Sermon, Proper 25C, Luke 18:9-14

In the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This verse has been used and abused for centuries.

It has been used as an evangelism tool. In its best sense, people use this verse to talk about the importance of Jesus and their relationship with him. They use it to say, in effect, "Jesus offers eternal life and it is through him and that relationship that this life is gained." It is through him that we understand how to relate to the Father and to those among us. Through him I find hope and salvation.

And it has been abused as a Conversion Club. From Constantine to the Crusades to the Inquisition to the Puritans all the way up to the hard line fundamentalists who maintain you must proclaim Jesus as your personal Savior or be damned to hell, all because he said, "I am the way and the truth and no one comes to the Father except through me." This verse has caused problems for a very long time.

It is baptism by the sword -- you either proclaim Jesus as your personal Savior or die; either way, you're going to meet your maker and I am only too happy to be of assistance.

Part of what this particular passage does is that it makes people feel right. I believe in Jesus. Only I have access to God because only those who believe in Jesus can get to God. And because they know that they are right, there could be a tendency to trust in their own righteousness and treat others with contempt.

At least I have the answer. At least I am going to heaven. At least I am not a sinner. At least I am not like those other people . . .

Once upon a time there were two men who went to church to pray. One man prayed, "Look at the good example I set for others: I don't steal, I take care of my parents, I am not an adulterer, and I tithe."

The other prayed, "Have mercy on me God, for I know my sins only too well and against you only have I sinned. Forgive me my sins and create in me a clean heart, O God."

There are a couple of things going on here. First, Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. And that's the problem right there: people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. Righteousness isn't determined by us. Neither is it a competition or comparison -- I go to church, I'm a good person, I tithe, unlike all those other people, all those other sinners.

Righteousness can only be determined by those to whom we are accountable. Like our jobs, we don't' determine if we are good employees, our boss and customers do that. But we try to do it anyway, don't we? Silently comparing ourselves to those we view as not as good as, or as worthy as, or as less than us and our self-centered ideals. Why do we do that? Because it makes us feel better. Look how good I am.

The other thing that needs to be pointed out in this story is that we are all sinners. If we are honest with ourselves, we can all admit that we commit sins both of omission and sins of commission. Whether it's cheating on our taxes, telling little white lies, not offering hospitality due to race or social status, or withholding resources our of fear, the list of our sins goes on.

We all sin. We are all in need of forgiveness. And at some point we all need to be brutally honest with ourselves and confess those sins. At some point we need to say, "Have mercy on me Lord, a sinner in your sight;" because if we don't recognize this about ourselves, we aren't being honest. And if we aren't being honest, then we are lying; which means . . . we are sinning.

Now don't misunderstand me. I'm not talking about self-flagellation or constantly praying for "us miserable sinners" who have a "sorely deserved punishment hanging over our heads." But what I am talking about is honestly. Like the psalmist says, God doesn't want burn offerings, but rather humbleness and honesty and relationship.

Be honest with yourselves. Where is the sin in your life and where is your need for confession and repentance? Don't trust in yourself and your own righteousness; but be humble and honest. Trust in God's willingness to forgive, and trust n his desire for relationship.

And it will be in that relationship that we can find the way, the truth and the life.