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Action
and Reflection
October
28, 2007
Luke
18:9-14
Every
parable has more than one meaning. We can find a new meaning
to any parable by looking at it from a different angle or
posing a new question to it. Take, for example, today's parable
from the gospel of Luke. A Pharisee and a tax collector go
up to the temple to pray. When they are finished, the tax
collector is justified but the Pharisee is not. This parable
invites us to compare these two men and to decide why one
is pleasing to God and the other is not. But in order to do
that, we must first determine what is the difference between
the two characters and how that difference might affect our
lives.
The
normal way in which we read this parable is to see one man
as an example of pride and the other of humility. We then
conclude that God prefers humility. This is certainly a valid
understanding. But it is not the meaning. Today I would like
to present another way of reading this parable. I would like
to see these two men as examples of two essential qualities
in our lives. The parable, then, would invite us to keep those
two qualities correctly balanced.
The
two qualities are action and reflection. The Pharisee is a
man of action. As he prays before God, he points to the things
that he has done. Those things are very good. He avoids sin;
he fasts twice a week; he gives away one-tenth of his income
to the poor. The tax collector, on the other hand, is a man
of reflection. As he prays before God, he does not point to
his good works, although we presume he has some. Instead he
reflects on who he is and how he stands before God. The tax
collector calls himself a sinner, but we do not need to conclude
from this that he felt that he was unworthy or unlovable.
Recognizing his sin was an honest admission of who he was.
It was accompanied by a belief that God loved and accepted
him anyway. By knowing that he was a sinner, he recognized
his need for God's mercy. He understood that his stance before
God was one of both mercy and grace.
Now
seen from this perspective, the parable tells us that it is
important to act, but that our actions should flow from reflection.
We should reflect upon who we are and who God is to us. Unless
we reflect, whatever actions we perform, no matter how good
they are, are not guaranteed to give us joy or to be pleasing
in God's sight.
Now
this lesson is a very important one for us. Our society seems
to value action above everything else. Our culture is always
asking us, “What have you accomplished? What have you done
for me lately? Show me the money.” As people living in the
real world, we realize that we must act. We must commit ourselves
to getting ahead, to reaching our goals, to turning a profit.
All these actions are important. But unless our actions flow
out of an awareness of who we are and what we value, our lives
can become more and more superficial. We can discover that
the successes we reach feel like empty victories.
The
busier we are, the more important it is to reflect. The more
that we have to do, the more important it is to ground ourselves
in who we are and what we value. What happens when we take
a moment and reflect on the deeper issues of life? We remember.
We remember that we are a child of God. We remember that we
are not perfect, but God loves us anyway and others put up
with our faults. We remember to be thankful for life, for
relationships, for our health, for our future. We remember
that life is fragile, and that no moment should be taken for
granted. Once we reflect on all these truths, then we are
prepared to go forth and do the things which we must do.
If
we do not take time to reflect, we end up doing more and more
and living less and less. We commit ourselves to being the
best parents we can be. So we give ourselves to buying things
for our children, to teaching them what they believe, to driving
them here and there. But unless we reflect, we are likely
to miss the wonder of their growth and the sparkle in their
eyes. We can join with our spouse in building a future together,
in securing for ourselves financial stability or planning
improvements to our home. But, without reflection, we can
forget the attraction which first brought us together in marriage
and what we need to do to keep that love alive. Without reflection,
we can do one good project after another, we can help this
person after that person, but we can forget what it is that
makes all of this action important. We can lose sight of the
fact that we are valuable, even before anything we do and
in spite of any mistake we make.
Today's
parable calls us to act, to strive, to succeed. But first
it calls us to reflect. It calls us to slow down, to take
a moment, and to ground ourselves in God's love for us and
our love for others. In reflection we need to admit our faults,
to appreciate our talents, and to never forget that God is
with us always. Once we reflect on those fundamentals, then
we are prepared, not only to succeed, but to succeed with
excitement and joy. We are all called to be people of action,
but first we must remember that we are children of God.
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