I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1

Walking Home Justified

The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Luke 18:9-14 “Walking Home Justified”
August 11, 2024 | Christ Lutheran Church

In Nomine Iesu
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Almighty God, You resist the proud and give grace to the humble: Deliver us when we draw near to You from all self-sufficiency and spiritual pride; and grant us an ever deepening sense of our own unworthiness and of Your unfailing mercy; through Him who is our only righteousness, Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Parish Prayers, ed. Frank Colquhoun, p. 117)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)

The sermon text for today is taken from the 18th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:

“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)

In Christ Jesus, who dwells in heaven with the gavel over your life and because of His work and life that counts as yours, He declares you not guilty, dear fellow redeemed:

“Home is where the heart is.” This saying is a popular one and there is a reason for it. Its words ring true for the most part. We can look at our homes and no matter where it is, how big or small, how messy or tidy, how full or empty, it is a place of refuge and safety. It is our home. We look forward to coming to it every day after work. It is the place where we raise our families. There is nothing better than finding its warm embrace after a long vacation. This is the joy and comfort of having a home. It may move from time to time, but our heart is there. As Christians, we have another home that awaits us. It’s no small task to get there and on our own we can’t. To get to the home that awaits us, we see the love and compassion of our God. We can walk home justified in His presence.

The road to the justification that brings us peace is not an easy one. Jesus is teaching a whole parable about being declared not guilty. To start off, St. Luke tells us who the audience is for this parable. [Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt. Here is where life begins. You might be wondering what I mean by that, but the reason for this parable goes back to the Garden. Here is an example of the sin of pride that passed all the way down the timeline of history. This is not the first or last time Jesus will address pride. Before Jesus came to earth, God addressed pride with a whole slew of commandments about coveting written on our hearts. This sin is nothing new and Jesus decided this would be another time to address it. He will use a parable to do so and one that probably rings true for the people of His day.

The parable starts, “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.” These are two characters we are all too familiar with in Scripture. Jesus’ chief enemies are the Pharisees and He is recorded hanging out with tax collector’s and He even called one to be His disciple. The Pharisees are well known for their love of possessions. They are also known for being braggers. So, when Jesus is teaching the parable because there were “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt,” the people of the day can draw a line to who Jesus is addressing. Now the addition of the tax collector most likely would have infuriated a lot of people. Most Jews regarded tax collectors as traitors because they are serving the Romans in that capacity. So, now with both individuals in the temple, the people are waiting to see where this will go.

Jesus goes in the direction they all know too well. “The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’” The Pharisees can’t deny what they sound like in the temple. This prayer is done in a way that anyone in the temple can hear it. In one sense for the crowd, the Pharisee is telling the truth. He is acknowledging that He is doing good things. Before the time of this parable, the people would regard this as doing a lot of good and this is what they should be doing. As we hear the words from the Pharisee, maybe we have heard these words used by others, or maybe we have even used these words ourselves. We want to do good. Isn’t it a good thing if people see the good we do? We are told to humble ourselves, but our sinful nature loves to make it look like we are humble and builds us a very high pedestal to stand on.

Jesus wants us aware of the pedestal. As Jesus warns us and chastises us because of our sinful desires, the devil will then come in with the opposite as well. If he can’t get us to climb, he wants us to fall. We have been in the tax collector’s position in life too. The lives we live compared to what God demands are daunting and unreachable. No matter how hard we try to tell ourselves we have done good, no matter how hard people try to convince us we are good, all we can see is our sins and the righteous judgement of God. The psalmist knows our cries and pleas as he writes, “O LORD, God of my salvation, I Cry out day and night before you. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grace, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves” (Psalm 88:1-7).

The people were crying out as well. Jesus knowing the people’s thoughts and pains tells them about the thoughts of the tax collector. “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” The tax collector knows his sins. He wears them and he knows his standing with God. He doesn’t deserve to be in the temple. He comes before the just and righteous judge and asks for the one thing God can give sinners. He asks for mercy. He doesn’t deserve mercy because he knows that he has failed. As he beats his breast and heads home, he and the people can call back like the psalmist, “Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death” (Psalm 68:20). God has mercy on His people, and He saves them from death.

The psalmist reveals this salvation. “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:7-10). The people are looking for the right hand of the Father and His glorious right hand is with them in the flesh. He protects them from the pit of destruction. He watches over their walk home with healing that comes from His loving mercy. The mercy to take on those sins that violate God’s law. The sins of the people are heavy, so Jesus lightens the load.

As Jesus takes on sin and delivers from death, the tax collector who looked worse for wear could go home in peace as Jesus says, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.” The man goes home declared not guilty. It looks like all hope is lost to stand before the Almighty as a sinner. Our focus too often can be on ourselves compared to others. The right hand of God points the finger at our sins and how they stack up to His law. That is where our thoughts need to be. Then in our honest confession of our sins and genuine humility, we beat our breast like the tax collector and look to the One who is merciful. The only One who brings life and salvation.

Jesus reminds you and teaches you of the home that is coming. A home where you will be safe because in that home you will be clean. This cleanliness is not because you were able to wipe away the stains. He shed His blood on the cross for you and as the Father turned His face away from Him, the Father now sees you. He now comes to you, so you don’t have to be afraid.

Jesus death on the cross declares the world not guilty. This is a verdict that shouldn’t be thrown away. It is there for everyone. As Christ forgives the world, it is through the confession of sins that you apply what Jesus says, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” This is not a humility used to make one feel good for themselves. It is the humility knowing in your heart that Jesus has done the work for you and forgives you all your sins. If you are wondering about the good you do, you can rest assured and thank the Lord that it is not yours, as St. Paul writes, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). God works through you to do good, so you can give all praise to Him when you walk in humility, caring for your neighbor. While the devil will work to exploit and raise you on a pedestal again, you look to the home that awaits you because of your justification.

In this constant circle of hearing and seeing the evils you have done, and hearing and seeing the mercy of God, you can know you are walking home justified. This walk feels like it will always be hard. There will be times where you won’t want to look at the presence of God. As you cry out, and look for mercy, you know because of your Savior, God is merciful. Jesus shed His blood on your behalf, and He lifts the burden off you. St. Paul reminds you, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus is constantly working through you and is merciful when you fail. He calls you back and restores you once again. He hung His head, so you could lift yours and be exalted forever in His home. Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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