CAMINANDO WITH JESUS: A Matter of Trust

Pentecost 20, Proper 25 | October 27, 2019

By the Rev. Imogen Rhodenhiser

CAMINANDO WITH JESUS is a series of reflections on the Sunday Gospel by clergy and laity from across the Diocese. 

Sign up to receive CAMINANDO WITH JESUS in your inbox each Wednesday.

Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: "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 18:9-14

 
Jesus’ portraits of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18 are so vivid that I almost believe that they’re real. It’s easy for me to forget that this, like many of Jesus’ utterances, is a parable. I can see these two people in my mind. I have met them and seen them in the flesh. I can hear the confident voice grandstanding at the microphone, flaunting the higher ground of “the right way” at the expense of all others down below. And I see in my mind, in such a way that brings me to tears, the faces of those who try to serve God faithfully and fear that their meagre efforts will never be enough. For all that Jesus’ parables can seem obscure and unsettling, this one rings surprisingly current and clear. There are two types of people, and if you’ve got the wherewithal to choose, it’s better to be the tax collector.

A closer look yields another possibility. Perhaps this parable stands to offer us a single portrait of a single person, rather than two distinct types. Is it not, in some respect, a breathtaking illustration of the ever so human condition of a disciple of Christ, oscillating constantly between the puffed up and the downcast, the blessed assurance and the paralyzing despair? We find ourselves to be both Pharisee and tax collector, moment by moment.

Yet the crux of this Gospel word seems to be not so much who we are, or even how we ought to pray, but fundamentally a matter of who we trust. It’s noteworthy that what prompts Jesus to offer this teaching in the first place is not that liturgical worship has gone awry, but rather that there are “some who trusted in themselves.”

Your prayers and your way of living, Jesus indicates, are very much determined by whom or what you chose to rely upon, to hope in, to trust. Trusting in ourselves seems at first glance to be the safest option: we get more control, more flexibility, and more autonomy. Trusting in God invites us to accept bravely and honestly what has always been: it is we who belong to God, rather than God who belongs to me. As such, in our braver moments, we may find ourselves praying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” which is only a few steps away from praying, “God, be merciful to us, who are sinners.” Perhaps that’s what trust comes down to – if I choose to trust primarily in myself, I will at some point view others as less than myself (whether less trustworthy or less powerful). All my prayer and all my relating to others will be scuttled, because of the “exaltation” I have placed upon myself and my capabilities.

It is only by trusting in God, by staking our lives on the love and power of God moving through and around us, that we are held together as members of the body of Christ and as the beloved humanity God chose and desired into being. Such is the brave faith and trust that Jesus makes possible for us, for the Pharisee and the tax collector alike. 

The Rev. Imogen Rhodenhiser is the rector of Church of the Good Shepherd, Raleigh.