Year C
Season after Pentecost
Proper 25 (30)
What I Am Learning
Jesus tells a parable to “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt.” Two men go up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee thanks God that he is not like other people—thieves, rogues, adulterers—or even like the tax collector standing nearby. He boasts of his fasting and tithing. Meanwhile, the tax collector will not even lift his eyes to heaven. He beats his chest and says, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus concludes: the tax collector went home justified, not the Pharisee.
Within Jewish Tradition
Pharisees were not cartoon villains; they were a respected Jewish renewal movement, deeply committed to holiness. Jesus’ critique is not anti-Jewish—it is an intra-Jewish debate about the heart of covenant life. The prophets had long warned against worship that masks injustice (Amos 5, Isaiah 58). Jesus stands in this stream, exposing the danger of religious pride. Christians might apply Jesus’ critiques of his fellow Jewish leaders to ourselves – and explicitly reject the subtle Antisemitism that often is heard in our sermons.
The Challenge Then
The Pharisee’s prayer shows how easy it is to use faith as a way to elevate oneself and despise others. The tax collector’s prayer reveals true covenant humility: honesty before God, dependence on mercy, and solidarity with others. Jesus shocks his hearers by saying that it is the outsider, not the model of piety, who is right with God. The parable invites us to look at ourselves and not to point fingers, as the Pharisee does, at Pharisees:)
The Challenge Now
We too are tempted to use faith as a badge of superiority. In our culture, religious self-righteousness often fuels contempt for those outside our group. Christian Nationalism is one expression of this, turning faith into a weapon for power and judgment. But Jesus calls us to a different posture: humility before God, mercy toward others, and resistance to contempt. “Progressive Christianity, focused on our own purity of thought and theology can be a part of the same dynamic.
Implications for Leaders & Communities
In a collectivist culture, people would have heard this as a word to communities of faith, not just individuals. Leaders are cautioned: are you modeling humility and dependence on God, or fueling a culture of contempt? Communities are warned: when belonging is built on pride and exclusion, it cannot reflect God’s mercy. The parable presses churches, synagogues, and civic groups today to ask: are we places where people boast about their virtue, or places where people confess, trust, and grow together in mercy?
What I Am Learning is that I am often more like the Pharisee than I want to admit. I like to compare myself favorably to others. But Jesus reminds me that faith is not about proving myself righteous—it is about trusting God’s mercy and living out that mercy in community.
The question I’m sitting with:
How can I practice humility this week—in my prayers, in my conversations, and in the way I regard others?
