Garrett Vickrey 10:45 AM Worship Woodland Baptist Church 10.27.13 San Antonio, Texas “Where Your Trust Is” Luke 18:9-14, Deuteronomy 5:1-5, 11

Do you remember the end of the movable dwelling place of God story of Jonah? The last chapter. the Israelites had with them in the When I tell this story to kids I wilderness. The place that housed usually end with, "And Jonah the Ark of the Covenant where the went to preach to the people of Law of Moses was housed. Ninevah. They repented, and God forgave them." But, that's not the Jonah built for himself a end. It goes on from there. Jonah tabernacle to sit and pray and storms out of Ninevah after God watch for the destruction of the forgives the people. And he's not city. He built his own palace of happy about it. piety from leaves and branches on a hill overlooking the city to pray He says to God, "I knew this was for justice and wrath. going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were I can't help but see this same sheer grace and mercy, not easily spirit in the Pharisee here in Luke angered, rich in love, and ready at 18. The Pharisee puts his trust in the drop of a hat to turn your the plans of punishment. While plans of punishment into a the tax collector places his trust in program of forgiveness! the sheer grace and mercy of God. His hope is in God's 3 “So, God, if you won’t kill them, compassion; the pharisee's hope kill me! I’m better off dead!” is in God's wrath. I can't help but think this pharisee would react like 4 God said, “What do you have to Jonah if he found out God forgave be angry about?” this tax collector.

5 But Jonah just left. He went out Where your trust is, there your of the city to the east and sat heart will be also. It’s so easy for down in a sulk. He put together a us to place our trust in the wrong makeshift shelter of leafy branches place when it comes to our life and sat there in the shade to see with God. The pharisee trusted in what would happen to the city.1 his fulfillment of the demands of God rather than (simply) trusting That word for "makeshift shelter" God. here is "tabernacle". The same word used to describe the

1 If we are saved by faith, then we God as witness, and thus when must be saved by faith that is in we swear falsely we indicate to the right place. Faith, for our neighbors that God loves Christians, is trust in Christ. Trust lies.” When our prayers are more that he is who he says he is and for the sake of other’s opinion of will do what he says he will do. us than for investing in our The Pharisee’s trust is not in God. relationship with God then we are It's off kilter slightly. His trust is in using the Lord’s name in vain. his aptitude at religion. The Tax When we claim that God is on our Collector is scum. And he knows side, when God is not ours to it. But, he also knows he is reliant claim, then we are using the on God. And that’s something the Lord’s name in vain. When we puff Pharisee has forgotten. ourselves up into the place of creator instead of creature we Jesus tells us that the Tax take the place of God in our lives. Collector went home justified And when we do that we live as if before God. He is the one in right there is no God and if we do relationship to God. The Pharisee speak of him we speak in vain. justified himself. He had no need Sometimes we can become so full of God. of ourselves, so full of our own self-righteousness that we forget If we truly believe in the saving that it is God who fills us. Not our nature of the cross we must own doing... Christianity isn’t believe that all can be saved about a list of rules, it’s about through their trust in God. If we being filled by the way of Christ. don't we run the risk of making our faith a transaction like buying It’s kind of like this classic Zen life insurance, which is the parable: Nan was a Japenese Zen mistake of the Pharisee. This is master who receieved a University not trust, it’s not faith. There’s no professor that came to meet him risk for the Pharisee. And when and learn from him. They were we take pride in being better than having tea together. others, like the Pharisee, we use God’s name in vain by claiming Nan took a teakettle and started God’s judgement which is not pouring the Professor’s cup full of ours to claim or activate. tea. Soon the cup was full and began to spill over onto the The medieval theologian Thomas saucer. But Nan continued to pour Aquinas said, “When we swear by the tea until it spilled over the God it is nothing less than to call saucer and then onto the floor.

2 idolize ourself. It’s a thin line: The Professor finally said, "Stop, Recognizing our status as stop, the tea is spilling over. The creatures of God in whom he is cup can't take any more." Nan well pleased and creatures who then looked at the professor and fall away from the creator and said, "You are so full of yourself miss the mark of all God dreams that there’s no room in your life for for us. me to teach you anything. It’s not possible for you to learn until you For the Pharisee, the law of God is learn to empty yourself." good and pure. But, still we see in this story how sin can twist God’s It’s not that the Pharisee is a good provision of the law. Corrupt terrible person. He’s probably a intentions can lie behind good really good person from what we acts. Pride can enter into our can tell by the story. The problem spiritual lives as much as it drives is that even really good people our thirst for power and wealth. can slip into modes of thought This is especially dangerous for us which can create paths that lead pastors and preacher-types. But, us away from God. it’s tempting for all of us in the church. Scripture links sin with the core of our being. It’s not that we are bad Charismatic healers on christian to the core. This just means that TV make an easy comparison to sin touches all of us, at every part the Pharisee in the story. TV of our lives. Christ came to set us preachers put on a show of free from bondage to sin and Christianity and take money from death which clings to the core of the sick and the hopeless to keep our being. That’s why we must it going. They build mansions in empty ourselves in order to be secret locations, buy jets and turn filled with Christ. When we take faith into a fireworks show. But, the bread and wine of the Lord’s Jesus didn’t tell this story to setup Supper we are recognizing our a straw-man to knock down. hunger and emptiness and filling Those preachers are easy targets, ourselves with Christ. We should but don’t make the same mistake follow that precedent for our the Pharisee made. Jesus told this prayer life and our lives together story to a group of disciples for a as a church. God created us and reason. It was aimed at them. In called us ‘very good’. We were the same way, this story should made in the image of God. But, be aimed at each of us… not that does not mean we get to some archetypal hypcocrit we

3 create to feel better about speech I was being hanged, the ourselves. This Pharisee is you crowd would be twice as big." and me. We have to find balance in life This parable is a warning to our between the Pharisee and the Tax mountaintop experience with Collector. When we place our trust God. It’s a reminder that even at in God and not in our abilities it our moments of greatest clarity, doesn’t mean we are terrible even in our times of greatest wretches or unworthy people it sincerity and charity… even at our means that we remember our greatest moments of faith we still creator, and remember that if we (as Paul says) see through a glass allow for it he will continuing dimly. creating in us and through us.

Be assured by the mystery of God Pride and zeal in our faith can lead in this world. Christ has come to to wedges among people-- like make this mystery known… it is the Pharisee and the Tax collector. not all explained so that we can These wedges are destructive to box it and sell it. God’s character life in community and are fatal to is known in his son. Moses tells communities of faith. But, it’s such us: he has given us his name. And an easy mistake to make. Both that’s not something to take the Pharisee and the Tax Collector lightly. God is dwelling near us… pray alone in the Temple. That’s but can’t be captured by us in our not the way it’s supposed to be. traditions or songs or prayers. The Private prayer life is important but Lord is God and we are his life in community brings healing people. That should fill us with and wholeness because the divine awe at the greatness of being image blooms in community. God God’s people while humbling us is social. God is triune-- Father, with the reality that there is a God Son, Holy Spirit. Sin tears apart and we are not it. community. Pride is (at least) a wedge between people, and at Winston Churchill was once asked worst a battering ram used to if it thrilled him that every time he beat others down. gives a speech the hall is packed with people. "It's quite flattering," Phillip Brooks said, "The true way replied Churchill. "But whenever I to be humble is not to stoop until feel that way, I always remember you are smaller than yourself, but that if instead of making a political to stand at your real height against some higher nature that

4 will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is."

It’s easy to lose sight of what we are shooting for. Too often we focus on the finger that’s pointing to the moon instead of the moon itself, and then we begin to pat ourselves on the back for the clarity with which we see the finger… and miss the sparkle of the moon smiling back at us.

Even after Jonah was swallowed by the fish, he was still focused on the wrong thing. The Pharisee had spent his whole life devoted to the law of God. He still missed the point. If life with God is more about a measuring stick to prove ourselves over others then we miss the point and use God’s name in vain. God’s judgement isn’t about “getting back” or getting even, it’s about getting things right. And it’s less about plans of punishment and more about sheer grace and mercy. That’s good news to the Tax Collectors and sinners. What about you?

5 1 Jonah 4 from Eugene Peterson’s The Message.

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