Proper 25
Preaching
Preaching Luke's Gospel
A Narrative Approach
"Two men went up into the temple to pray...." These are very familiar words. This week's text is a very well known text from the Gospel of Luke. It is well known for good reason. This story of a Pharisee and a tax collector reminds us of the stories of the "lost" in Luke 15 in its ring of gospel clarity. God's love for sinners in Jesus Christ is portrayed in this story in a powerful way.
David Tiede sets the context for this week's text as follows:
The larger context is that of the third and final phase of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem (17:11„19:27), and this phase moves with a rhythm of stories, sayings, and heal-ings, punctuated three times with prophetic warnings and predictions (17:22„18:8; 18:31-34; 19:11-27) ... The controlling motif of the larger context continues to be crucial: Jesus is instructing his disciples in the way of the kingdom as he travels toward his fateful arrival in Jeru-salem. Thus this second cycle of stories in 18:9-34 again moves from stories which reveal the character of God's kingdom (vv. 9-30) to prophetic warnings that God's way of ruling will be beyond human understanding (vv. 31-34).1
This week's text follows immediately upon the parable of the woman who prayed without losing heart (18:1-8). Luke 18:9-14 is also about prayer.
We are in the Reformation season of the year and it is fitting that this text deals so clearly with the reality of justification. Jesus is well acquainted with those who seek to justify themselves. We remember the lawyer who answered Jesus' question about that which is written in the law. If love of neighbor were the key to inherit eternal life, this lawyer wanted to know exactly which neighbors he should serve: "... wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' " (Luke 10:25-37).
In Luke 16:14-15 Jesus upbraids the Pharisees. "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others...."
This week's text begins with this same note of self-justification. "He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous ..." (18:9). In each of these contexts a form of the word dikaios is used. This word can be translated as righteous-ness or as justification. A form of dikaios appears again in verse 14: "I [Jesus] tell you, this man [the tax collector] went down to his home justified rather than the other...."
Another clue to the nature of the prayer of the Pharisee is that he prayed "with himself" as some translations have it. Evidently this Pharisee loved to hear himself pray. We are reminded here of Matthew's Gospel where Jesus speaks a word of judgment upon those who practice their righteousness in public (Matthew 6:1-8).
The tax collector, on the other hand, threw himself on the mercy of God. His body language is typical of Semitic humility and con-trition. "He has understood the dynamic character of God's reign and its ultimately gracious character ... the point is that this is how the reign of God works, and the primary force of the story is to correct misunderstandings."2
This story turns everything in the world of standard religion upside down. There is a great reversal here. A self-professed righ-teous person is sent away empty. A tax collector (the very word meant sinner) is sent away justified. He is justified by a word of Jesus. He has prayed the prayer that is the everyday stuff of life in Christian posture towards God: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." And then Jesus spoke a word of justification. "This man went home justified." That's what Jesus said. And that's what happened. A sinner became righteous. A tax collector became a saint. A man crying for mercy became justified. All of this is possible when Jesus speaks his justifying word.
Jesus' justifying word is a word that turned things upside down. In this story of the Pharisee and the tax collector a great reversal took place. This is a common theme in Luke. It began in the Magnificat. Mary sang of what Jesus would do. Did she sing this song to Jesus? Perhaps. "God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty" (Luke 1:52-53). See Chapter 1 for a listing of the stories which carry out this theme of reversal in Luke's Gospel.
Homiletical Directions
A first possibility for a narrative sermon on this text in the season of Reformation would be to deal with the theme of reversal. Since we are in the Reformation season it might be well to note that Martin Luther also experienced a dramatic reversal when it was revealed to him that the dikaios of God came to humans not as active righteousness that we are to achieve but as passive righteousness that we are to receive as God's gift. Said Luther of this revelatory discovery: "Then I had the feeling that straight away I was born again, and had entered through the open doors into paradise itself. The whole scripture revealed a different countenance to me." Luther's life had been turned around; everything was reversed for him! There are parallels between Luther's experience of God's justification and the experience of the tax collector who went down to his house justified.
A sermon on the reversal theme would tell two to four of the stories in Luke which depict the reversal theme. The last story told would be the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The story of Martin Luther might be told as well under the theme of reversal. At any rate, this sermon should close with Jesus speaking a word of justification to the sinners in our pews. Jesus' word for us in these stories is: "I have come to hear and respond to the prayers of sinners who cry for mercy. I have come to make sinners righteous. I have come to make you righteous. I have come to give you the gift of being justified in God's eyes. Sinners, you are justified! My word makes it so."
A second narrative possibility would be to tell only the story of this week's assigned text. Tell first the story of the Pharisee. Give some background on his life. Tell his story using language we might use today for describing a person who seeks to justify him/herself. How do self-righteous persons behave among us? Fit these descriptions to the Pharisee. Jesus' word to this man was and is that he does not go home justified.
Next tell the story of the tax collector. Again, give background details out of your creative imagination on this person. Weave in language we use today to describe sinful persons. Dwell for some time on the prayer this man prays: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." This is the prayer that God longs to hear. This is the prayer that ought to characterize the daily life of all God's people. This story ends with a word of Jesus that brings a great reversal. A sinner is made just. A sinner becomes righteous. Jesus says so and Jesus' word does what it says!
It is recommended that this way of telling the story end in the same kind of word of proclamation that we proposed above. Jesus' word is the crux of the matter! Jesus spoke and a man was made just. So we speak for God, so we speak for Jesus, and people are made just, as the Holy Spirit takes our words and plants them in the mind and heart of those who hear.
____________
1.aDavid L. Tiede, Luke: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minne-apolis: Augsburg, 1988), pp. 306-307.
2.aIbid., p. 308.
David Tiede sets the context for this week's text as follows:
The larger context is that of the third and final phase of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem (17:11„19:27), and this phase moves with a rhythm of stories, sayings, and heal-ings, punctuated three times with prophetic warnings and predictions (17:22„18:8; 18:31-34; 19:11-27) ... The controlling motif of the larger context continues to be crucial: Jesus is instructing his disciples in the way of the kingdom as he travels toward his fateful arrival in Jeru-salem. Thus this second cycle of stories in 18:9-34 again moves from stories which reveal the character of God's kingdom (vv. 9-30) to prophetic warnings that God's way of ruling will be beyond human understanding (vv. 31-34).1
This week's text follows immediately upon the parable of the woman who prayed without losing heart (18:1-8). Luke 18:9-14 is also about prayer.
We are in the Reformation season of the year and it is fitting that this text deals so clearly with the reality of justification. Jesus is well acquainted with those who seek to justify themselves. We remember the lawyer who answered Jesus' question about that which is written in the law. If love of neighbor were the key to inherit eternal life, this lawyer wanted to know exactly which neighbors he should serve: "... wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' " (Luke 10:25-37).
In Luke 16:14-15 Jesus upbraids the Pharisees. "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others...."
This week's text begins with this same note of self-justification. "He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous ..." (18:9). In each of these contexts a form of the word dikaios is used. This word can be translated as righteous-ness or as justification. A form of dikaios appears again in verse 14: "I [Jesus] tell you, this man [the tax collector] went down to his home justified rather than the other...."
Another clue to the nature of the prayer of the Pharisee is that he prayed "with himself" as some translations have it. Evidently this Pharisee loved to hear himself pray. We are reminded here of Matthew's Gospel where Jesus speaks a word of judgment upon those who practice their righteousness in public (Matthew 6:1-8).
The tax collector, on the other hand, threw himself on the mercy of God. His body language is typical of Semitic humility and con-trition. "He has understood the dynamic character of God's reign and its ultimately gracious character ... the point is that this is how the reign of God works, and the primary force of the story is to correct misunderstandings."2
This story turns everything in the world of standard religion upside down. There is a great reversal here. A self-professed righ-teous person is sent away empty. A tax collector (the very word meant sinner) is sent away justified. He is justified by a word of Jesus. He has prayed the prayer that is the everyday stuff of life in Christian posture towards God: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." And then Jesus spoke a word of justification. "This man went home justified." That's what Jesus said. And that's what happened. A sinner became righteous. A tax collector became a saint. A man crying for mercy became justified. All of this is possible when Jesus speaks his justifying word.
Jesus' justifying word is a word that turned things upside down. In this story of the Pharisee and the tax collector a great reversal took place. This is a common theme in Luke. It began in the Magnificat. Mary sang of what Jesus would do. Did she sing this song to Jesus? Perhaps. "God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty" (Luke 1:52-53). See Chapter 1 for a listing of the stories which carry out this theme of reversal in Luke's Gospel.
Homiletical Directions
A first possibility for a narrative sermon on this text in the season of Reformation would be to deal with the theme of reversal. Since we are in the Reformation season it might be well to note that Martin Luther also experienced a dramatic reversal when it was revealed to him that the dikaios of God came to humans not as active righteousness that we are to achieve but as passive righteousness that we are to receive as God's gift. Said Luther of this revelatory discovery: "Then I had the feeling that straight away I was born again, and had entered through the open doors into paradise itself. The whole scripture revealed a different countenance to me." Luther's life had been turned around; everything was reversed for him! There are parallels between Luther's experience of God's justification and the experience of the tax collector who went down to his house justified.
A sermon on the reversal theme would tell two to four of the stories in Luke which depict the reversal theme. The last story told would be the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The story of Martin Luther might be told as well under the theme of reversal. At any rate, this sermon should close with Jesus speaking a word of justification to the sinners in our pews. Jesus' word for us in these stories is: "I have come to hear and respond to the prayers of sinners who cry for mercy. I have come to make sinners righteous. I have come to make you righteous. I have come to give you the gift of being justified in God's eyes. Sinners, you are justified! My word makes it so."
A second narrative possibility would be to tell only the story of this week's assigned text. Tell first the story of the Pharisee. Give some background on his life. Tell his story using language we might use today for describing a person who seeks to justify him/herself. How do self-righteous persons behave among us? Fit these descriptions to the Pharisee. Jesus' word to this man was and is that he does not go home justified.
Next tell the story of the tax collector. Again, give background details out of your creative imagination on this person. Weave in language we use today to describe sinful persons. Dwell for some time on the prayer this man prays: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." This is the prayer that God longs to hear. This is the prayer that ought to characterize the daily life of all God's people. This story ends with a word of Jesus that brings a great reversal. A sinner is made just. A sinner becomes righteous. Jesus says so and Jesus' word does what it says!
It is recommended that this way of telling the story end in the same kind of word of proclamation that we proposed above. Jesus' word is the crux of the matter! Jesus spoke and a man was made just. So we speak for God, so we speak for Jesus, and people are made just, as the Holy Spirit takes our words and plants them in the mind and heart of those who hear.
____________
1.aDavid L. Tiede, Luke: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minne-apolis: Augsburg, 1988), pp. 306-307.
2.aIbid., p. 308.
