You get what you ask for

Luke 18:9-14

We always get hung up on the characters in this parable--the arrogant so-and-so Pharisee and the meek and humble tax collector. We hear the words of the Pharisee's prayer in which he thanks God that is not like other people--so much better, seemingly--and especially like that no account, worthless scum of a man, the tax collector quietly praying in the shadows, and we reject the Pharisee out of hand. We immediately lift up the poor tax collector. He is the hero. He is the role model.

Well, in the immortal words, not so fast.

Luke is a master storyteller and there is much in his details that warns us not to take his stories at face value--their real power comes in digging into them. Nothing could be truer as we approach this familiar parable.

First, look at the lead-in found in v.9--Luke tells us that the target audience was those who trusted in themselves to be righteous--i.e., correct, orthodox, and right. Moreover, he does not name these folks, rather simply calls them "some." That leaves open the possibility that Jesus may well have told this parable in the private circle of The Twelve. Just two chapters further on, James and John are about to fit the bill perfectly as they claim a right to sit at Christ's right and left hands in the kingdom--talk about audacity! This parable, then, is a warning to anyone who assumes correctness in and of themselves, not simply Pharisees who would define righteousness as perfect obedience to the code of God.

Now, look at the parable.

The first thing to pay attention to is that both Pharisee and tax collector are in the Temple to pray; i.e., both see themselves as faithful and servants of God. We tend to ignore this detail completely. Don't. Both are men of faith. I would argue further that both are sincere men of faith, as will be apparent with a closer look at their prayers.

The Pharisee--he prays as he is supposed to. He stands by himself and intones his prayer of thanksgiving. In Greek, the word used is EUCHARISTO--I thank or I give thanks--the same liturgical term used to define the sacrament of Communion (eucharist--thanksgiving). He gives thanks to God that his life is good, not blighted in the overt sins of the people he names. Yes, we recoil at his words, but put them in slightly different light--have you never been thankful that you were not enduring the suffering or circumstance of another? You pass a poor motorist whose car has quit in a cloud of smoke and steam beside the interstate--you quietly gives thanks it isn't you. In all compassion, you listen to a friend describe some calamity, giving thanks that at least this time, it wasn't you. The Pharisee may well be offering thanks in a similar vein--thank you God for sparing me the indignity of wrong living. He then lists two major practices of faith--tithing and fasting. He surpasses the norm--fasting twice a week and tithing on all income, not just his earned money. It ties to his thanksgiving--life is reasonably good, so his response is above and beyond, echoing his thankfulness.
The tax collector--he prays as he must. He also stands by himself, trying to hide almost. He probably dealt with the glares and whispers of everybody in the Temple. Tax collectors were beyond reviled. To put it in modern perspective, the Romans were to the Israelites what the Israelites are to a modern Palestinian. The tax collector is an Israelite who is in full collaboration with the hated power that has usurped their home, place, and freedom. Yet, he is a Jew, too, so he comes to the Temple. Do not dismiss the courage of doing so. He will be with his God, no matter who looks at him with pure contempt. He prays simply and quickly--why linger in an inhospitable place? His focus is on God--have mercy, O Lord, for I am lost. He knows his sin. He knows his brokenness. He also acknowledges that God owes him nothing. That is real state of knowing sin--one recognizes its real and actual cost. God owes us nothing, for we have rejected God's authority in our sin. Grace is that God does not hold us to what we deserve. That is the prayer of the tax collector.

Jesus concludes the story saying that the tax collector goes home with an answered prayer, then adds the addendum about humbling of the exalted, and the exalting of the humbled.

We leave the story sure we know exactly what he means.

Don't.

Note that the addendum does not reject either humbled or exalted, it simply puts them in their place with regard to God--both will still be there, but hopefully having gained something--mercy or correction. Both are responses of love.

Could it be that Jesus has hidden the real point of the story in all the window dressing of the tale?

Look again at the characters. The tax collector gets what he asks for. The Pharisee gets nothing BECAUSE HE DID NOT ASK FOR ANYTHING.

That is the real point and the real warning. God's grace is there for those who know they need it and seek it. If we assume we are okay, all right, and good, then we won't ask for what we assume we don't need. By whose standards are we okay, all right, and good?

In the eyes of God, we are all needy, imperfect, and wandering around lost. God's grace is there for all of us.

But we have to ask for it.