The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

CALIFORNIA DIGEST2016

A Newsletter for New Church residents and friends of California May

1

The Parable of The Pharisee and The Tax Collector.

–Pride and Humility–

Rev Jean Atta

(written in two parts for March and May 2016 Digest. This is both parts combined)

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’~~~ (Luke 18:11- 13)

Jesus had been criticized by the Pharisees and Scribes for welcoming and sitting with tax collectors and sinners. While the Pharisees and Scribes were constantly plotting to put Jesus to death because of His teachings, tax collectors and sinners would humbly and gladly hear Him. This is the environment in which the Lord lived. The Pharisees and scribes did not know who Jesus truly was. They thought if He were the Messiah, He would not sit and share with those who were regarded as accursed, because of their sins and their ignorance of the Law. The Lord responded to the Pharisees and scribes by His teachings and parables. In Chapter eighteen of the Gospel of Luke, the Lord spoke the

parable of the persistent widow, just to illustrate the fact that men always ought to pray and not to lose heart. But the Lord didn’t stop there; He spoke a second parable, the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. It is a parable of those who despise others in comparison with themselves. In this parable, the Lord gives us the opportunity to evaluate our thoughts and prayers. The parable gives us two characters that represent different states in us.

In our story, Jesus tells us that a Pharisee and a tax collector went up to the temple to pray. They both said two totally different prayers. Remember, the Pharisee and the tax collector, are two characters that represent different states in us. Then Jesus said that at the end of their prayers, one of them, the tax collector, went down to his house more justified. What was different in their prayers? Why was it that the tax collector went home more justified than the Pharisee?

The Lord always shows us the way to forgiveness, the way to salvation. His teachings are always a gift to us. We could look at this parable and choose to be in the shoes of the tax collector, and yet sometimes, we act just like the Pharisee. In order for us to better understand this parable, it is important to know a little bit about the two main characters of the story. So let’s see what a “Pharisee” and a “Tax Collector” are.

“Pharisee” is a Hebrew word meaning “to set apart” or “to separate.” And so the word Pharisee literally means “the separated ones.” We are like a Pharisee when we set ourselves apart from other people. In Jesus’ days, the Pharisees were the most influential of all Jewish religious sects. And they considered themselves to be the only true followers of God’s laws. Therefore, they felt themselves to be better and much holier than anyone else… Have you ever been in those shoes before? Can you remember a time when you thought you were much holier than other people around you?

The Writings state the following: “So far as a person can humble himself before the Lord, and so far as he can love his neighbor as himself, and, as in heaven, above himself, so far he receives the Divine, and consequently is so far in heaven.” Arcana Coelestia 8678.

Humility is a bridge to loving the Lord and the neighbor… … On the other side we have the tax collector. Tax collectors were not popular people in town because of their job. Often they were said to be ones who extort money from poor people. They were also seen as those overcharging and cheating the people. Therefore, they were regarded with disdain and disgust. But that’s not all! Their interaction with the heathen Romans made them even more distasteful in the eyes of the Pharisees. So in a sense, anytime we cheat on people, we are not so different from tax collectors.

Before we go any deeper into our parable, clarification should be made that Jesus was not in any way saying that Pharisees cannot be justified. For the Pharisee represents those in the church who make all salvation consist in work alone. They hold external things as the absolute truths. The Writings say that “they who are such are also in the Lord’s kingdom, but on the threshold” (Arcana Coelestia 6405:3). The Lord in His mercy provides for everyone who makes the effort to follow His Commandments.

Why did the Pharisee go home less justified in our parable? The Lord wants us to be regenerate and thus be angels in heaven. In the beginning of regeneration, we do good, like those the Pharisee was citing. Though they might be purely natural good, they serve in our reformation. And doing good is not bad, it’s the first step onto the way to regeneration. But the Writings say that we need to move on from there, and get to a higher and spiritual good from the Lord. So here the Pharisee’s works are not condemned, it’s rather his attitude that need to call our attention.

The Pharisee said: “God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers.” There is nothing wrong with incorporating the good things we do into our prayers. But if we self-judge ourselves as being better than others, if that is the way we are thinking, we are clearly in a bad place. The Pharisee could have simply said: “God, I thank You that you help me in my effort to be a fair, just and faithful servant.” This prayer is focused on our own spiritual needs, and not on how good we are compared to others. We don’t know the spiritual state of others, only God sees the inside of everybody. And truly salvation is a work between us and God. So what’s wrong with the Pharisee?

Pride lies within the Pharisee’s prayer. We all have some level of pride in us. And in some sense it’s a protection for us. It’s like self-esteem. Take the example of little children, we want them to grow with the reasonable amount of self-esteem. Otherwise their ability to judge would be vulnerable. But too much of pride corrupts our intentions, and therefore the works we do in that state are not good before the Lord. Pride is void of true obedience.

Even if the Pharisee’s lifestyle followed the Law, the Writings say that “the works enumerated by the Pharisee were works done from self, and were therefore meritorious” (Apocalypse Explained 794.) When we claim merit for the works we do, our claim is from an evil source, it is self-centered. Therefore, those good works could be mingled with evils and falsities.

Even worse, the Pharisee did not respect the tax collector. He seems to look down on him. Can we think of a time when we looked down on others because of who they are? Maybe it was someone from a different church, or a homeless person who doesn’t belong to our church and might steal our purse if the chance were given him, or a divorced person, or a teenager with body piercings and extravagant clothing, or a pregnant teenager, or even a gambler, and the list goes on. Yet we forget that looking down on people, just for who they appear to be in our eyes, is an unfair judgment. No one is pure before God. In Job 15, it is said: “If God puts no trust in His saints, and the heavens are not pure in His sight, how much less man, who is abominable and filthy.” When we faithfully follow the Law, we should be careful not to elevate ourselves in our prayers. We should put trust in God. Pride and looking down on others are not the choice we

want to make for our regeneration. The Writings say:

Pride is to love self more than others, and to set self above them, and to wish to exercise command over others; and they who wish this also despise others in comparison with self, and also persecute from hatred and revenge those who set themselves above them, or do not pay them respect. (AC 8678)

Pride is from the love of self and it prevents us from truly loving the neighbor. We might try to be charitable, to do community service, and we might even try our best to respect the Law, and to do good to the church and the neighbor, and yet if we do so from a meritorious love with the sole intention to show off or to elevate ourselves above others by means of our actions, then we are not helping ourselves spiritually before God.

When we look down on others, we underestimate God’s work in them. And in such a state of the mind, we fail to make an honest evaluation of ourselves. Our mind gets focused on the amount of service we render to others. The Lord is telling us today that we are not to look at others as a barometer of whether we're serving God properly or not.

So often, the Lord’s way of looking at things is very different from ours. Isaiah 55 says:

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him... for He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.” (Isa. 55:7, 8)

The Lord’s mercy and forgiveness are beyond our understanding. He can forgive us anytime we repent and act humbly like the tax collector.

Notice the tax collector’s posture. First, the parable says that he was standing at a distance. Has it occurred to you to wake up one morning, and because of what is going on in your life, you don’t feel worthy to go to church, or to draw close to God? The Lord sees our sins. In Luke 5, when the Pharisees and scribes were complaining about Jesus eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus answered saying: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:31, 32.) When we say words of repentance, we open our heart to the Lord’s forgiveness.

Second, the parable says that he was not raising his eyes to heaven. This happens to us when we have a sense of guilt. It happens to us when we are so ashamed of ourselves that we cannot even look at the person in front of us.

Sometimes we feel horrible and we think we don’t deserve the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness. But the Lord understands us.

Finally, the tax collector beats his breast saying “God be merciful to me a sinner!” Why did he beat his breast? Was it so that he could hurt himself? In the old days, people beat their breast or stroked themselves on the thigh as a sign of shame, failure and humiliation. The Arcana Coelestia says:

The primary thing in humility is to acknowledge that of himself one is nothing but evil and falsity. The same is true of repentance, which is effected solely through humility, and this through the confession of the heart that of himself one is of such a nature. (AC 4779.8)

Are we to beat our breast too when we deeply regret our sins? We could, but let’s focus on one important thing in this quote, which is “the confession of the heart that of ourselves, we are nothing but evil.” This was the expression of the tax collector’s gestures, his posture and the words he said. He said: “God have mercy on me a sinner!” He doesn’t offer any excuses like the Pharisee. But in humility and regret, he acknowledges two things. One, that mercy is the Lord’s. Second, that he is a sinner before God. Therefore, he begged the Lord for mercy and forgiveness. This is a Good example for us Christians!

When we are humble, we worship in spirit and in truth, and we acknowledge the Lord’s mercy. But when we are proud of ourselves, we worship in the flesh and in lies, and we have no mercy on the humble. In our story, although the tax collector’s sins were undoubtedly many, he went home more justified because of his honest and humble confession. Pride, self-righteousness, and evil intentions from our proprium, are not good items we want to put in our spiritual basket. Sometimes we really believe that our stack of good deeds is enough to save us, and yet we forget that the Lord looks at our heart. In the Arcana Coelestia 4007, it is said that “there are two things which all who enter heaven cast aside, namely their proprium and consequent confidence, and merit that is their own or self-righteousness.”

No matter what our past has been, if we decide to sincerely repent like the tax collector, we can be justified before the Lord. From this parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the Lord shows that it is possible for both those of the church and those outside the church to be saved, to be forgiven, to be cleansed, and to be justified before Him. There is hope for everyone. And so we must not look down on others. While we may find others are sinners, they are certainly not beyond God's forgiveness. And truly it is not up to us to judge the spiritual state of any. Like the tax collector, when we pray, we should sincerely confess our own sins to the Lord; for our salvation comes from Him alone, and it is not according to our pure lifestyle. Why should we claim to be righteous? Let’s choose to be humble

and acknowledge that left alone to ourselves we produce nothing but what is selfish. The Lord is the source of all goodness and truth, all forgiveness and mercy. “Mercy can enter only where there is humility, that is, into a humble heart” (Arcana Coelestia 5758.) AMEN.

Lessons: Luke 18:10-14; Job 15 (parts); Arcana Coelestia 8678 (parts)

Rev. Jean Atta

Academy Summer Camp July 10-16

Registration opens on March 1st for the best week of the summer! ANC Summer Camp is open to all kids currently in 8th and 9th grades. Come spend a week learning more about the New Church and the Academy of the New Church High School. Mixed in with that, we offer interesting classes and crazy games to keep things fun. Each evening we have a different social activity. Have a taste of dorm life, meet some of the faculty, and get to know potential future classmates.

The cost of the week is 400.00.Please note that health forms must be mailed separately to the nurse due to regulations. Feel free to call with any questions, Keene Blair, Director 267-229-5527

Picture a compass. Put the compass in your hand, and watch the needle rotate like the hand of a clock. If it's working correctly, the needle will point to "N," the magnetic north. An instrument of navigation, a compass offers direction when we're unsure where to go. Tools 4 Life camp, held on the ANCSS campus,is like a compass, away to navigate and make decisions about life beyond high school. Rising juniors and seniors explore the value of networking, attention to personal growth, and service to others. This camp is a safe setting topractice moving beyond the familiar into investigation of what is to comewith thementorship ofseasoned college-age counselors. There is plenty of time spent off-campus, including two college visits, a career dayexperience, and a fun team-building adventure.

If yourstudent is currently in 10thor 11thgrade, this summer camp is for him or her! The dates for this year's camp areJuly 17-23, 2015. Registration is $450 (meals and lodging included). To pay by credit card card call Jennifer Allen at 267-502-4521

Visit download and print the registration form, as well as thehealth forms. Questions? Call Ali Childs at(267)-502-4931 or email

Jacob’s Creek Family Camp

July 24 – July 27

The Camp is located at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center. In Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania

This Year’s Theme is:The Heavenly Marriage

“Male and female were created to be the very image of the marriage between good and truth.” Conjugial Love 100

Get your registration forms online at: jacobscreekcamp.alotspace.com/ andFriend us on Facebook at www. facebook.com/JacobsCreekFamilyCamp

Or you can contact James or Julie Uber to receive forms by mail:

Jamie and Julie Uber

48 S. Collinwood Dr.

Pittsburgh, PA 15215

Phone: 412-782-2710

Email:

A deposit of $50 is due by May 31, 2016 along with your registration forms. The balance of your total cost is due by June 30, 2016.