Luke 18:9-14
9-12 He
told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over
their moral performance and looked down their noses at the other people: “Two
men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The
Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like
other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man.
I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’13 “Meanwhile the tax man,
slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said,
‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’” 14 Jesus commented, “This tax man,
not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose
in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to
be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”
Food for thought!
Have you
ever heard of "Iatrogenic"? Well, it refers to a disease or illness
that is contracted in the process of being treated by a physician. The
physician treats you for one sickness, but the treatment, while healing you of
that one sickness, makes you ill with another. Iatros, physician (or healer);
genic, origin. So, iatrogenic, a disease or illness that originates in the
process of being healed.
Today, Jesus is teaching us of a similar thing. The Christian church is a Holy place, where salvation is proclaimed and sins forgiven; we go to churches to be healed, be forgiven, be cleansed, be inspired, etc. This said, our churches can also be places where we sin.
Today's gospel says that
Jesus "told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with
themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the
other people." Please, notice that the setting is a holy place, a temple
or church. “Two men went up to the Temple to pray!” Today, Jesus is teaching us of a similar thing. The Christian church is a Holy place, where salvation is proclaimed and sins forgiven; we go to churches to be healed, be forgiven, be cleansed, be inspired, etc. This said, our churches can also be places where we sin.
It is the
only story Jesus told that is set in a place of worship. All his other stories
take place in nonreligious settings, farms and suppers and weddings, and use
mostly a nonreligious vocabulary from the workplace world. This one is
different: it all happens inside a church. Both Pharisee and tax man have
entered a church to pray. That is what churches are for. People go to church
for many of the wrong reasons. The right reason for going to church is to pray.
Back to Iatrogenic disease. There is one form of sin that flourishes in churches among religious people; it begins and flourishes in places of worship. Religious or holy places provide the conditions for this spiritual disorder, this sin, to happen. The common name for the sin is self-righteousness. This is why Jesus placed this story inside a temple; and he told it to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else.
In order to take root, the sin of righteousness requires the soil of a community in which righteousness is honoured and pursued. Without a community in which righteous ways are practiced, self-righteousness would not be possible; there are some sins simply not accessible to the non-Christian, the person outside the faith. Only men and women who become Christians are capable of and have the opportunity for some sins, with self-righteousness at the top of the list.
The Pharisee in the story is a picture of many of us in the church. Everyone who sees us thinks we are pure, holy and righteous. We have convinced everyone that we are the epitome of righteousness, holiness and virtue. We have even convinced ourselves that we are right and everyone around us who is not exactly like us is wrong.
The second man, a tax-collector, is a picture of another kind of people in our churches. These are the people who do not act like we think they should. They might not dress like we think they should. They might not do things and say things just like we think they should; these people are often looked down on by the other people who think they are more spiritual. But as Jesus showed us, they are not. We do well all to remember that we are one of a great army of sinning, suffering, sorrowing humanity, all kneeling before the throne of God's mercy.
Back to Iatrogenic disease. There is one form of sin that flourishes in churches among religious people; it begins and flourishes in places of worship. Religious or holy places provide the conditions for this spiritual disorder, this sin, to happen. The common name for the sin is self-righteousness. This is why Jesus placed this story inside a temple; and he told it to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else.
In order to take root, the sin of righteousness requires the soil of a community in which righteousness is honoured and pursued. Without a community in which righteous ways are practiced, self-righteousness would not be possible; there are some sins simply not accessible to the non-Christian, the person outside the faith. Only men and women who become Christians are capable of and have the opportunity for some sins, with self-righteousness at the top of the list.
The Pharisee in the story is a picture of many of us in the church. Everyone who sees us thinks we are pure, holy and righteous. We have convinced everyone that we are the epitome of righteousness, holiness and virtue. We have even convinced ourselves that we are right and everyone around us who is not exactly like us is wrong.
The second man, a tax-collector, is a picture of another kind of people in our churches. These are the people who do not act like we think they should. They might not dress like we think they should. They might not do things and say things just like we think they should; these people are often looked down on by the other people who think they are more spiritual. But as Jesus showed us, they are not. We do well all to remember that we are one of a great army of sinning, suffering, sorrowing humanity, all kneeling before the throne of God's mercy.
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