Coming to the Temple
Grace to you and peace from
God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Two
men went to pray, but only one of them did. The Pharisee was not ashamed. He
went to be seen praying. He fasts and tithes. He is not like other men—extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, tax-collectors, legalists, purists, traditionalists. He is
loved by men. He has a vision. He is bold and unafraid. He goes home condemned.
Meanwhile, the tax collector is afraid and ashamed. He will not even lift up
his eyes. He is like other men… and worse. He has betrayed his people. He has
sold his soul. He has acted on his baser desires, lived by greed, malice, and
treachery. He is a sinner. He is corrupt and broken, dying. He comes to pray.
All he has is a request: “be merciful to
me.”
The
tax collector went down to his house justified. God honors repentance. He
forgives sinners. The Physician comes for those who are sick, who fail, who are
full of regret, who lose control and behave badly, who gossip and slander and
in a thousand other ways hurt themselves and those they love. He comes for
those who are like other men. He comes for sinners: not on their terms,
but on His. It is not given to you to tell God how He should be, what He should
want, what He should do, or who He should save. It is only given to you to bow your
head and beg for mercy, for “everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
This
parable was spoken to some who trusted in themselves and their own
righteousness. Those who would find mercy must despise themselves. We must
trust in Jesus Christ, who is righteous, for mercy. And here we see the irony
of Christianity: those who are happy in their sin, who embrace it and seek to
justify themselves, like the Pharisee, are satisfied and comfortable in their
sin. The devil doesn’t bother them. Meanwhile, sinners who have been Baptized,
who have been named by Him and who belong to Him, are forgiven all things and
declared saints of God, but they feel their sin. It is shameful and awkward,
and you struggle with it.
That
is how it is in the Kingdom
of God. It is a Kingdom
of reversals and irony. God became Man. Death brings life. He who knew no sin
became sin. And the instrument of tortuous execution made from dead limbs of
rotting wood has become the Tree of Life. The King of this Kingdom does not
send soldiers off to die in struggles meant to enrich Himself and enlarge His
territories, not even for defense or good of country. This King, this Good
Shepherd, dies. He gives up His life to enrich rebels and the traitors who
spoke against Him. This loving Shepherd gives His life for sheep who would
trample Him as they run off a cliff into sin. He allows them to destroy Him and
accepts that destruction, that violence, as payment for the crime. He exchanges
His life for theirs…for your life. This God, this merciful Lover of mankind,
makes something from nothing. It happens through Grace. It is only the blind
who are given sight, the sick who are given healing, and the dead who are given
life. It is only the repentant who are forgiven. It is only sinners who become
saints and go to their homes justified.
If
you are a sinner, this is the place for you to be. Come like the tax-collector,
with your pain, your fear, your doubt, your shame, your loneliness, your
failures and disgrace. Come to where God promises to be, where He extends His
mercy, where He gives Himself to you. Come to the Temple made without hands, torn down by men,
but rebuilt by God on the third day. Come and feast on Christ. Join in that feast
of Holy Communion, and then go home justified. You’re in good company. Your
righteousness is not your own, but it lasts forever, and no one can take it away
from you. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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