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Luke 18:9-14 – New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

He also 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 lift up his eyes 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 – The Message

He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’

“Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’”

Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”

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Celebrating All Saints Sunday – October 26, 2025 – Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Luke 18:9-14

During my first semester of seminary I took a class titled Introduction to Buddhism. I loved it. One of our semester long assignments was to meditate every day for 20-30 minutes and then journal about the experience. It was hard to quiet my mind when I sat down to meditate. There were specific practices to help quiet the mind, one of which was to count my breaths, trying to make it to the count of ten without having stray thoughts intrude. I counted from one to three or four much more frequently than from one to ten. Starting over was part of the practice. During one meditation session I realized my mind was perfectly still. No thoughts, just silence. And then my brain kicked in and I said excitedly to myself, “I’m doing it! I’m doing it!” At which point of course, I wasn’t. 

Why is this the memory that came to mind when I first read this scripture? It is when we express confidence in ourselves that we are “doing it” that we are probably not “doing it.” 

What is it that we are supposed to be doing in context of this scripture? Putting our trust in God. Humbling ourselves. Though it sounds deceptively simple, this is an incredibly difficult way to live. I have to start over many times throughout each day, trying to keep my trust in God and remain humble. 

Dan Clarenden, of the Journey with Jesus website, summed up our text this way: “The Pharisee was religiously righteous, the tax man extorted revenue for the Roman oppressors. The religious expert was smug and confident; the outsider was anxious and insecure. The saint paraded to the temple, the sinner ‘stood at a distance’ — as if his physical distance from the sacred building expressed his spiritual alienation. The righteous man stood up, the sinful man looked down. In an act of shocking narcissism, the Pharisee prayed loudly ‘about himself’; the tax collector could barely pray at all. The Pharisee puffed out his chest in pride; the publican beat his breast in sorrow.

The parable punch line announces a reversal. The respectable, reputable believer, so competent and accomplished, the one who had done everything right, was rejected, whereas the secular sinner — disreputable, inadequate, and incompetent — went home justified before God.”   

The question this raises is not so much are we like the Tax Collector or the Pharisee but when are we like the Tax Collector and when are we like the Pharisee? And, how do we become who God desires us to be?

The first verse of the passage that Myrna read for us is packed with detail. It would be easy to miss, wanting to skip directly to the parable. It is the set-up for the parable. The warning. Guard against misplacing your trust. Guard against viewing others with contempt. 

Jesus “told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt.” Who are the some? That is the catch. According to Jesus, it is not who we think. 

And yet, even with the warning, most of us fall into the trap anyway. We see ourselves as righteous, not noticing that we are denigrating the other in order to prop ourselves up.  

The theologian Debie Thomas, on that same Journey with Jesus website writes this: “On its face, this is a very simple parable.  It feels silly to interpret it when its message is so obvious.  But here’s the trap, expressed as a prayer I am sorely tempted to pray in response: ‘Lord, I thank you that I am nothing like the obnoxious caricature of a human being who is the Pharisee in your story.  Thank you that I have arrived at a point in my faith journey where I am much more like the tax collector: self-aware, emotionally intelligent, mindful, cognizant, teachable, humble, and woke.’” 

Tempting prayer, indeed! 

What is that thing, or things, that would serve as an equalizer? A good dose of humility would go a long way. Followed by practicing justice and fairness in our everyday interactions. 

Decades ago, I became aware of small groups of individuals that created bartering co-ops. In this type of co-op, all those that join and pool their resources are equal… the plumber, the lawyer, the massage therapist, the day care provider, the carpenter, the accountant… one hour of labor is traded for one hour of labor. In this system, all are recognized for their talents. All recognize that they need one another to survive and thrive. 

This type of co-op is not the norm. Instead, we have a system of tiered hierarchy. It consists of occupations and individuals that we look down upon set against occupations and individuals that we exalt. One ridiculous example of exaltation is the salaries of our professional coaches and athletes. And an example of individuals that we devalue, against all common sense, are our school teachers and day care providers. 

Our priorities are out of whack. Teachers and day care providers that nurture and educate our beloved children are undervalued and underpaid while others make embarrassingly large sums of money. 

It is important to remember, to believe, that we are all sinners and saints. We are not one or the other. We are both. This morning, as we remember our dearly departed, we remember them not as exalted humans but as imperfect individuals that persevered to keep love at the forefront of their lives.  

Where are the humble examples of sinners and saints, dead and gone, and sinners and saints among us now? We do not need to look far… We are about to read some of their names after our Bell Ceremony liturgy. They each have a story, a legacy to be honored. 

Robert Shetterly paints “Americans Who Tell the Truth”, which includes Sister Lucy Poulin, the founder of H.O.M.E. in Orland and Rob McCall, one time pastor at the Blue Hill Congregational Church, and Sherri Mitchell, daughter of two First Nations, the Penobscot and the Passamaquoddy tribes who is a lawyer and indigenous and human rights activist, and Noel Paul Stookey, of “Peter, Paul, and Mary” fame is a long-time peace activist and Blue Hill resident. 

There is a bio of each individual that Robert Shetterly paints, highlighting why he chose them for his “Americans Who Tell the Truth” project. The quote next to Pastor Rob McCall’s portrait says, “I don’t care what you believe, frankly. I don’t care if you believe that Christ was actually bodily resurrected from the condition of being clinically dead, or if you believe it’s all a silly myth. I don’t care what you believe. I care what you love. If you love the Creator and the creatures and your neighbor and yourself and your family and your enemy and the Earth and the Great Mystery, then what in the world do you need beliefs for? And if you don’t love these, what earthly good will beliefs do you anyway?”

Sister Lucy Poulin, recognized as a Social Service Entrepreneur and Humanitarian, has this quote alongside her portrait on the website. “We must realize the truth of ourselves — we are one human family. One a part of the other. My old work horse Teddy and the fancy registered horse visiting us had no trouble eating out of the same dish. We must discover the same.”

The quote chosen for Sherri Mitchell is: “Rights and responsibilities cannot be separated. Every right that we stand upon must be balanced by a set of corresponding responsibilities. We cannot legitimately make a demand unless we are willing to take responsibility for creating a world where that demand can be met.”

Next to Noel Paul Stookey’s portrait are song lyrics. 

“In these times, we must be mindful of the gift, / use our hands and hearts to lift /the fallen spirit in this land, / planting gardens in the sand / reaching out a helping hand …  /    in these times.”

These are everyday sinners and saints. There are hundreds more displayed on this website of Robert Shetterly. There are countless more in our hearts. To paraphrase the lyrics we sang earlier… We are meant to be saints too. 

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – October 26, 2025