Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem and shares a parable that reveals him as our High Priest who has mediated a new covenant to secure our righteousness. In the story, two men go to the temple to pray. One, a Pharisee, stands boldly before God, explaining all that he has done to deserve God’s mercy. The other one, a tax collector, stands far away, eyes downcast, admitting that he is not worthy of such grace. There is so much to explore in this short story!
The temple played a central part in the life of the people. Its physical structure was such that there was no mistaking who you were because your access to God’s house depended on your identity. There was a court for the Gentiles on the outer rim. They could go no further. And a court for the Jewish women, a separate and more interior court for the Jewish men, then deep inside was the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies where only the high priest could go. Proximity to God depended on nationality and gender, personal attributes and characteristics, not what God was doing for the people, but where an individual rated on a human-created worthiness scale.
This tax collector, standing on the periphery, knew his place. It was painfully obvious he was not worthy to approach God on his own merits. Sadly, neither was the Pharisee, but he had been given worldly privileges and status that blinded him to his true self. It’s as if he believed he truly was climbing up a ladder, moving ever closer to God, when in reality, he never had the power to get off the ground. On the other hand, the tax collector knew he didn’t stand a chance. Feet firmly planted on terra firma, he hoped that God would come to him.
And so God did. The High Priest, Jesus, entered time and space to open the way for all humankind to boldly approach God. Paul writes that “just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.” (Romans 5) The only way to justification is through righteousness and the only righteousness is that of Christ. The tax collector understood this. The Pharisee was still trying to be “righteous enough” and, in comparing himself to others, thought he was doing pretty good. Comparison is a dangerous sport.
So how was this tax collector justified? By what righteousness? Luther identified two kinds of righteousness. First, there is alien righteousness – that is, a righteousness that comes from outside us, a righteousness that we in no way can achieve, manifest, or perfect. This righteousness is through Christ and is a gift to all. Luther writes “Through faith in Christ, therefore, Christ’s righteousness becomes our righteousness and all that he has becomes ours; rather, he himself becomes ours.”
Following from this alien righteousness is the second type, proper righteousness, which is living and acting in gratitude for the gift we have received. We are obedient because we are forgiven, not forgiven because we are obedient. Or as Luther puts it, “The second kind of righteousness is our proper righteousness, not because we alone work it, but because we work with that first and alien righteousness. This is the manner of life spent profitably in good works…in slaying the flesh and crucifying the desires with respect to the self. This righteousness is the product of the righteousness of the first type, actually its fruit and consequence.”
The Pharisee was relying on the second type of righteousness, proper righteousness, without the first type imparted from God. Luther writes that these kinds of people “…wish to be like god, sufficient in themselves, pleasing themselves, glorifying in themselves, under obligation to no one…” The tax collector came to the temple, without works of which to boast, without status in which to rely, with nothing to bring. He came to the house of God hoping to find mercy, trusting in the goodness of God, believing that the High Priest would provide the sacrifice and atonement. And he went away justified.
We have a High Priest who is sitting in the place of honor. He is waiting to impart his righteousness. May we fall into this love, mercy, and grace daily. May we quit struggling with our own shortcomings, refrain from judging others for their faults, and accept this gift of alien righteousness, allowing it to empower us to live boldly in loving and caring for all of God’s creatures and creation.
To read more about the two kinds of righteousness, or many of Luther’s writings, check out Luther Reading Challenge at https://www.lutherreadingchallenge.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment