“Yes; it really is true…There is enough love to go around”

(The story of the Tax Man and the Pharisee. Luke 18: 9-14)

Today we come to Jesus’ intriguing story about two men who just happen to be in the same place at the same time. They’re in the Temple…

And on the face of it these two men couldn’t be less like one another …one’s a tax collector…he works for the hated Romans who currently occupy Palestine – it’s a military occupation remember…the other’s a Pharisee a fully paid up, card-carrying member of the Jewish Teachers’ Union.

One of them – the tax collector man is regarded as a collaborator of the occupying forces – a Quisling; almost certainly despised and probably feared by the Jews; the other, an honourable teacher highly regarded as a wise and respected community leader.

Both of them ‘pray’…the Pharisee with his abundance of good deeds is thankful; 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.’

The tax gatherer simply asks for mercy. 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.’”

And there we have it…two men as different as chalk and cheese. Or so we might be tempted to think.

I’m pretty sure that over the years I’ve thought of it like that.

But now, having thought about it a bit more carefully and I suspect more generously I think I’ve been wrong.

So I’d like to try and put the record right if I can.

So we start by asking why would Jesus have told a story like this?

Well, you’ll recall that Jesus is really interested in only one thing thru’out the whole of his ministry…the arrival of what he called the Kingdom of God…this arrangement between people where life would be lived gracefully, generously and mercifully…

where care for the person sitting next to me here in church or on a bus or airplane ….or the person standing in line in front of me,

or the person I might pass while pushing my shopping trolley along the aisle in the supermarket, is as important as anything I might wish for myself.

This isn’t a new idea of course … the Hebrew prophets had been banging on about it for centuries …a way of living that reflected the generosity of their God…Yahweh.

But by and large the pleading and urging of the prophets had eluded the nation as a whole – generally the pleading and the predictions of the prophets – the spokespeople for Yahweh went unheeded – for some reason they didn’t get it – and many regarded the military occupation of their land as some sort of divine retribution while life went on with people believing – at the same time – that there was no need for anyone to be any different.

^18;9-12 So (Jesus) told (t)his (next) story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people…two men went to the Temple to pray…

(One of them, a) 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.’

And as we catch a sniff of what looks like pompous self-promotion we might be tempted to say (under our breath of course!)  “Oh, good on you…well done you. Didn’t you do well” We might even be inclined to side-line him – to dismiss him – as someone who isn’t very nice…a bit conceited perhaps.

The (other, a) tax gatherer simply asks for mercy. 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.’”

And it’s likely that we might be tempted to think “Now there’s a really good man. He gets it” Chances are we might even identify with him – for we know ourselves well!!

And if we did this we set up an understanding of this story that we’re so familiar with.

Because it’s the way Luke ends the story;

“This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God”.

Our sympathies are very likely to be with the tax man and not the Pharisee. The sinner turns out to be a saint…while the saintly Pharisee turns out to be…well less than a saint – we might think he was up himself … a bit of a snob.

Which is where our hearing of the story usually ends and we tend not to hear the rest of what Jesus says…

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’ll become more than yourself.”

Luke tells us that Jesus told this story to his disciples. I think then that what Jesus is saying is that the habit of judging other people negatively isn’t a trait the fits with Jewish values…remember that we’re talking here about a story told by a Jew to Jews…

and I’m pretty sure that we can make the jump to saying that judging other people negatively is not a trait the fits with Christian values either…it’s a human trait and one which we all to commonly fall for.

But while this is an important point – a moral point – that’s not the major talking point of this story.

The major point emerges out of a problem which you’d never guess after hearing this morning’s bible reading.

The problem is v¹⁴ “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God”.

Both men were in the Temple which it seems is a safe place where both seek solace and comfort; let’s assume that both were genuine in their prayers…both wanted Yahweh’s recognition – they both want to be understood – both were likely lonely and isolated. Both of them are searching for  the same thing… peace of mind and since they’re both Jews they were almost certainly also seeking the acceptance of Yahweh – who recall is the God of the covenant…that agreement made by Yahweh that he is on their side and watching their backs.

To put it simply…they both want to be loved.

Did both of them find what they were looking for?

Well I’m pretty sure the answer is “Yes” and the reason is that there is – tucked away in v 14 a small and confusing Greek preposition…it’s the word  “para” from which we get our words ‘paradox’ and ‘parallel’ even – believe it or not – ‘parable’.

As well as this verse 14 is disputed – scholars debate whether or not it was even part of the original story and interestingly, we could remove the verse and the story loses none of its meaning…It adds nothing to the story line.

For reasons that no one quite understands or can explain, Luke gives the Pharisees bad press – thruout his gospel.

So…the way the story’s told by Luke, the Pharisee ends up looking like the bad guy while the taxman ends up looking sweet.

And that’s because the translators have used that little Greek word para to suggest

some sort of antagonism…one against the other…and so we get;

“This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God”.

But consider the other way this word is used….it’s also used to suggest some sort of juxtaposition…where two things are placed close together  in contrast to each other.

Now if there’s any truth in that, the text should read …“This tax man, and the other (alongside him, the Pharisee), went home made right with God”

One translation has this…..“To you I say, descending to his house, this one is justified alongside the other.” And like any good parable that would’ve been a revolutionary idea to devout first century Jews.

These men were different in almost every way possible yet they walked on parallel tracks when they found themselves in the Temple seeking Yahweh’s blessing. Remember they’re very likely looking for the same assurance – the same blessing…why else would they be there?…both were sincere both were devout…and both sought relief from the same Yahweh.

For Jesus finishes the story with these words

“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’ll become more than yourself.”

 Or to put it in simple English….”If you’re a bit sniffy and regard yourself as better than the next person sooner or later you’ll come a cropper, but if you’re comfortable with who you are in your own skin you’ll be better than just OK”

So that’s the good news.

But wait….there’s more and …it may be the greatest challenge of this parable…we are part of a community.

Said like that it sounds rather obvious but think about for a moment…

We  form  and belong in a community where we live in the plural…we pray in the plural “Our Father…give us….Forgive us….”

We live in a community where each of us is responsible for the other…and that means that the sin of one of us can impact – negatively –  every other one of us.

And it means that the good deeds of one us can have a positive impact on the lives of every other one of us. And the good any one does can rub off onto me and protect me…and you too of course.

The Jews have this wonderful notion of ‘zechut avot’…Hebrew for ‘stored up protection’…the idea that allows others to be justified….made right with God. This is the passionate belief held by Jews that even if we sin – and we will – the benefits of the good deeds of Abraham  and of Isaac and of Jacob the could be transferred to us!

Does that sound fanciful?

Well it sounded like an a great idea to Paul – who you’ll recall promoted himself as the Pharisee supreme – when he proposed that it was the faithfulness of Jesus the Christ that allows us to be justified – made right with God.

“Yes … it really is true…There is enough love to go around”

Enough for tax collectors and Pharisees. It’s the same love that wrapped itself around these two men as they walked home.

Now we don’t know what happened to these two men after they left the Temple … its an outside chance but they may have gone home together for pizza and a cold beer? And established a community of two where they shared blessings because of their shared gratitude. It’s possible that as a result of their longings and petitions they were now enfolded by the grace of Yahweh.

“I’m not religious, but I do love the concept of grace, of a gift so profound that it could never be earned or deserved. And so when I cite grace here as the final and most important force in friendships, I mean it in two ways. One is the forgiveness that we offer each other when we fall short. The other is the space that creates for connections—and reconnections—that feel nothing short of miraculous”.

(The Atlantic June 2023)

Part of King Charles coronation that I watched included the Moderator of the Church of Scotland presenting a Bible to the king.  I thought that was, like many other features of the service, very inclusive. 

After all one of the King’s roles, since Henry the Eighth, is to be head of the Church of England

Nevertheless, it bothered be slightly that a Presbyterian would say something like, these are the only laws you need.  To me the Bible is not a set of rules but a collection of stories that encourage us to prayerfully reflect on human behaviour and the divine influence on that behaviour.  

Like all good stories there are heroes and villains and after reading some of the stories you may want to check under the bed for monsters before you go to sleep at night. 

The lectionary avoids most of the real scary stories, but I have a copy of Phyllis Trible Texts of Terror and Jonathan Kirsch The Harlot By the Side of the Road: The Forbidden Tales Of the Bible, and I have skimmed through both of them.

Today’s readings do not meet the cut for either of those books.  But I suggest that an enterprising journalist could get three front page stories for the Press and an in depth interview on TV One’s ‘Sunday’ for our reading from Genesis.  I could certainly see it as evidence for a School Board in the USA to ban the Bible from the Library.

However, it is important that we read this story every three years because it is part of The Abraham Saga that, not only grounds our faith, but also three of the world’s great faiths.  Furthermore, this particular part of the story is about relationships and ambition so it gives us an opportunity to reflect on the way people behave so we can make ethical and spiritual decisions about that behaviour.

Hagar was Sarah’s slave and whether it was a marital decision for Hagar to provide an heir for Abraham or Abraham just helped himself to a bit on the side, we will never know. 

We live in a time when people have families later in life and surrogacy, with or without controversy, is one of the options that people choose when a woman can’t carry a child.  Of course, that usually involves a clinical procedure and willing participants not the head of the household to have a child by his wife’s slave.

In fact, we assume we don’t have slavery in our society. However, a recent ‘Sunday’ programme explored the conditions and abused employment rights of migrant workers. The word slavery was certainly used, and we were reminded that a man has recently been convicted for slavery.

But reflecting on Hagar’s situation I know a woman who was adopted by a family who physically abused her until they sent her to boarding school.  That was a  relieve from a household that relied on excessive corporal punishment and allowed her to qualify for medical school. 

Like so many people anonymously adopted out as babies she eventually sought her real identity and, not only discovered who her mother was, but found she had a whole family of brothers and sisters. 

Her mother had been a domestic servant and had a child by the head of each household she worked in.  Not terribly different to Hagar’s situation and illustrates that the Bible Stories are about real situations that happen to real people.  Furthermore, my friend’s story tells us those situations don’t just happen a long time ago.

Obviously, my friend and indeed her siblings survived because they were adopted by others.   Probably foster parents that were both good and bad.  Their mother I assume survived by continuing the near slavery of a domestic servant as pregnancy banished her from one household after another.

But we may well wonder how Hagar and Ishmael survived after being abandoned in the wilderness and the ‘good news’ story that helps us was in the Press on the 12^th of June. 

The headline was ‘Alive after 40 Days in the Wilderness.’  Of course all sorts of wonderful things happen in the Bible after 40 days or 40 years.  But this was a story about 4 children that not only survived a plane crash in the Amazon but were able to survive in the jungle until they were found. 

The general in charge of the rescue suggested the children were able to survive in the jungle because they were children of the jungle.  They knew what seeds and fruit they could eat and the dangers they must avoid.  However, despite their local knowledge the word miracle comes to mind and, with their parents killed in the plane crash, we could well imagine that they were, like Jesus in his 40 days in the wilderness, ministered to by angels. 

Their story also encourages us to suspect that Hagar as the slave of nomadic shepherds had a similar relationship with the wilderness she lived in.  We are told that God pointed out a well just as God looked after the four children.  All of them knew their wilderness but it was still a miracle they all survived.  

Comparing Bible Stories with modern parallel stories invites us all to take notice of the miracles in our own lives.  We are also challenged to notice the evil in our own world and remind us that it is possible to deliberately or inadvertently be part of dehumanising activities. 

But on a more positive reflection we are challenged to expect disaster to turn into triumph and we should even seek to aid such transformation. 

The Abraham saga is indeed the story of God guiding the journey of a family towards becoming a people of God.  It is also the story of a tribe fumbling their way through nomadic herding towards settled agriculture as God leads them towards the best outcome from each stumble along the way.

It is the founding myth of two great peoples and three of the world great religions.  

Along that journey we have the hard sayings of Jesus which begins with the most troubling verse for peace loving Christians:

‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword’. (Matthew 10:34)

Jesus then goes on to talk about division within families which is even more shocking for good comfortable middle-class Christians.  The idea that a commitment to Christ would divide families seems appalling. 

The reality is that families are divided by faith and ideas.  The story of the dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael shows that there is not only hope in such division, but it is part of the story of human development and migration across the face of the planet.

From an historical perspective, the Temple authority that ruled on behalf of the Roman Empire in Jesus’ time was corrupt and they would react violently to anyone who suggested that they were not representing the true faith in the true God.  That violence had Jesus crucified. 

What would also be true was the fact that within the families of Jesus’ followers some would choose to continue to follow Jesus and others would stay with the traditional temple faith, or the Pharisaic Judaism that replaced it. 

Indeed, there is evidence that, by the time Matthew wrote his gospel, a curse of the Nazarenes was added to synagogue worship.  That was a division between the religious family of Judaism and such divisions would also run through biological families. 

More importantly Jesus’ comments about not bringing peace and causing division among even the closest of relationships points to the need for a loyalty to the total family of all humanity. A loyalty that is greater than even our closest relationships. 

In Christ we are all one and therefore we have loyalties beyond our immediate biological family. 

All systems of human government try to impose an ethical framework that demands greater loyalty to the state rather than families, but governments are themselves human and therefore corruptible. 

Like Abraham, Henry the Eighth and his supporters worried about providing a male heir for the stability of the monarchy and the nation.  But Henry was the self-proclaimed head of the Church in England which by then stressed monogamy as a moral position.  So, he couldn’t be seen to father a son with one of his servants.  Such an heir would be contested, and the swords would come out and pit brother against brother.  Multiple wives like king David and Solomon had was also incompatible with Christian understanding so he simply murdered one wife after another in search of a suitable heir. 

Alas for all misogynists the family infighting and power politics failed to provide a monarch for any length of time, and it was his daughter Elizabeth who finally succeeded to the throne.  

She provided a stable reign and restored the economy by knighting the pirates who plundered the Spanish ships filled with Inca and Aztec gold.

Of course, the Spanish were rightly miffed.  But fog and a soft breeze allowed fire ships to drift amongst the Spanish Armada and change the DNA of the people of coastal towns and offshore islands. 

The journey towards an inclusive humanity is not only long and mysterious but a balance of triumph and tragedy with a sprinkling of miracles along the way.

Along that journey Kings, queens, tyrants, religious organisations, and even democratic elected governments set laws and regulations to guide humanities journey.  But they also get corrupted by the power they hold. 

Therefore, humanity must ground its ultimate values beyond an individual group or society.  That indeed is is one of the core tasks of religion. 

That task involves individuals reflecting on the stories of our scripture and relating those stories to our own stories. In that way our minds are opened to the divine Spirit.  The Spirit, that calls us to oppose actions that limit rather than enhance people’s lives. 

As religious people we are called by such study and reflection to speak out for justice even when doing so goes against loyalty to family, or mates.  We are called by our faith to live our lives in ways that give new life to the marginalised of our world.

As followers of Christ who claim to be both reformed and reforming, we must face the risk of division, even among friends and family, to promote a just society and live God’s Realm into the reality of our world.