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Luke 18:9–14 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This is part of the Gospel lesson read in our worship service yesterday. In his sermon, our pastor asked us “What is wrong with the prayer of the Pharisee? Aren’t we supposed to try to live the kind of life he was describing?”

“The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’”

 When I reflected on that question, for some reason a mixed up, altered version of a praise song popped up in my head:

How great is my Life! Look at me,
How great is my life! You all can see,
How great, how great is my life.

We all have a tendency to think that way at times. However, that is a long way from the actual worship song, written by Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves and Ed Cash, which puts the emphasis where it belongs.

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God,and all will see
How great, how great is our God.

 The tax collector had the proper attitude. He didn’t try to deny his own failings, shortcomings and sinfulness. He knew who he was and knew that God knew who He was as well. But He also knew and believed God’s promises, that He is a loving, merciful, gracious and forgiving God. So he cried out, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Throughout the Old Testament, God’s people took to heart those promises. They trusted that God would forgive them and would keep His promise to send a Savior. That promise was fulfilled when Jesus was born. He did what we needed, He fulfilled God’s Law in our place, He earned our forgiveness, He paid our penalty and He gives us the certainty that we will not get the punishment we deserve, but will instead get the salvation we do not deserve. This is God’s grace.

How Great is our God indeed!

Earlier this week we had our monthly circuit pastor’s conference. The pastors serving area LCMS congregations and those retired in the area gather together once a month during the school year to encourage each other and share joys and concerns as well. During the opening worship service we sang the hymn “Lord of All Hopefulness” (Lutheran Service Book #738). It is sung to the same melody used for “Be Thou My Vision” and “Christ Be My Leader.”

I used this hymn many times in the worship services I led, but had not come across it in a while. I decided to do a little research on it. It was written by a English woman using the pen name “Jan Struther” and published in 1931. I discovered that it is very popular for funeral services in Great Britian.

I like how the hymn reminds us of our need for God’s presence at every part of the day, and it affirms His promise to be with us always. The same one who took on flesh, was conceived in Mary’s womb, born in a stable, lived a perfect life among us, suffered and died for the sins of all people, and then rose in victory over death is the one who said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Reflect on God’s presence with you as you read/sing this hymn today.

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
Whose trust, ever childlike, no cares could destroy:
Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe:
Be there at our labors, and give us, we pray,
Your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
Your hands swift to welcome, You arms to embrace:
Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
Your love in our hearts, Lord at the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm:
Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

Psalm 55:16–17  But I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.

Luke 7:36–50 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Yesterday I asked how you thought Jesus might judge Simon and the woman mentioned in this passage. Think about their actions. Simon saw the woman in his home and was no doubt outraged. But then he saw what she was doing: crying, wetting Jesus’ feet, wiping them with her hair, pouring oil on them. Immediately his judgment extends to Jesus and he thinks: “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

 The actions of this woman imply a prior encounter with Jesus. She must have heard the message of love and acceptance and forgiveness no matter who you are or what you have done. And she took it to heart. She showed up to offer a gift to Jesus, but at the sight of Him she was overcome with emotion. She starts to weep, uses her tears to wet the feet of Jesus, dries them with her hair, and then poured the perfume on them.

How would you have judged Simon’s thought? What about the woman’s actions? Jesus, seeing what the woman did and knowing what Simon was thinking, tells a story.

“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon’s reply sounds at least non-committal and perhaps even disdainful: “I suppose the one who was forgiven the greater amount!”  Jesus said he was correct, and then drives home the point. This woman was displaying her love. Her love was not the cause for her forgiveness, but the response to it. What Jesus was saying was “You can tell she was forgiven much by how much love she is showing.”

At the same time, Jesus was pointing out that Simon was part of the DO NOTHING club– you gave me no water for my feet, no kiss, no oil. Even though Simon invited him to eat in his home, he had not shown Jesus what would have been considered common courtesies. Jesus pointed out his failings, his shortcomings, his sin.

Do you think it was Jesus’ desire that Simon remain in his sin? Absolutely not. The same forgiveness Jesus offered to this woman was available to Simon. Jesus was eating with sinners – both Simon and the woman – because He wanted them – and every other sinner in the world – to take advantage of the love and mercy and forgiveness He was offering. He had come to this earth for all of them. He lived without sin for all of them. He died to pay for the sins of all of them. And His resurrection was for everyone as well. So it was no big deal for Jesus to eat with them, to spend time with them, to share His message of love with them.

There is something happening in a lot of new mission starts in this country that makes a lot of sense. It is something you can do, too. Rather than placing the emphasis on bringing people to church (and by that I mean inviting them to attend a worship service) they are encouraging each other to spend time with people where they live. Members are encouraged to invite their unchurched friends and neighbors to their home. Many of them have a cookout and ask several families to come. They don’t have a Bible Study or hand out any literature. They just spend time with them. There is no set agenda other than being a friend. Get to know them and let them get to know you. Build relationships and share God’s love in tangible ways. The point is to spend more time BEING the church.

Jesus was willing to spend time with sinners. He ate with them. How about you?

Luke 7:36–50 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

A young couple invited their elderly pastor over for Sunday dinner. While they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the preacher asked their son what they were having. The little boy replied, “Goat!” The preacher said, “Goat? Are you sure about that?” The boy said, “Yep! This morning I heard Dad say to Mom, ‘Today is just as good as any to have the old goat for dinner.'”

Today and tomorrow I want to share some thoughts about the passage above. Scripture  has many accounts of Jesus eating with people. It doesn’t take a lot of insight to realize that there was more going on here than simply filling bellies or social interaction. Meals were fellowship, sharing yourself and your life with someone. Eating a meal with someone implied an intimacy of sorts.  And meals often had a spiritual significance. That is why the Pharisees had a problem with some of the people Jesus ate with. The verses just prior to the passage above say this:

 Luke 7:33–34 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ’

We shouldn’t be surprised that Jesus ate with sinners. He came into the world to save them. Why wouldn’t he associate with them?

But you just couldn’t win with the Pharisees. No one seemed to measure up in their eyes. Yet that doesn’t keep one of them, a fellow named Simon, from inviting Jesus to dine in his home. We don’t really know his motivation. Maybe he was curious. Perhaps he wanted to be popular, to be seen with the right people. Many think that his reason for inviting Jesus was to set a trap for him. But he invites Jesus to his home for a meal. There would have been others there, too, reclining at the table together. There would have been people serving the meal coming in and out of the room.

Maybe that is how she slipped in unnoticed, this intruder. Everyone in town knew about her. She had a reputation, and I don’t mean that in a good sense. She would not be mentioned in polite company. Others would tell rude and crude jokes about her. What was she doing here? How did SHE get in?

Try to put yourself in Jesus’ position for a minute. How would you judge Simon, your host? He was an upright citizen, successful, a religious man, and he did invite you to dinner. How would you judge him? And what about this woman with the bad reputation? Would your judgment be the same as the rest of the town’s?

More on this tomorrow.

When you have a children’s message in worship, things don’t always work out the way you planned them. A number of years ago I was trying to share with the kids that even if we cannot see God with us, we always have His Word speaking to us. After a few words of welcome and introduction, I held a  large white sheet in front of me so the children could not see me. I had carefully positioned my hands so that they could not be seen as well. Then I continued talking to the children, which invoked some giggles and laughter. I asked if they knew who I was, and they said “Pastor.” Then I asked, “How do you know it is me if you can’t see me?”  A little fellow named Jon said very loudly, “I can see your shoes!”

Now whether or not he could actually see my shoes is open for debate, but the entire congregation erupted with laughter at that point. And even though it changed the message I was trying to deliver that day, Jonathan made an important point. We have lots of evidence of God’s presence in our lives everyday. A beautiful sunrise. A powerful storm. The cycle of nature with new life every spring. All the marvels of the universe.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

While nature and the world around us tell us there is a God who is in control of everything, it is Scripture that tells us who He is. So many cultures have come to a conclusion that someone or something is in control, and have developed ways to try to appease this “god’s” anger through sacrifice and ritual and obedience. They did not have the true God’s revelation of Himself in His Word to instruct them.

We know from Scripture that God loves us and wants the best for us, so much so that He did what was needed to rescue us from the condemnation our sins deserve. In the Bible we discover this simple truth:  God is love (1 John 4:8). That love showed up when Jesus came to live among us, took on human flesh, lived without sin, and paid for the sins of the world with His death. His victorious resurrection on the third day destroyed death’s power over us, and assures us of eternity with our loving God.

As you see evidence of God in the world around you today – His shoes, if you will – remember what He has told you about Himself in His Word, and rejoice in that Good News.

Psalm 68 praises the God of Israel for his mighty acts of deliverance throughout the history of His people. It speaks not only of His awesome power, but also of His love, His compassion and His care.

I don’t know how many times over the years I have heard people complain about being afraid of the God of the Old Testament, because it speaks of Him carrying out vengeance and destruction. But have you read how God’s people describe Him? I hope you will take time to read all of Psalm 68 today.

The early church understood this psalm as a foreshadowing of the resurrection, ascension and rule of Christ now and His ultimate triumph on the last day (Ephesians 4:8–13). I can understand that when I read verse 20.

Psalm 68:20 Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.

We get an escape from death. It comes from God. We will still have an earthly death, which is a painful separation from this world and hurts those who are left behind. But we have a victory over death that Jesus earned for us.

I had a good friend die of a heart attack this past Monday, just one week after my mom died. I had visited with Him in church on Sunday. We were going to go do a clean up job together on Wednesday and then go fishing together on Saturday. But instead he got to go to heaven and we are left to grieve. But, as I reminded you last week, our grieving is different that those who do not believe in Christ, those who live without hope.

Psalm 68 reminds us of the goodness of our God, “… A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,  … God sets the lonely in families.”  He is concerned about us in our present state, and has provided us an eternity with Himself by His redeeming work.

Psalm 68:35 You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!

Our God is an awesome God!

Yesterday’s message “Read the Instructions!” reminded me of a test that I was given when I was in the fifth grade. I was in a multi-grade class of 5^th and 6^th graders, and our teacher gave this test to everyone. It was similar to this:

1. Read everything carefully before doing anything.
2. Put your name in the upper right-hand corner of this paper.
3. Loudly call out your first name.
4. Circle the word NAME in sentence two.
5. If you have followed directions carefully to this point, call out “I have.”
6. Draw five small squares in the upper left-hand corner.
7. Put an “X” in each square.
8. In your normal speaking voice, count from ten to one backwards.
9. Sign your name under the title of this paper.
10. Put a circle completely around sentence number seven.
11. Put an “X” in the lower left-hand corner of this paper.
12. Draw a triangle around the “X” you just put down.
13. On the back of this paper, draw a picture of your house.
14. Loudly call out, “I AM NEARLY FINISHED. I HAVE FOLLOWED DIRECTIONS.”
15. Draw a rectangle around the word “corner” in sentence six.
16. On the reverse side of this paper, add 8950 and 9805.
17. Put a circle around your answer, and put a square around the circle.
18. Punch three small holes in the top of this paper with your pencil point.
19. Underline all even numbers on the left side of this paper.
20. Now that you have finished reading everything, do only #1 and #2, put down your pencil and sit quietly at your desk.

I will admit that in my eagerness to get it done, I did not follow the directions. Only one or two students did, and they were trying hard not to laugh out loud at the rest of us. Our teacher drove home an important message that day: Be careful. Make sure you are following directions before you do something. And be sure you have all the information you need before proceeding.

This is critical in our lives as followers of Jesus. We need to understand the whole  counsel of God. He has shared with us everything we need to know in His Word. But often times we don’t read it or remember it or follow it. And don’t rely simply on what you see others doing. They may not be following the directions properly. Read the Word for yourself. Dig into it. Meet with others to discuss it and grow in your understanding of it. And try to live according to it in grateful response to knowing that God has given you what you don’t deserve: forgiveness and salvation for Jesus’ sake.

John 6:28–29 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”