Be Merciful - Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost - October 26, 2025

Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 14:7–10, 19–22 | Psalm 84 | 2 Timothy 4:6–8, 16–18 | Luke 18:9–14

“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!’ (Luke 18:13).
 
In this passage from the Gospel of St. Luke we heard another parable of Jesus, a story about two people who draw near to the holy Temple of God: a Pharisee and a tax collector.
 
This parable, even though it might seem simple, has a pretty pointed message for us today… confronting and correcting those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt.”
 
This seems to be a very serious problem for us these days. Not just those of us here in this room, of course. I mean it’s a problem for our whole society. We’re currently living in a world where finding fault with others seems to have become a whole way of life: where we can’t really admit our own mistakes and failures without running the risk of being cancelled, or worse… and we’re constantly being bombarded with hard-hearted messages intent on demonizing anyone who disagrees with us.

So many today are frightened, and angry, and constantly looking for someone else to shame and blame. And it can be so tempting when we feel like this… when we feel insecure and anxious… to focus on the faults and missteps of others… comparing ourselves to them to make ourselves feel more significant or secure… convinced that we alone are on the right track… and hoping that all our own shortcomings will somehow be forgotten.
 
I believe that this parable speaks powerfully to us today in our deeply divided world. And through this simple but profound story, I believe Jesus the Risen Lord is inviting us to let go of the dangerous impulse to look at others with contempt. Even if we never express these self-righteous feelings out loud… even if our pride and contempt remains a secret between myself and the Almighty… our Saviour knows that contempt is a deadly poison that erodes our ability to truly live God’s way… to love the Living God with all that we are, and to love all our neighbours as ourselves. 
  
Like many of Jesus’ parables, this story holds up two contrasting examples. First of all, we’re introduced to a Pharisee… someone that would have been seen in those days as a model person of faith: morally upright, diligent, and deeply concerned with discerning and doing what is right.
 
And then we have the tax collector… someone who would have been seen as a traitor to their own community. Tax collectors in those days were despised and hated not only because they served the interests of the Emperor in Rome, collecting the money that would be used to pay for the soldiers occupying their land… but also because they would cut their own paychecks by charging their neighbours extra… a massive opportunity for corruption and exploitation that many of them made use of.
 
So when we first look at these two very different people from the outside, it might seem pretty obvious who’s on the right path. Everything that the Pharisee was up to would be recognized as upright and good. And everything that the tax collector stood for would be suspect, and seen as deeply compromised.

And for this parable to have its intended effect, we need to ask ourselves this question: Who do we think fits into these categories in our own lives today?
 
In other words, who do we think is more or less getting things right? And who are we convinced is getting it completely wrong? What are the ‘obvious’ moral opposites at work in our hearts and minds?
 
We can easily make this a conversation about politics. Or global tensions. Or even religion. And all those things matter. But what about our interpersonal relationships? The tensions that exist within the communities we are actively a part of? Our families? Our workplaces? Our neighbourhoods? And so on.
 
Who are you and I most tempted to look down on with contempt? Who do we think we are better than? These are the dangerous and divisive assumptions that Christ’s parable draws into the light.
 
“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.” (Luke 18:10-14).
 
Notice that Jesus doesn’t take issue with the Pharisee’s actions. And He doesn’t commend or excuse all the tax collector does either. But what He does do is bring to light the deadly pride and contempt of the one, and highlight the humble plea for forgiveness by the other.
 
And for Jesus, it really seems to matter how we hold others in our hearts… the way we see, and understand, and relate to our neighbours… especially the ones we have real problems with… and when we look down on others with contempt, and spend our time comparing ourselves to them, we’re actively fighting against the work of God both inside and all around us… preventing us from truly living God’s way, and letting His holy love rule in our lives.
 
But in Jesus, we see another way. In Him, we see God’s way being lived out right before our eyes. Instead of looking down on our divided and compromised world in contempt, Jesus humbled Himself, and came alongside sinners and drew near to those on the completely wrong track. And instead of scolding us, or patronizing us to make Himself seem superior, Jesus bound Himself to us, sharing our daily life, witnessing our heartbreaks and brokenness first-hand… all in order to turn us around, guiding us all back together into the Living God’s loving arms.
 
And Jesus humbled Himself to the extreme, sharing in the fate of us sinners… whether our sins are easily recognizable to those around us, or not… Jesus joined Himself to us to set us free from all of it! To save us from sin’s tyranny, and in God’s great mercy to bring us true forgiveness, and the New Life that comes from being welcomed into God’s family… not because we deserve it, but because of what Jesus has done for us all.
 
At the cross, Jesus took the terrible place of us sinners. And as He rose again from the dead, He paved the new way into God’s presence… so that, whether we started off near or far, we can share in His fellowship together and forever.
 
In the light of the cross and the empty tomb… the light of the Gospel, there is no room for contempt or pride… just for humility, and thankfulness, and deep compassion offered to one another, and all those around us. Because it’s here that we find Jesus holding all of us in His heart… inviting us to extend the great mercy and love of God that we have received with everyone else. And we simply cannot love someone when we lift ourselves up, and choose to hold them in contempt.

And so, instead of looking down on others… especially those we completely disagree with, and are tempted to dismiss or despise… one simple way forward is for us to pray for them. Not to pray against them… like, that they would smarten up, and become more like us in this or that way. Rather, let us pray for God’s mercy on them, remembering just how much we constantly need that mercy too! That it is only by the mercy of God, graciously offered to us all in Jesus Christ His Son, that any of us are able to be made right with God, and walk in His holy ways.
 
In a moment, we’re going to join together in praying something called the Great Litany… an extended and extensive prayer to help us take time to practice this humble stance before God, and for our world together.
 
During this time of prayer, we might find it helpful to envision ourselves as the tax collector of our story… not coming to God with our lists of accomplishments, but with a keen desire for His mercy… both for ourselves, and for our broken world… and for those that we are finding it the most challenging to hold with mercy today.
 
We’ll be moving through the prayers slowly. Try not to rush over them in your mind. And when you find yourself distracted, simply return your attention to God, and join in again. First, let us say together the Apostle’s Creed, and then let us say together the Great Litany (this can be found in our Morning Prayer service this week).
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