9He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10?Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The 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. 12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.? 13But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ?God, be merciful to me, a sinner!? 14I 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.?

Over the course of the past 5 weeks, a small group of us have read through a book called ?Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers? by Anne Lamott. She defines ?help? as?, defines ?thanks? as?, and defines ?wow? as? I shared with the group that I am really good at offering thanks to God. But I am not really good at asking for help or exclaiming wow in times of prayer or in my relationships with people. I think all of us shared that it is easier to say ?thanks? in general, so wouldn?t that make sense that it is easier to say ?thanks? to God? What do you think? Which is easier for you? So as I thought about our passages for today, I realized the Pharisee doesn?t pray using the phrases of help or wow either?but the Pharisee says ?thanks.? Yet the tax collector uses the phrases and understanding for ?help.? When we think of these three types of prayers, where do you start? What does it mean about how you live out your faith? Do you start with help, thanks, or wow? It makes me wonder, are we a room full of Pharisees or Tax Collectors? I invite you to pray with over the sermon titled ?Disciples Don?t Judge.? Let us pray.

One of the books which has received a lot of attention about why younger people are not involved with congregations is called ?UnChristian? by David Kinnaman. I think I have mentioned this briefly before, but wanted to bring our attention back to it today as we talk through being disciples who don?t judge. Because this book focuses on how outsiders view Christianity, not what Christians think about why people aren?t coming to church or involved with a congregation.? Did you hear the difference? Once is actually from the generation that is NOT coming to church, not what their parents think 😉

There are 6 reasons why younger generations (my generation and younger, while Baby Boomers have other reasons why they aren?t coming to church) are saying they aren?t involved in the church any more. They say the church is hypocritical, too focused on getting converts, anti-homosexual, sheltered, too political, and judgmental. Blogger Sean McDowell (http://seanmcdowell.org/blog/unchristian ) summarizes the judgmental aspect of the book UnChristian in this way, ?Nearly 90% of outsiders say that the term judgmental accurately describes Christians today. Only 20% of outsiders view the church as a place where people are accepted and loved unconditionally (185). We are known much more for our criticism than for our love. In fact, Christians are more known for what they are against than what they are for. We are so fixated on sin, says Kinnaman, that it impedes our ability to genuinely love broken people. To be sure, taking a stand for Christ today inevitably warrants being viewed as judgmental. But, sadly, much of our reputation comes not from what we believe (although this is partially true), but how convey our beliefs, and ultimately, how we treat people. (From UnChristian by David Kinnamon)?

I will tell you as I read this the other day and as I have shared it aloud, I think this is one of the reasons we have been doing this series on ?What Disciples Do.? There is a huge difference about what we believe and what we do. So much of what is communicated about religion and faith is connected to how we convey our beliefs and how we treat people. And overall, people of faith do a really poor job at communicating authentic faith in a way that is beneficial to those who we meet who are not Christian. All of us could probably be doing more to share our faith with those who we meet. Instead we portray a faith that is religious. For me, this passage shows the difference between being religious and being faithful. Being religious can lead to self-righteousness and being judgmental, while being faithful can lead to repentance and humility.

Our story today is about the difference with how the Pharisee and the Tax Collector approach God. The Pharisee approaches God through prayer in a way that shows a toxic religion and faith that is full of self-righteousness and judgment. The Tax Collector is approaching God in prayer through the act of repentance and humility.

So what is self-righteousness mean according to the dictionary and this passage? The simple definition is: ?having or showing a strong belief that your own actions, opinions, etc., are right and other people’s are wrong.? Self-righteousness in this passage is stated in the following ways in verse 9: ?to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.? And in vs. 11 where the Pharisee pretty much says, ?Lord, I thank you that I?m better than everyone else.? This is part of what makes religion and faith toxic?it is rooted in arrogance and self-righteousness. In this passage, Jesus warns his followers to resist that kind of superior and arrogant religion. When those who aren?t involved in a worshiping community see ?Christians? who speak and act with self-righteousness then they have every good reason to not attend a church. Why would anyone want to attend a church when they assume many churches are full of people who only care about themselves, their own personal opinions, and determine what actions of other people are right and wrong? Sounds like a great place to worship 😉

Then if we look at judgment in the dictionary and this passage, we define judgment as, ?the act or process of forming an opinion or making a decision after careful thought: the act of judging something or someone.? Continuing in verse 19, there are people who ?regarded others with contempt,? meaning they looked down on everybody else. Then the Pharisee continues to show judgment about the Tax Collector, a fellow worshipper in the Temple. This kind of condemning and judgmental spirit is still found among Christians and churches today. As Kinnaman said, this is one of the main reasons unchurched people cite for avoiding church and is part of the reason there are so many people in the adult population who are not affiliated with a church. This number has increased from 16% in 2007 to almost 25% in 2014.

In this short passage from Luke, the text teaches us that authentic disciples avoid self-righteous judging of other people. Instead, disciples should leave judgment to God. Jesus constantly told his disciples to avoid judging others. Another passage is found in the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 7:1-5: ?Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3Why do you see the speck in your neighbor?s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4Or how can you say to your neighbor, ?Let me take the speck out of your eye,? while the log is in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor?s eye.?

Instead of practicing arrogant self-righteousness judgment like the Pharisee in this parable, Jesus calls us to exhibit humility, like the Tax Collector does in the story. Humility is defined as the ?quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people: the quality or state of being humble.? In the parable, the tax collector beat his chest in repentance and prayed, ?God, be merciful to me, a sinner!? This is the ultimate act of being humble. Praying ?Help? and meaning it. Acknowledging the need for God in your life, and living faithfully and not religiously.

Earlier, many of us acknowledged we start our prayers in the spirit of? ?thanks? like the Pharisee, and not in the spirit of ?help? like the Tax Collector. Now this is an over generalization, I get that. But I ask you to roll with me for a few more minutes. It is a hard thing to acknowledge that we are probably much more like the Pharisees in how we live out our religion, than being more like the Tax Collector in how we live out our faith. It is also realizing that in many ways we are also saying we are self-righteous and judgmental in our approach to God and in our relationships with other people. It is internalizing that we are more self-serving, than selfless, giving, and serving. Am I am making my point? We, as modern day followers of Christ, are probably much more like the Pharisee than like the Tax Collector. We like being part of a church, where we ?get our religion for an hour? and go about our week, then come back, get our religion for another hour for our whole week, and repeat.

But could you imagine how people would view Christians if we approached God and one another as the Tax Collector did? If we approach life as if everyone helps one another along the way? As people who are humble before one another and not self-righteous and right all the time? Can you imagine how different this election season would have been if all the candidates had approached one another as children of God and with humility?

I think for all of us, our lives as a disciples of Jesus Christ can be very different than what it is now. They can be less self-righteous and judgmental. According to Sean McDowell, there are three things-biblical worldview, conversation, and how we treat people. This is what he recommends.

We must teach our young people a biblical worldview. Those with a biblical worldview do act differently from outsiders and are far more likely to stick with their faith. We need to teach our kids, young and older, how to truly think and to develop more than a superficial faith and not just follow a religion.
We also need to learn to have genuine conversations with outsiders where there is learning to have genuine give-and-take discussions with people. Just asking people what they think, and truly listening to their thoughts, can often change their perceptions of you and of Christians in general. Humility and respect can go a long way. Many outsiders want to engage Christians, but Christians are often viewed as inflexible and unwilling to engage in genuine dialogue, and hence are a turnoff to many in younger generations. In fact, Francis Schaeffer used to say, ?It isn?t what you say to someone that matters, as much as the fact that you are listening. Knowing how to listen to people is what helps them? (Frank Schaeffer, Crazy for God, 2007, p. 79).
And lastly, we need a kinder and gentler faith?one that engages people and culture with deep passion for Jesus and theological commitment, yet covered with grace and humility.

One of the clear implications of Kinnaman?s research is that the negative perceptions of Christians can largely be overcome, and this often happens through meaningful, genuine relationships. This happens when we truly embrace a faith that is lived out and full of doing, not just being and believing. It is taking religion and turning it into faith. It is understanding these words from Jesus, ?14I 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.? May all of us live lives that are selfless, non-judgmental, and humble, so we too will be seen as Christians who live according to the teachings of Jesus and not the following the rules of religion. May we too be exalted for being humble before God and in our relationships with one another.

Almighty God, as people go to the polls this day we pray first and foremost for peace. May the sense of community and connection be greater than any division or difference, no matter how entrenched. Knowing we will vote in schools, churches, synagogues, and other communal gathering places, may our commitment to care for one another grow as we stand in lines, talk to our neighbors and recognize we have more in common than we often realize. May we show one another kindness and respect, today and in the days to come.

We thank you for the freedom to vote our conscience, of which you alone are Lord. After this election, we are keenly aware that even if the political rhetoric fades the acrimony it highlighted will remain. Grant us the courage to step into the breaches and not shrink back into our enclaves of homogeneity. Send your Spirit to drive us to the places where you are already working to bring reconciliation. Remind us relentlessly that you are greater than every category we devise, more powerful than any estrangement we have created, eternal, ever present and always calling forth justice, peace and abundant life. Show us today and everyday how to live in the love of Jesus Christ, the perfect love that casts out fear. Amen.