5 May 2014; Luke 18:9-14

5 May 2014; Luke 18:9-14 (The Pharisee and the Tax Collector)

Religion is about doing more - doing more good, praying more, reading the bible more, blessing others more, evangelize more and even look more holy (by the way we dress, act, speak).

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 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.’ 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.” (Luke 18:9-14 ESV)

As a pre-text to the sermon on the mount, Luke 18:9-14 was a parables that Jesus spoke and the message is simple and clear - it does not matter whether you have a religion or if you do not have one. Both does not make you closer to God. If that is so - what then makes us closer to Him?

In the parable, no one will be surprises if someone without religion is far away from God. But the twist in that parable is about someone who is a religious person is not consider close to God!

The deeds of the one without religion does not exclude him from God, and that includes the bad deeds like the tax collector.

If then according to the exact words for words from the bible, we who accept the bible as a religion is set to fail, because there is not many we can actually obey and fulfilled.

The twist in the parables that Jesus in Luke mentioned, following religion makes us worst off and further away from God. Therefore, Jesus is no offering to the people another set of religion nor another set of do and dont on the sermon on the mount.

Religion makes us look up to God and tell God how good he looks and began to look well on himself and off focus from God. It makes us look good in front of others and began to look down on those who fare worst than us.

The things we do is measurable - the more the better. But Jesus say it is not the more, but the least, not the things that is possible measurable, but the things that is not possible to be measured. That is what matters and makes us closer to God.

It is not the check list and the rights things we do. But it is the person that we are to focus - Jesus. Like a marriage, it is your spouse that we should focus rather than the things we do or don't in the marriage. Your identify that is based on works become the self worth, the values. It is based on fear and insecurity.

Mat 7 - Choose between life and death. Jesus is speaking to us, the ones who know Christ. to those who pray, who give, who bless - but how we should be praying, be giving, be blessing - it is the way of living as a Christian - the kind of disciple who should lives their lives.

It is the attitude in our doing and the focus on Jesus the center of why we are doing that will get us closer to God. - It is a matter of live and death.

That is where Jesus began is sermon. All the practices of the pharisee or Judaism is similar to Christianity. But it is not based on what you do, but based on what Jesus did. To the tax collector, he is justified, because he humbled and realized that he did not deserved anything. - Blessed are the poor in spirit for they will inherited the kingdom.

Doing much like the pharisee, do us off focus and make us proud of the things we do or do not do. With Jesus, we know that the bad things we did do not make us further away from God and their knowing that we can come to God with humility and be able to be in that spirit to come to God.

As a personal reflection, it is not about knowing the word well, but be able to see through the words, the deeds of Jesus and the love of God that he has for me. Can I then say it is not how much I know about God, but how much He wanted to know me so that I can be with Him.

It does not matter whether I serve, but why do I want to serve.

Can I too say that - forget about what wrong or right I have done in the past - that I can always come back to God. It will be worst to think that for the little things I do wrong it will upset all the things I do right - like the way karma do its balancing. Can I then crawl in humility back to the God who is always there to received me with open arms? Forget about the things of the past and forgive me as I come back to Jesus - and be able to acknowledge that it is all about Christ works that I can come back to Him.