The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost - October 26, 2025

Summary

Mother Suzanne preaches on the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector, emphasizing how Jesus turns expectations upside down by showing that the humble tax collector's prayer for mercy was more pleasing to God than the Pharisee's self-righteous prayer. She shares a personal story about judging a well-dressed man who came to their food pantry, only to discover he was a longtime volunteer and government worker who hadn't been paid due to the shutdown and desperately needed help feeding his five children. The sermon calls us to examine our tendency to judge others and instead recognize our own need for God's mercy and grace. 

THE GOSPEL                                                                                                                                                           Luke 18:9-14 

Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, `God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, `God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted." 

Artwork:  Pharisee and the Tax Collector, an 1882 painting by the French artist James Tissot

Transcript

Mother Suzanne:

Happy are they who dwell in your house, for they will always praise you. And happy are the people whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on the pilgrim's way. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Please be seated. Look, good morning and welcome to Grace. If this is your first time with us, we are grateful. Well, this morning's gospel includes what we just read about a Pharisee and a tax collector. Interesting folks representing opposite ends of the social and religious structure. And this was done by Jesus for maximum teaching impact. So the Pharisee was one who was guided by scripture, who followed the rules, who prayed, who fasted, who tithed, did all of those things required in the law to make himself holy, to be set apart and to be consecrated. And then you have the lowly tax collector, the despised one.

The one not looked favorably on by most who took your money and oftentimes helped himself to more than what was due him.

So in this parable and in all the gospel of Luke, we have this pattern where everything is turned upside down and inside out, what you expect to happen just doesn't. And that is exactly what happens here. The Pharisee, the religious one, the one who prays continually and studies God's word daily should be the one to know and understand fully the ways of God. But instead he prays this prayer. God, I am glad I'm not like these other people. And in this one sentence, he sets himself up as one who is better than everyone else, simply because he's religious.

And that's the key. The Pharisee believes he's better because he does religion well. He doesn't even take inventory of the internal state of his soul and heart. So juxtapose that with the despised tax collector. Already on the outs, clearly he knows he's not welcome because he doesn't come close. Scripture says he stands far off. And when he begins to pray, he can't even look up to show his face to God. Instead of doing all kinds of the normal religious things, he chooses to beat his breast and cry. God, have mercy on me, a sinner. It is in this moment that we see that the text collector recognizes his need for God's mercy. He has a posture of humility in his approach to God, so much so that he can't even draw near. He can't look up. He can't show his face to God because he knows he is unworthy or so he thinks.

There's no beating around the bush. He cuts through all of the religious banter and ritual and simply asks God for his mercy. And guess what? As in all things, Luken, where things are turned upside down and inside out, this act was pleasing to God. Much, much more so than the religious ritual display given by the Pharisee. Thus, at this point, the meaning of the parable should be clear to us all. Be humble. Strive to not put yourself above others because in reality, we are all children of God in his eyes. But so often we don't see others in this way, do we? As children of God. Instead, we see and think things that are much more in line with the Pharisee. Oh, believe me, I'm certainly guilty of it. Thinking things like, "Well, at least I'm not like her. I've got my stuff together.

Thank God I'm not like him or her. Bless their heart. She is in a terrible situation. Glad that's not me. " It can go on and on, can't it. It's so easy to fall into the trap where we compare ourselves to others and when we do more often than not, the other person is always the loser and we are the ones lifted up. Well, this week, while working at my desk, I looked out the window and I saw a really nice Jeep pulling into the driveway to come to the Blessing Fridge right outside of my office. And like the Pharisee, I thought to myself, "Really? They're coming to the blessing fridge in that car?" But then being a bit more charitable thought, "Well, probably dropping something off, hopefully, crossing my fingers." I continued working and I then looked up and I saw the driver of that Jeep, a very clean cut man walking through our office doors.

I thought, "Whoa, I think I might even recognize this person, but I couldn't place him." One of our office volunteers greeted him and I overheard him and her talking and the next thing I overheard him say was how he needed food really badly for his family. But I also recognized that he carried with him an embarrassment and he was quite shy and I knew in that moment he had never asked for help. I knew it. So this gentleman, he peaked my curiosity and I wondered what was going on in his life in this moment to bring him to grace, to ask for food. So I walked outside of my office, I greeted him and he wouldn't look me in the eyes. He was looking down.

I knew he was full of shame for being at grace in this capacity. So I went over and I said, "Hello." And he looked me final in the eyes and he said, "This is a really hard place for him right now." He was clearly used to being on the other end. He then went on to share that he's been a volunteer at Grace for the mobile food pantry and every harbor workday for years. And then I realized that's how I know you. He then proceeded to open up and share that he's a government worker, actually an airplane flight controller, a man who works and has worked for 23 years, but hasn't been paid in a month because of the government shutdown.

And with tears in his eyes, he looked at me and he says, "I have five children I have to feed and I have no way to do it, Mother Suzanne. I have no income." And he said, "My mind was swirling. I didn't know what to do. And the only thing I could think of was to come to grace, a place where in the past he had only volunteered up until now and now he was on the receiving end of needing help." He stood there awkwardly looking at me. It was clear he was uncomfortable, so I assured him in the best way I could, that this was our ministry. This is what we do here, and this is what God has placed us here for, and that as a father and as a husband, we were grateful that he had remembered grace in his time of need.

And for me, it was just a full circle moment. Someone who at one time had just been at grace to volunteer to help, now receiving help from the place that he had helped. And truthfully, for me, I'm kind of holding back the tears, having to ask God for forgiveness, for my judgment of this man who is just coming to grace because he needs help. So since this visit, I've had time to reflect and what I have come to understand and fall back on is what it means for a church to live into the name for which she's been given, to extend grace to those who come to her, knowing and trusting that it's not about keeping religious rules and separating ourselves from the world like we are holier than thou, but truly it's about entering into the broken and hurting world that keeps showing up at our doorsteps week after week, because God's spirit has brought people who need help here.

We are a beacon for the least, an outpost for the hurting, a safe haven for the forgotten, and a place where sometimes religious rules are bent because there is someone showing up, beating his breast, crying. "Lord, have mercy on me. Help me please. "So I will ask you all this morning. Think about your relationships and your interactions. Think about when your mind might say," Man, at least I'm not her, or at least I'm not in that situation that won't ever happen to me. "And can you instead, like the tax collector or this flight controller, see yourself as one who also, who also needs God's mercy and grace.

As you move about the world this week, doing the work that God has given you to do, I would ask that you would look for the unexpected gifts that come your way. Look for the ways that God brings people to you. Don't judge them because you never know what people are going through. And would you hold in your heart that the kingdom of God is one in which everything is always turned upside down and his grace comes to us in the most surprising ways through the most surprising people. And sometimes when we find ourselves in the most humble places with God's grace, we indeed are exalted. Amen.