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"WATCH
OUT FOR THE BANANA PEEL" October 21, 2001
Text: Luke 19:8-14 A comic routine we do not see much any more is that of a pompous character slipping on a banana peel and falling on his backside. That little routine was almost a morality play, illustrating the Proverb: Pride goes before the fall. Whenever we start congratulating ourselves about our accomplishments and goodness it is time to watch out for the banana peel. The problem Jesus was addressing in the passage we read this morning is the temptation to assume our relationship with God is all it should be because we are good people who do some good deeds. We are not thieves or adulterers or traitors. We do not cheat or abuse other people. We do not lie; and we are honest in our business dealings. We go to church; we are generous in our giving to the church and to charities. We are good people. When Jesus told the parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector he was talking to some people who believed they had a good relationship with God because they were good people -- people who put effort into doing what is right and who were proud of their efforts. They were people who had little patience with those who did not live up to their standards. And they looked down on those who had obviously done what is wrong -- such as that tax collector. In those days, tax collectors were paid a percentage of what they collected, and they had the power of Rome on their side. Many became wealthy by assessing taxes as high as they could and then using the threat of force to collect. The prayer the Pharisee offered was one of thanksgiving, as well it should have been. He was a blessed man, but he did not thank God for all he had received. He did not thank God for all the influences in his life that had helped make him a good man. He did not thank God for the abilities he had been given or for the opportunities that had come his way. These and other gifts were not on his mind. Gratitude for all he had received was not in his heart. Pride filled his heart. He was proud of himself and what gratitude he did feel was gratitude that he was not like those people who had made a mess of their lives -- people like that tax collector. Meanwhile, Luke tells us the tax collector stood far off; that is to say, he knew he had made a mess of his life, And he knew his messed up life had contributed to the mess the world was in. He was anything but proud of himself. Like many of us who have made a mess of things, he beat on himself -- and not just with his fists but with his thoughts and regrets and self-condemnation. His prayer was a pain filled plea: "God, be merciful to me a sinner." I am reminded of these verses from one of Charles Wesley's hymns. Depth of mercy! Can there be mercy still reserved for me? Can my God his wrath forbear, me, the chief of sinners spare? I have long withstood his grace, long provoked him to his face, would not harken to his calls, grieved him by a thousand falls. As Luke tells the story, Jesus said that it was the tax collector who went home with a healed relationship with God, not the Pharisee who really was a good man. The difference between them was the tax collector was aware of his need for God and focused on God and God's grace, whereas the very Pharisee was insensitive to his need for God and focused on himself and his good deeds. Because we are a congregation of good people who do many good deeds, we tend to have much more in common with the Pharisee than with the tax collector. And therefore, we need to watch out for the banana peel called pride, lest what happened to the pompous man in the old comic routine happens to us. It is not that good deeds do not matter. Throughout the Bible the message is clear: "Doing good deeds that help others is vital." However, as Jesus was trying to tell us in this parable: "There is more to being the person God intends us to be than doing good deeds and not doing harmful deeds." The foundation for being the persons God intends us to be is keeping our focus on God and living our lives clearly aware of our dependence on God and God's grace. The Pharisee was focused on himself and his good deeds rather than on God and God's grace. He did not see a need to rely on God because he focused so intently on the good deeds he had done. It was as though he thought God needed him and his good deeds more than he needed God and God's grace. The issue or concern Jesus was dealing with in the parable we read has to do with focus and reliance. On what are we focused? And on what do we finally rely? These are the questions this parable asks us -- not only as individuals but also as a congregation. This is an amazing congregation. When I think about all the good that is done by this congregation through its ministries, I am amazed. And when I think about the good that is being done by members of this congregation in their daily living as they are at work in our community, our state and our nation, I am unable to find words to express my delight and pride. We are good people and this is a good congregation. To say we are not is either to be uninformed or to be mouthing phony humility. But because we really are good people and a good congregation, we must watch out for that banana peel -- the same banana peel the Pharisee in the parable slipped on. Because of the vitality of our congregation's ministries and because we feel good about what our church does it is tempting for us think and even say: "Thank God, we are not like some churches we know." What is destructive about this temptation is that it takes our focus off of God and off of God's intentions for us. Instead of comparing ourselves with what God has in mind for us, we compare ourselves with others who have problems we do not have. We focus not on God's intention for us but on what we see as our accomplishments. When we lose our focus, we lose what makes us the Church, and we become merely a religious do good organization. We become like the Pharisee in the parable. And you know, this is not just a problem for us as individuals, nor is it a just a problem for us as a congregation. It is also a problem for us as a nation. Our nation is an amazing nation. The ideals on which this nation was founded -- the ideals of liberty and justice for all -- are ideals that are consistent with the Gospel. The compassion of the people that has been so dramatically evident in the wake of September ll, declares we are a nation of people who have the capacity to care and because we care, we act. Too be sure, we have not yet attained our ideals and there are people among us who are anything but compassionate. Yet, by and large, we are an amazing nation of energetic, good people. But if we focus on self-congratulation, as did the Pharisee in the parable, we, as a nation, will be in danger of slipping on that same banana peel. One way to state the basic problem of the Pharisee in the parable is: "He did not worship God nearly as much as he worshipped himself." He was so focused on himself and his own goodness, he was insensitive to his need for God and God's grace. Because he was so focused on the good he had done, what he sought from God was congratulations rather than guidance. As individuals, as a congregation, as a nation, when pride in our goodness replaces our yearning to become the persons, the congregation, the nation God intends us to be, we become insensitive to our need for God's grace and God's guidance. The result is, we are unable to become the persons, the congregation, the nation, God intends us to be, and this means we also fail to do what God wants done. God, protect us from slipping on the banana peel of self-satisfaction. As individuals, as a congregation, as a nation, enable us to keep our focus on you and your will so that we will be people who do what you want done. Amen. Pastoral Prayer: We have come here with
a variety of concerns
and problems. Let us ask
God for guidance and help.
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