very rich, “is a failure at keeping the law.[…] No one looks at him as a success and no one would call him righteous. Yet as he asks for mercy, he’s justified by God.
As David Lose says, “while righteousness is about what we accomplish, about our success, to be justified is to be called or counted righteous no matter what we have done simply because God says so. […] The Pharisee leads a blameless life and for this reason is righteous. The tax collector does not lead a blameless life but asks God for mercy, asks God to look at him and judge him not based on what he has done but instead to look at him and judge him based on who God is – compassionate, loving, and merciful.” (http://www.davidlose.net/2019/10/reformation-pen-20-c-justified/).
This is a parable that tells us to not be like the Pharisee in that arrogant way, but to be humble like the tax collector. But, if we keep it at that, we actually end up just like the Pharisee, what I would call, still stuck in our judging mind. David Lose suggests, “We might as well end up praying, ‘God, we thank you that we are not like other people: hypocrites, overly pious, self-righteous, or even like that Pharisee. We come to church each week, listen attentively to the sermon, have [given] to the Capital Campaign, and have learned that we should always be humble.” That actually puts us right back into being righteous, successful, but not justified.
David Lose says Here’s the thing: “righteousness, success, is never enough. Why? Because it’s based on our abilities and accomplishments.” That actually reinforces the arrogance, even as it tries to mask it through humility. “And here’s another thing: “we will eventually fall short. […] Righteousness and success are always measured relative to the people around us” or the self-imposed expectations we inherit from other people. Success is based on what we can achieve and is rooted in the judgment of comparison, which is never enough. There is always more that we could have done,” especially if others are depending on us; there is always “someone whose done more, or has more, or will do more. And so there’s always a sense of doubt: how do we know? How do we know when we’re good enough, rich enough, successful enough, pretty enough, [organized enough], popular enough, generous enough, have good enough grades, ‘have done enough, or are]….righteous enough?”
No wonder this passage is listed on Reformation Sunday. Works righteousness is one of the things protested against in the 1500’s by reformers like Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, who could see the corruption and self-deceiving of church leaders. Cardinals and bishops and other church leaders, for example, were some of the largest and wealthiest land holders, and in the name of God kept countless people dependent in cycles of poverty for generations. As much as a theological shift, the Reformation was about economic justice and challenging the concentration of wealth. No wonder Presbyterians are called to seek a proper stewardship and shun ostentation. Grace is the large, catch-all word in Reformation lingo. As rampant as the Protestant work ethic is, grace as a gift from God is not contingent on one’s own ability or success.
All this leads us to a secret, and David Lose is on to that which lays under the surface of this parable: “the secret to being a Christian – and maybe to being a person – is not to strive to be righteous or humble, not successful or a failure, not rich or poor, not any of these things we can put a scale and measure and compare, but instead to simply receive God’s acceptance, love, and mercy. The secret of being a Christian – and maybe to being a person – is simply to recognize you are always in need. No matter what,” everyone has needs, and in recognizing this we can ask God to meet them, even while we give “up the hope of creating the perfect life” on our own, through our own efforts.
There is a strong tendency in life to point the finger at others even while we ignore the very issues within us that are projecting our judgments onto others. “Giving up the desire to compare ourselves with others, and instead just receive God’s love and acceptance. […] When you recognize your need, you discover God has already called you righteous…and holy, and beloved, and perfect. God, that is, has already justified you.” […] not because of what we’ve done, but because of who we are, God’s children; and, because of who God is – loving, gracious, and merciful.
God’s Spirit is poured out! The LORD is calling. The light of God is shining with divine radiance. May we have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to open as the pangs of self-doubt and inner wounds fester, as life as we have tried to shape it cracks, just enough to allow that light under the surface. As mercy flows, may we receive the goodness that is already there. And may God’s grace fill and guide us both NOW, and forever. Amen.