Twenty-second Pentecost

             October 28, 2007

     Did you ever notice that when you put the two words, “THE” and “IRS” together it spells “THEIRS?”

     I heard a story about the two Episcopal seminarians who just happen to find themselves stuck on an elevator with an older Roman Catholic bishop.  One of the young men ribs the other with a casual comment and then says to the bishop, “Well, Father, I’ve heard tell that your Pope has taken up smoking recently.  It’s a filthy habit, Father.  Have you heard that?”

     “No, I can’t say I have,” said the bishop, apparently undisturbed.

     Undeterred, the young man said, “I’ve also heard that he’s been hitting the bottle a little lately, making friends with old Jack Daniels, so I’m told.  Is that right, Father?”

     “Well, that’s the first I’ve heard of it,” said the bishop.

     “You know Father,” said the young man, making one final frustrated attempt, “I’ve heard your Pope has got a few women hidden away up there inside the Vatican.  Is that right, Father?”

     “Well, I wouldn’t have believed it,” said the bishop.  “It’s the first I’ve heard of it, but I’m glad to be kept informed.  Thank you.”
    

    The other young man decided that his friend is making no progress in annoying the old cleric, so he said, “You know, Father, I’ve heard that the Pope is becoming an Episcopalian.”

     “Yes, that’s what your friend has been telling me,” said the bishop.

     Well, at least we’re not overly pharisaical about our approach to life.  I’m not too sure we’re like the tax collector in the Gospel for this morning, either.  Perhaps via media is the proper route to take.

     The Lord of this life and the life that is to come continues his trip to Jerusalem.  Last Sunday the Gospel from Luke was the parable in which Jesus instructed his followers, both then and now, that they should always pray and not lose heart.  The teaching parable about the insistent, persistent widow and the indifferent, impatient judge was used to remind the disciples that practice was necessary to recognize the power that prayer could have when it occupied center stage in life.  He also pointed out that persistence was needed in order to learn that before it appeared that God was working for us God must work in us.  Finally, Jesus reminded his hearers, then and now, that God is the source of all power and prayer is the one thing that opened access to that universal power.

     This Sunday the Gospel from Luke gives another parable about prayer.  This time the emphasis is not so much on why we are to pray, but on how we are to pray.

     Prayer must be an exercise in humility.  “Lord, in your mercy.  Hear our prayer,” we say in Form IV of the Prayers of the People.  That has the proper ring of humility about it.  That’s where we must begin.  Proud people have difficulty with prayer.  They tend to bang their heads on the Gate of Heaven because they forget that the entrance is so low that only those on their knees may enter.  Literally and figuratively, forgetting to keep ones head down probably causes more bad prayers than anything else.  The Pharisee, standing off by himself, didn’t have his head down.  He was looking around at the thieves, rogues, adulterers, and tax collectors.  He even reminded God that we went further than the rabbis instructed or the law required.  He fasted twice a week; once was all that the law stipulated.  He gave a tenth of his income.  Using the worldly standard of measuring goodness, this was a good man.  He had forgotten, and we are very often reminded, that God’s measuring stick is vastly different from the one so often used by the world.  The pride of the Pharisee had locked his head with his nose pointed skyward.  The audience to whom the parable was directed, those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt, probably had trouble understanding what Jesus said.  How could such a good man not be the one after whom to model ones life?  Apparently, humility has to be the starting point for prayer.

     The second point in this teaching parable is that prayer must be selfless.  Prayer cannot be our attempt to inform God how good we are.  Like the tax collector we must begin by begging God to be merciful to us as sinners.  We cannot rank ourselves with other people, using some imaginary meritorious scale.  We cannot pray very effectively if we harbor anger and resentment against others.  The Pharisee couldn’t bear the thought that he had anything is common with a tax collector, so he stood off by himself.  Selfless praying helps us move ego aside and helps us see ourselves as one member of a great mob of sinning, suffering, and sorrowing humanity, all kneeling before the throne of a loving, merciful, and forgiving God.  Attempting to stand off by ourselves means we will undoubtedly bank our heads on that low-hung gate.

     Finally, this teaching parable reminds us that our prayers must begin in thanksgiving.  Placing before God in prayer even our deepest needs must be prefaced with thanksgiving for all the blessings God has given.  We are to model our life and our approach to prayer after the “pioneer and perfector of our faith.”  Look at the number of times Jesus began a prayer with “I thank you, Father…”  I would challenge us all to begin with “I thank you, Father.”  

     When we do that we see in stark relief how shallow any claim of merit on our part really is.  The life of the one called Jesus the Christ can only be seen as God’s incredible gift to us.  For that gift we can only be thankful. 

     Honest confession, sincere contrition, and deep commitment to amendment of life must lead to thanksgiving.  Otherwise, we die in our sins and have no way back to the Father who is the source of all.  That we do not have to die eternally and that we do not have to suffer eternal alienation from God must issue in deep thanksgiving.

     So, dear friends, keep your head down, keep your eyes on the prize, and pray.  Pray humbly, selflessly, and with profound thanksgiving.  While we surely do not want to be like the Pharisee and we may not be exactly like the tax collector, if we pray humbly, selflessly, and with a grateful heart, God is merciful and will hear our prayers.  Amen.     

          ~The Rev. G. Thomas Mustard