Rev. Martha Koenig Stone Zephaniah 3:1-13

Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost – 10/28/07 Psalm 65

Henrietta UCC II Timothy 4:6-8

Before I begin this morning, I’d like to teach you a prayer response that we’ll use together at the end of the sermon. I’ve asked Joe to play it for us. I’ll sing it through once, and then you can join me the second time, so that when we’re ready to sing it as a part of our prayer, it will be a bit more familiar….

“Lord, listen to your children praying! Lord, send your Spirit in this place.

Lord, listen to your children praying. Send us love, send us power, and send us grace.”

-Ken Medema

When Archbishop Desmond Tutu spoke at the University of Rochester a few years ago, he told a story about a man driving his car along a winding mountain road, going a bit too fast. The road was wet, and so the man lost control and the car crashed and burned. He had the good fortune to be thrown from the window. Unfortunately, though, he was thrown over the edge of the precipice. Luckily there was a small branch, and he caught it.

Hanging there, he prayed. “Help! Is there anyone out there who can help me?”
And a voice came to him, “Yes, my son, I am here.”

So he prayed again, “Please help me get down from here!”

And the voice said, “Trust me, my son, let go of the branch and I will catch you.”

And the man thought for a moment…and then he said, “Is there anyone else out there?”

How much do we trust in God? Do we trust, really, that God holds us at every moment, all throughout our lives, no matter how short or long? Do we trust, really, that God holds us, even beyond this life?

Jesus tells a story of two men who are praying in the temple. If this scripture passage sounds familiar to you, it may be because Gene preached on it a few weeks ago. But the neat thing about Jesus’ parables is that they’re so rich you can see different things in them each time you look. I wanted to look at this text again this morning because I think it has something special to say to us during this stewardship season, as we talk about opening doors to God and to one another. I think it has something to say to us about being a church at prayer with one another, and how, through prayer, we can open ourselves to a deeper sense of trust in God.

In Jesus’ story, one man is a Pharisee, a teacher of the law, someone who knew just exactly what was required of him, and took pains to do it. He did everything right, everything according to God’s law. He fasted, twice a week. He gave ten percent of his income to the temple to support its operation and provide for the poor—there’s a pretty significant commitment! And he even prayed to God, thankful for his station in life. He was a good man, and he had prospered. And so he had come to trust in himself, in his own ability to be righteous. But he looked with contempt on anyone who couldn’t do the same.

Then there was the other man. He was a tax collector. He worked for the government--the Romans. His job was to collect the taxes so that roads could be built and sewers maintained and armies supported. But as you can imagine, there were mixed feelings about taxes in Jesus’ day, especially among people living in poverty. And since tax collectors supported themselves with commissions collected along with the taxes, the system was easily corrupted if they asked for too much. So when the scriptures talk about tax collectors, it is usually assumed that they are the bad guys, sinful people, greedy people. And indeed, when the tax collector in Jesus’ story prayed to God, he didn’t go up to the front of the temple with the righteous folks—he stood at the back. He wasn’t listing his good deeds or saying thank you. He was begging for mercy. He was saying, “Help!” He knew that he was a sinner, and he knew that he couldn’t save himself.

So, which one, would you say, really trusted in God?

Jesus said that the tax collector went home “justified,” that is, in right relationship with God. Why?

The Pharisee had done lots of good things, it’s true, but there was something out of kilter here. He was chalking up his success to his own goodness, his own abilities, his own discipline. And he was looking down his nose at those who couldn’t do the same. He was proud of himself and contemptuous of others. He had trusted in himself more than in God, and he had begun to think himself more important than other people. He had to love God and to say thanks, but had forgotten to love his neighbor.

When we are proud like this man, we become certain that our way is right. We may even try to impose our view on others. We crowd out doubts or questions or room for improvement, and we certainly don’t want to admit any possible fault. When we are proud, we live as though our cup were already full to the brim and we leave no room for God to come in. And so, we may be rightfully proud for a job well done, pride can easily begin to skew our relationships with others and with God. We compare ourselves and our accomplishments with others and what they have done, and pretty soon we begin to devalue the lives of others, to set ourselves apart and above. Or, we see that others have done better or more, and we begin to doubt our own abilities. We spend our time running to catch up and overtake and impress, or to fix everything that’s wrong, until there’s no room left in our lives for God.

We humans have a natural drive to evaluate people and situations-- to ask, what’s right here, and what is wrong. It’s a good thing, because it can help us to fix mistakes and flaws. But when it leads to putting down others, when it leads to disdain and contempt, it creates a chasm, a divide among people. It can be wounding, rather than healing to a community. It’s like shutting a door between ourselves and others, and shutting a door between ourselves and God.

So of course, when we read this story, we want to say to ourselves, “Let’s not be too proud to admit our faults!” Now, I’m not a proud person. I’ve got lots of faults. And I know I’ve been incredibly lucky and privileged in my life. I couldn’t have made it to where I am today without the help of God and lots of great people. I’m not going to sit here and tell you all how good I am, I know better than that! Thank God I’m not like that Pharisee!

Okay, I admit it. There are definitely times in my life when I have looked at someone else with disdain and thought, “Whew, I’m glad I’m not like that! Why can’t that person just pick himself up and do the right thing?”

And so I suppose it’s to me that God says, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” And then I realize the error of my ways and I say, “Help! I don’t want to be a hypocrite, and pretend to preach the gospel without living it! Help me, God! I want to be humble. Help me open my heart to you.”

And God says, “I’m here, my daughter. Trust me! Let go of your score-keeping and comparisons! Let go of your fear that you won’t be good enough or safe enough. Get down there in that mess with that troubled person you’ve been criticizing! Get to work, walk with him, listen to her, and help them out! You might learn something.”

But I’m tempted to say in response, “Help! Is there anyone else out there?” Because trusting in God enough to reach out to others isn’t always easy. People can be pretty exasperating! Still, I am intrigued by the possibilities this story opens up for me. What would happen if the tax collector and the Pharisee were to have a conversation with one another? After all, they’re both there in the temple, and they both know the importance of prayer. What would happen if the Pharisee and tax collector that live inside of me could turn to God in prayer together?

In churches and synagogues and communities of various types, we are blessed with all kinds of people, thrown together. We take turns playing the roles of tax collector and Pharisee. We bring various gifts and faults, insecurities and strengths, frailties and accomplishments. But if we bring our deepest thanks and our deepest yearnings to God, and if we share them with one another, God can redeem the whole mixed-up mess. Opening our hearts to God in prayer helps us to receive God’s direction and love.

We have prayed at HUCC to grow as a church. Lo and behold, we are growing! We’ve gone “out on a limb” and opened our doors to anyone and everyone, and that’s good. And yet, as with every kind of growth, when something is gained something else is lost. We are no longer the small, manageable congregation we once were, where everyone knew everyone else and things were predictable and safe. So the question for us now is: can we let go and trust God to take us the next step?

I believe that if we remain committed to a life of seeking God’s will, of praying and learning together, God will help us to do just that.

So it is my hope that as we move forward through this stewardship season, this time of opening doors, we will look together for times and ways to pray. Let’s pray sitting and standing and kneeling, hands folded or hands open to the Spirit. Let’s pray at mealtime and at bedtime and singing in the shower! Let’s pray on our own and pray with each other. Let’s pray when we’re feeling proud and when we’re feeling like the lowest of the low. Let’s give thanks for the people we think are terrific, and let’s pray for reconciliation with those we think are unredeemable. Let’s pray by ourselves and in committees and boards, and let’s pray as a whole congregation. Let’s put all of our deepest needs and thoughts and feelings and doubts right out there on the table before God, trusting that God’s response will be one of grace and love and power.

Now, I’m sure that as individuals we have many different kinds of praying—different ways of looking deep within ourselves, and different ways of bringing our own concerns to God. But I want to give us an opportunity today to open our hearts in prayer together—to share our individual prayers with the whole congregation—to make one great prayer from HUCC to God this morning, so that God might transform the life of our community here.

In your bulletin is a sheet of paper with some sentences on it. If you didn’t get one, raise your hand and the ushers will bring you one. I invite you to use that to write down a simple prayer. What is on your heart that you need to open up to God? Where do you need a word from God to touch your life?

Take a moment to write a short prayer, just a line or two. Use one of the sentences on your sheet to get it started, or just make up your own. Or if your prayer would be better expressed with a picture, you could even draw it or fold it! I’m not giving you enough time to make it perfect and get just the right words, so don’t worry about that…it can be a Pharisee’s prayer or a tax collector’s prayer or a pharmacist’s prayer, or whatever…just say what comes to mind. Take a moment now to do that…

(Joe plays the response as people write their prayers.)

When you’ve finished your prayer, think about whether you’d like to share it. And if you would like to have it read aloud, pass it to the center aisle and the ushers will pick it up and bring it up front. Then Pastor Dave and Gene and I will read those prayers, a few at a time. And we’ll pause every now and then to sing the prayer response that we learned at the beginning of the sermon. (Joe plays the response as prayers are collected.)

Now let us open our hearts to God in prayer. (Read prayers aloud, with sung response every so often…)

Thank you God, for open doors and for the challenge of learning and growing together! We entrust these prayers to you, confident in your power to unite us and guide us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.