Why do bad things happen? It’s an honest
question that both believers and unbelievers have asked throughout life. We
know not to talk about “if” bad things will happen, but “when” – b/c we know
that it happens to all.
This past week I heard on the news – Ingrid
Williams, the wife of Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Monty Williams, was
killed in a tragic car accident at the age of 44. She was hit head-on by a car
that crossed over the center lane. She was taken to the hospital and died later
that evening from injuries suffered in the crash. And the driver died at the
scene. Ingrid was traveling with three of her children at the time of the
crash. They are all expected to be ok. She leaves behind a husband and 5
children ranging in age from 5 to 17 years old.
We
know sad new like this affects people every day. You and I may have faced
tragedy in our own lives too. When tragedy happens, we may be left to wonder – Why do Bad things happen? This morning
we want to listen to the answer of our Savior as he shares with us both the
reason and the result.
I don’t know if you noticed or not, but I
believe there was a big football game played last Sunday. Did you catch the
game? Well, even if you missed some or all of it, all you had to do was look at
the headlines this past week to give you a pretty good idea of what took place
–
§“Defense powers
Broncos to Victory”
§“Broncos give
Manning 2nd Super Bowl Ring”
§“What’s next for
Payton?
And the headlines for the losing team, the
Carolina Panthers weren’t nearly as kind.
§“Is Cam a Sore
Loser?”
§“Why didn’t Cam
dive for the fumble?”
It certainly was a battle, a big game –
and there were winners and losers.
There was another battle – or Big Game –
that took place almost 2000 years ago. Jesus vs. the Devil. While we weren’t
there at the event, the headlines tell it all – “Jesus Defeats the Devil!” This morning we’ll hear about the
enemy, about his game plan, but even more importantly, about Jesus our Savior
who went to battle with the devil and won and why it’s so important for you and
me.
“It’s
not my fault!” Does that sound familiar? Who in all the world might’ve said
those words? Could it be you – when you were 4,5,6 or 7 years old and you said
that about your brother or sister who got you into trouble. If you’re a
teacher, you’ve probably heard a student say that. If you’re a supervisor,
you’ve probably heard it from an employee. You may have heard it from a
neighbor or coworker.
What
it is an attempt to justify your actions. They make an excuse for what they
did. They try to shift the blame and get out of whatever consequences might be
coming. It’s kind of ironic that we use the word justify for that,
because justify is one of the most important words in the Bible. It
means that God declares us not guilty in his courtroom. But when we use it in
everyday speech, it almost always means that we make an excuse. That subtle
difference illustrates the theme of our Lenten devotions. This year, we’re going
to hear about irony. One dictionary defines irony as “a combination of
circumstances or a result that is the opposite of what . . . might be
expected.” Jesus’ passion is filled with irony. Tonight, we’re considering a
parable Jesus told. What is the irony, the unexpected result? This man went
home justified.
Who was Jesus talking about? There were
two people here – a Pharisee; and a tax collector. One of the ironies of this
parable is how we react to the word Pharisee. To us, that word means
proud and self-righteous. We can’t imagine a Pharisee as anything other than a
hypocrite. The gospels back up that assessment. But to the first-century Jew, Pharisee
meant something else. St. Paul was raised a Pharisee, and he was proud of that
label before he came to faith. The Pharisees were the people who defended a
strict interpretation of the Old Testament law. They held that it really was
the Word of God and that it really was true, unlike the Sadducees who were more
like the theological liberals of many churches today. But the tax-collector? He
would’ve been the sinner or the outcast of society.
We’re told right away in our very first
verse – why Jesus told this parable – To
some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody
else, Jesus told this parable…There were a lot of people who had
misunderstandings of how to get into a right relationship with God. The
Pharisees thought by doing and keeping God’s law was the way to get right with
God. They even went to the point of making over 600 laws that they tried their
best to keep.
There
were two men who went to the temple to pray – one a Pharisee, the other a tax
collector. 11 The Pharisee
stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other
men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I
fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ Remember, we want to
remember the thought, “This man went
home justified.” Would we be talking about the Pharisee or the tax
collector? The Pharisee is a self-described good person. He lists all the ways
he tries to get into a right relationship with God. He was going a step above
and beyond what he had to do – what was required of him. Percentage giving was
good, but he fasted much more than he had needed to. He thought he was good.
Did this man go home justified?
God
tells us throughout the Bible that it’s not about our outward actions, but it’s
about the thoughts and attitude of the heart. The Pharisee doesn’t take
responsibility for his own actions. He shifts the blame to others. ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other
men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. These
were the people who were far from being right with God. These were the outcasts
of society. In essence, he’s saying “I’m not…a robber…evildoer…adulterer…or tax
collector.” And the public would’ve agreed with him. He would have been given
the societal stamp of approval – that he was trying to do right and good
things.
But
how did that sit with God? When we hear about the Pharisee, it’s easy to see
what the problem is – the pride that rested in his heart. We have pride resting
in our own hearts. Maybe we say similar prayers – “Lord, I’m thankful I’m not
like this neighbor…co-worker of mine. I’m not a robber, evildoer or adulterer.
I’m a pretty good person compared to the person sitting in the cubicle next to
me.” Does that type of attitude put us into a right relationship with God –
when we carry around the attitude that we’re better than others?
We
heard it in the very last verse – For
everyone who exalts himself will be humbled… and isn’t that what the
Pharisee had done – exalted himself? Our Lord told this parable to those who were confident of their own
righteousness and looked down on everybody else… There are times when we
are over confident and look down on others; and that we weren’t among the
sinful of the world. But our Lord tells us about the sinful pride that rests in
our heart – that he has come to defeat the sin and pride in our heart.
It
wasn’t the Pharisee who went home justified, rather it was the tax collector. But
notice the difference between the two. 13
“But the tax collector stood at a distance…He didn’t want to be front
and center – not wanting to have everyone hear his prayer. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God,
have mercy on me, a sinner.’ How do we develop this God-pleasing attitude?
When we think about Lent and Ash Wednesday, isn’t it the time for us to do some
self-reflection and look at the obvious, difficult and painful reality that we
find ourselves in? We are robbing God; we are evildoers committing sin; we are
adulterers; we go and break the 8th commandment. We fail to honor
God in everything we say and think and do.
We
are here in Lent and to do on Ash Wednesday. To remember this phrase and say it
well – “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
We can tell God anything and everything we’ve done – b/c he knows it all – even
the dirty little secrets we don’t want to tell anyone else. We can confess our
sins to God – b/c of Jesus, his passion, his life, death and resurrection, we
have the forgiveness of all our sins.
We
have been justified – in the courtroom God has declared us not guilty – of any
sin we’ve committed in the past or any sin we will commit in the future. We are
to look to Jesus as our Savior.
There
are many ironies of the Passion that we’ll hear about over the next several
weeks. We’ve heard one tonight about the Pharisee and the tax collector. I pray
that we look to the model example of the tax collector – that we reflect on our
many sins that we’ve committed – that caused our Lord Jesus to suffer and die
on the cross. May we also rejoice in the passion of our Savior – that b/c he
died to forgive all our sins – we are declared not guilty. We are the man, the woman, the child, that has gone home justified.
Amen.
You can easily see the glass of water here
(point to it). No, it’s not a science experiment. But I am getting kind of
thirsty. There are two ways that you can look at this glass – and you’ve
probably heard the expression before – “Is the glass half empty? Or half full?”
The person who looks at life as a glass
half-empty is the one who thinks to themselves about situations in life –
“What’s the point? There is no hope. I might as well just quit.” This is the
time of year when we hear the most negativity – from our friends, co-workers,
spouses, maybe even you and me from time to time. It’s cold outside and all the
green and life and vitality is covered up by snow. Christmas is past. We’ve put
away all the decorations. We’ve said good-bye to the family and friends who
were only in town for a visit. And to top it all off, you’ve probably just
gotten the bill in the mail. January is kind a “blah” type of month; and
certainly a time when we’re tempted to look at life as being a glass
half-empty.
But the glass half-full is a mindset of
positivity in spite of any and all circumstances we might find ourselves in.
These are the friends, family, co-workers with a positive attitude in life that
we want to surround ourselves with. No matter how bleak the situation is, the
glass half-full looks at life and all the good that is coming out of every
situation. There is hope!
Glass half-full describes the season of
epiphany. It is the time where we see Jesus revealed as God’s Son. Jesus obeyed
his parents perfectly. He was baptized. He performed his first miracle –
changing water into wine. And he chooses his first disciples. Epiphany is an
opportunity for us to rally around and follow Jesus in preparation for the
season of Lent. Epiphany offers us hope.
This morning, we want to study our OT
lesson and be reminded that with Jesus, there is hope! Jesus is our hope!
