The Pharisee and the tax collector

[AI translation] Dear Brothers and Sisters! This parable of Jesus which I have just read is so simple and self-evident that it hardly needs any explanation. Even a child can understand it, because it is so clear and clear. Indeed, would it not be better to leave this story in its monumental simplicity? As Jesus himself told his disciples and as it is being told to us here. It would undoubtedly be much better if, precisely because of the very familiarity of this story, we did not misunderstand what it has to say.But, brethren, it is not only that the Pharisee is a symbol of pride, and the publican a symbol of humility! If we look at this story more closely, we see that this Pharisee is not as arrogant as we usually think. For what he says about himself in his prayer is true. And it shows that he is really serious about the religion he lives! And indeed, he adheres to the law of God with almost embarrassing precision. He tries to fulfil it exactly. He fasts, he sacrifices, he submits both his stomach and his wallet to the will of God, which is a great thing in itself, because for many believers it is precisely at the point of the stomach and the wallet that their Christianity ends. So this Pharisee was a man of great standing and authority in his society. And the tax collector, who is also mentioned in the story, was a man universally despised by his very occupation, and whose conscience was burdened with a great deal of wickedness. He was burdened with the weight of a great deal of ill-gotten money, and it is understandable that this man should have hated himself. Everyone else hated him too. So it is not at all self-evident that Jesus would praise this man, this tax collector, over the Pharisee. After all, Jesus cannot be indifferent to whether someone lives his life honestly or dishonestly. At least up to the point where the story begins.
Nor could it then be said without further ado that this Pharisee boasts of his excellence, his virtues, while the tax collector confesses his sin before God. But look, this Pharisee is actually giving thanks to God! He is giving thanks that God has kept him from many, many ugly sins in this world. He gives thanks that God has kept his life, kept him in the way of faith, obedience, service to God. And it is a very good thing, you know, if a believer does not ascribe to himself the honour that is due to him from men, and the honour in which he can live his life, but thanks God. Indeed it is but by the great grace of God that you and you and I are not as false and thieving and fornicating and debauched in life as so many others. And if one feels gratitude to God in his heart for this, and tells Him so, it is not in itself a boast. And if we look at the publican - not this publican, but confession of sin in general - unfortunately, there is not always really humility in that either. Nor does confessional prayer always equal humility. There is also what we should call 'tax collector pride'. That is, when someone is always, always talking about how he is such a sinner and so on. He is always talking about his own miseries, thinking that this is the way to please God and to show off to God. So this is the arrogance of humility, this is when one considers one's own repentance to be meritorious. When one boasts in the knowledge of one's own worthlessness. And it is precisely among believers who would pray in this way, if they put this feeling into words: 'I thank you, God, that I am not as conceited as this Pharisee or that Pharisee. You see, God, I am humble. See, God, I am a sinner, I am worthless, I know it very well. And although others are sinners, at least I know that I am a sinner. And therefore I am a little above those who don't even know themselves. This is the pride of humility. So it's bragging humility, the window of repentance.
Oh, how many a seeker after God has been scared away from Christianity by this! Where, then, is the difference between these two men? If the publican may be haughty and the Pharisee humble? For this is not the main difference, that the one is haughty and the other humble, but somewhere deeper lies the difference between them.
Look, both men pray, they pray in the house of God. Both men pray with thanksgiving. This tax collector, too, in fact, even if he expresses his prayer in the form of a petition, he still gives thanks that God is a gracious God. And that even a worthless, truly wretched man like him can come before God at all. He is not excluded from the church community, even he can enter the sanctuary. Today we would say that even he can come to communion. So that is what the tax collector gives thanks for. And the Pharisee gives thanks that God has done a great thing in his life. And that he kept him in faith and obedience, obedience to the law of God, walking in the law of God. And, brethren, that a man should truly come before God with thanksgiving is in itself a sign that he is experiencing the greater depths of his communion with God. You are no longer just walking on the surface, you are now deepening in communion with God. There are so many praying people who always get to the point of asking. Always asking, always asking, especially if there is something wrong in their life. And then, when the trouble is gone, then the thanksgiving, the thinking about God and the asking, is gone. It was nothing more than a prayer meeting in which he went to God. But he who can now give thanks, Brothers and Sisters, proves that he no longer wants to use God not only for his momentary help, but that what is important to him is God himself, the relationship with God. The peace of God and the glory of God.
But what, then, is the difference between the two men? The difference that makes Jesus accept one and reject the other? Well, Brethren, with this Pharisee there is only one trouble, only one trouble. But it is a fatal one! The trouble is that he examines himself in relation to another man. So he prays, "Lord, I thank you that I am not like others. They are harlots, sinners, false, like this tax collector here." So he takes the measure down from himself. And that is why his worship before God is abominable. For, Brethren, whenever we compare ourselves with one of a lower moral degree, we always become presumptuous and always haughty.
Do you know how this is particularly evident? In that very sad and very general habit, which we might call the passion for gossip. Or, as the apostle James says in the passage we have just read, to slander another man. Observe, brethren, how gossipingly we could talk of other men's faults and weaknesses. Colleagues in the office, people in a party, women at a card party or over a cup of black coffee, almost feel really good when they can talk about someone else. Someone who is not present, of course. There is a wonderful pleasure in dissecting the other person's faults, in delving into the other person's sins. And to talk with dismay about X or Y's failures, their scandals, their foibles, their secret adventures. And do you know why it is so common for people to do this, to speak out? It is because, Brothers and Sisters, while I am criticizing someone else, the moment I criticize that other person, I myself feel at least a little better than him. And I can feel a little better than I am. By slandering others, one says to oneself with such self-righteousness, "Well, I wouldn't do that, I couldn't do that! It would never happen to me! You know, the easiest way to strengthen our own sense of excellence is to talk about another person's faults and abominations with a stumbling and indignant expression. He who is downwardly oriented, who measures himself by the weakness of another, always becomes arrogant. The reason why it is so good to smear or slander the other person is that from this black background the not quite white purity of oneself shines out more clearly. It makes you look whiter than you are. A black background makes the stains on us less visible. And that flatters our self-consciousness, our sense of self. We give thanks that we're not like other people, thieves, murderers, fornicators, fakes. Well, yes, compared to thieves, murderers, phonies, I can still feel high. Just the other day someone said with a great world-weary sigh how bad people are! But how bad they are! Murderers, fornicators, false, thieves, as they are spoken of in the parable. But, Brethren, how good they are! For if they were not, we would have nothing to measure ourselves by! For by measuring myself against the general wickedness - I am still good.
And you see, at this point the publican prays differently than the Pharisee. When a man comes before God with a truly burdened conscience, he does not look at the other man, he does not examine the other man, but he has all his attention on God alone. This publican in this story obviously could not have thought of praying in this way, "Lord, this Pharisee is made of different stuff than I am made of. I know I can't compare myself to him. But surely he too has something behind his ears, he too is surely a sinner. That may be true, but when you are alone with God, you do not look at others, you do not look apart and compare yourself to others. That is why the prayer of this man is pure and that is why his prayer is honest. He takes the measure upwards from himself. His measure is God, God alone. And so there arises in him the painful realization of how far he is from God! But for this very reason God is very near to him.
And now, if there were someone here, Brothers and Sisters, who feels that his conscience has been very much burdened by something: perhaps he has sinned against someone, perhaps he has made someone miserable, perhaps he has not stood his ground when he should have stood his ground. He is ashamed of himself and cannot come to terms with himself. He does not dare to raise his eyes, and only feels that he is really unworthy to come here to be His guest, well, if there is such a person among us, he should not console himself with the fact that other people are even more guilty than he is, that there are even more guilty people in this world than he is. For that may be true, but it is of no use, it is of no help. But he comforts himself with the fact that he has a God so gracious that He will not even send him away from here! But he contemplates his humility, his lamentation over his own sins, with good will. And it is just such a one he invites to this table. For God gives grace to the humble, and opposes the proud.
If any man would truly know himself, let him never compare himself to murderers and thieves and other inferior men, and not measure himself by them, but always measure himself by the holiness of God. This tax collector had nothing good to say about himself. He could only really be helped by the grace of God and therefore his prayer went much deeper and much higher than that other prayer. That is why this man left that church justified, much more than that other man. Of course, let us not misunderstand the point. It really makes no difference now whether one is honest or dishonest, whether one tries to keep God's laws or not. On the human plane, there is a great difference between one man and another, a great difference between evil and good, and it makes a difference whether one tries to keep himself pure or not and defiles himself from all sides. But beware, these human and social differences will not apply on the last day, on the final, great showdown. We shall be judged differently before the judgment seat of God. And when a man of true public honour, of true purity of life, who is looked up to with respect by all, comes to the Lord's table at the end of the service, do not be alarmed if a vile tax collector drinks from the same cup that he drinks from. But praise God for his mercy. That he can take even such a deeply fallen man into his grace and lift him out of his misery.
Let us not condemn the publican like the Pharisee. Who can tell what may be going on in the soul of a really very miserable publican when he comes before God?! When you see such a wretch come before God, do not think, "Oh, how dare this wretch come here, what hypocrisy for this man to take communion? But rather, rejoice that this man, however vile, has come to the point where he can beg for God's mercy. What do we know of what is in another man's soul? And what do we know of how we ourselves will look on the last day before the judgment seat of Christ, where we shall all be counted equally guilty! Each person's relationship with God is a special secret known only to God. So do not judge! Neither down nor up. Towards no one. Each man to himself!
And one more thing to mention about this story. Namely: what do you think, Brothers and Sisters, do you think that this tax collector, when he said his confessional prayer and Jesus said that this man went down from the temple justified, did this tax collector come out feeling that, well, I got off easy and well this time? I can now go on with all my vile practices and deceiving people, because God will forgive me anyway! I don't think, Brothers and Sisters, that this tax collector would have thought like that, because then Jesus would not have praised his penitential prayer. The grace of God cannot be abused. And when a man, after receiving forgiveness here at the Lord's Table, continues in the same sin, he is abusing the grace of God. This publican here spoken of, most assuredly went away with some great, overflowing joy in his heart, marvelling at the goodness of God, and feeling that he could no longer take it to heart to repent of the Father who had forgiven him all things. And perhaps imagine that in a year's time the same tax collector will come up to the church and pray again, and then perhaps he will pray, "Lord, since you forgave me, I have not deceived anyone. I have tried to make amends to everyone for what I have done. I could not reconcile my conscience to hurt you with my sins. Thank you for your grace, thank you for giving me new strength and thank you for giving me new opportunities for a new life!
Can you feel the big difference between the prayer of the tax collector and the prayer of the Pharisee a year later? It is a very small difference, but on that small difference rests a whole eternity. For one haughty glance at another can spoil everything and nullify God's forgiving grace to us. I can imagine, Brothers and Sisters, that now, hearing all this, the question with which the disciples once came to Jesus is rising in our hearts: who, then, can be saved if grace can be so easily faked away? For we always find ourselves again and again catching ourselves looking down on someone haughtily and at least in our minds we have already criticised someone again. To this question, "Who, then, can be saved?", I could only say what Jesus said to his disciples at the time, "What is impossible with men is possible with God!"
Today's Pharisees and today's tax collectors! All of us, with me, let us go with a sincere heart, with courage, come with confidence. We are all equally in need of grace. And we are all equally waited for at the table of His hospitality by the same Jesus, Who came to seek and to keep the one who is lost. So let us go together to his presence, saying together:
"A contrite heart,
Thou, Lord, lovest,
The obedient soul
You never despise.
With this hope
We long to be with you,
Be, we beseech you, a help
And have mercy on us."
(Canto 180)
Amen
Date: 27 March 1966.