Date: October 20th & 23rd
Preacher: Pastor Ashley Rosa-Ruggieri
First Reading: Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22
Psalmody: Psalm 84:1-7
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Gospel: Luke 18:9-14
Righteousness can be a tricky thing in the Bible, while also being a key theme we find throughout our scriptures. To be righteous is to be blameless, upright, moral, honest, virtuous. I am sure we could come up with other words to describe what it means for someone to be righteous or describe how Jesus teaches about it throughout the Bible. One way that Jesus often chooses to teach us about these topics is through parables or stories, which give hypothetical or example situations to help the listener understand the point being made. With that in mind, today I am going to give you all three hypothetical scenarios related to righteousness, we are not actually going to do them, and I want you to think about how you would respond in each scenario, and how your response changes or stays the same in each scenario.
The first scenario: I give every person here a small piece of paper, with the instructions to circle one answer on the paper. The question on the paper reads: “Compared to all of the other people in this room, I feel I am _______?” The three possible responses you could circle to fill in the blank are: more righteous, a similar amount of righteous, less righteous. Think to yourself which option you might circle on that piece of paper.
The second scenario: The question does not change, but instead of passing out individual, anonymous papers, I ask everyone present to close their eyes, and to raise their hand for their answer. Again, the question and responses are: “Compared to all of the other people in this room, I feel I am _______?” I am… more righteous, a similar amount of righteous, less righteous.
The final scenario: Again, the question and responses do not change, and even the action does not change from the second scenario. You are instructed to raise your hand for your answer, but the difference is that in this third scenario, everyone’s eyes are open when people raise their hands to answer. One final time, the question and responses are: “Compared to all of the other people in this room, I feel I am _______?” I am… more righteous, a similar amount of righteous, less righteous.
Now, I would never actually have us do these exercises, I think they could cause a lot of tension and toxicity in a very short amount of time, but I ask you to consider your own responses to these hypothetical situations because of our reading today from Luke. As I mentioned earlier, righteousness is a topic that is spoken about often in our scripture, liturgy, and other parts of Christian life, and yet it can be a difficult topic to talk about because it can feel personal. In the case of our Gospel story today, it is very clear what audience Jesus has in mind when he is telling this parable. It says Jesus told this parable to “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt.” Right from the start of this passage, Luke is making clear that Jesus is warning against us trusting in our own righteousness, while judging others against ourselves.
With that context, Jesus tells the parable of a pharisee and a tax collector, both praying at the temple. The pharisee in this scenario sees himself as righteous, as justified, and as doing no wrong, and loudly compares his own triumphs to his own judgements on the tax collector praying next to him. If this pharisee were to have participated in the scenarios I posed to us earlier, it seems he would have probably answered that he was more righteous in all three scenarios with no problem. On the other hand, the tax collector in his prayers acknowledges his own sins and wrongdoings, and asks God for mercy, without the mention of others around him who are also praying. If he were to participate in our scenarios from earlier, perhaps he would have seen himself as less righteous in all situations. In the end of the parable Jesus explains that this tax collector is the one who will go home more justified, more righteous, because he has not exalted himself above others.
When we are able to do good things in the world, there is always the possibility that our acts that were inspired by our faith turn into the idea that we are better than others because we do these things. However, this parable from Jesus is trying to get across that all people are in need of forgiveness, no one is above needing to be justified—no matter how righteous that person may be. God has sent us Jesus, redeemer of all, but God also is the only true judge of who is righteous.
In the end, perhaps my scenarios from earlier miss the point Jesus makes here entirely, because they asked each person to judge the righteousness of themselves in relation to their neighbor. Instead, the message we receive from God is that our own righteousness is not to be flaunted or compared, and should never be assumed of others, for all are in need of God’s saving grace and mercy. In this way, we can be sure that Jesus has justified us, while also not relying on our own righteousness to make us better than someone else. It is through Jesus that we are justified, and our own righteousness is never what we must rely on for God’s forgiveness.
In the Lutheran tradition, one way that we acknowledge this truth is through the confession and forgiveness at the start of our worship services. Through this practice, we are able to state as a whole people of God that we are far from perfect, and could never be righteous enough on our own. We fully support one another, confessing the ways we have not lived as God calls us to live, and then are able to joyfully hear the forgiveness that has already be won and given through Jesus. Practicing in this way as a congregation also gives us opportunity to not be like the pharisee, proclaiming our good works while judging our neighbor in comparison. When we confess and receive forgiveness, we all do so together, as one unified church, rather than as individuals relying on our own goodness and righteousness. I invite you to remember this connection the next time we are worshiping, and to give thanks that the only righteousness we need to rely upon comes from the Lord. And that, is good news, thanks be to God!