The Trap

The Trap

Jesus tells another story, a parable, and it’s a trap. It’s about a Pharisee and a Tax Collector in Luke 18:9-14. The Pharisee, a respected teacher and authority on matters of Torah, gives a somewhat puffed up rundown of how he has practiced Torah fasting and tithing beyond the commands, unlike others “like this tax collector.” The Tax Collector, considered by many to be collaborating with the Roman oppressors by collecting tolls and taxes for Caesar and tacking on more for himself, on the other hand, looks up to God and simply says, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Luke, as narrator, frames it as being aimed at those who consider themselves righteous – in a right relationship with God – and who therefore “despise others.” And Luke tacks on a familiar conclusion by this time in his gospel: “…everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Thus, how Luke frames the story leads one to the standard interpretation: the Tax Collector, because of his humility, leaves “justified,” while the Pharisee, as a result of his perceived arrogance, does not.

There are several problems with this interpretation. 1) Such an interpretation leads to negative and quite distorted views of Judaism and Torah, leading directly to tacit or outright anti-Semitism. Such negative views of Judaism and Temple ritual stands against both the teachings of Jesus and the witness of his followers who, long after his death and resurrection, Luke tells us in his second volume, The Acts of the Apostles, “day by day” continue to worship in the Temple together. 2) The parables of Jesus are meant to shock, surprise and make us think in new and different ways, which the standard interpretation does not do. The standard zero-sum solution, one must be justified and one is not, in the end is limits Divine Grace and Generosity, and leads us to practice the kind of elitist chauvinism this caricature of a Pharisee suggests. We are happy to be “saved” ourselves; we are less happy when those we dislike or look down on are also saved, especially if they are “sinners.” 3) And of course, all of us are sinners. There is that.

The standard interpretation suffers from several misconceptions of the world Jesus lives in regarding the place of the Temple in Judaism, the place of faithful practice of prayer and Torah in a communitarian culture, and as usual, an English translation issue. If it is at all shocking that the Tax Collector, a self-confessed sinner, is justified, a deeper understanding of the world in which this parable lives can lead to an even more shocking conclusion!

Worshipping in the Jerusalem Temple was not limited to male descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel. Quite the contrary, people from all over the ancient world, female and male, were welcome as the Temple had a place for everyone to stand: the Holy of Holies for the Ark of the Covenant, the Sacrificing Altar for the Priests, a court for Jewish men, a court for Jewish women, and an outer court for everyone else, i.e. Gentiles. Life in the Temple, and throughout the land of Israel, was communitarian. Jewish prayers speak to “Our Father…Give us…Forgive us….”. Praying in the plural recognizes that each member of the community is responsible for every other. The Temple is where we come to remember this and make things right.

That is, the negative practices, sins, of one person can negatively impact everyone else, just as the good deeds of one person can positively impact the whole community. Similarly, the Temple sacrifices were offered for the well-being of the whole community. In the story before us, it is likely that first-century Jews understood that the Tax Collector with his prayer of atonement might tap into the merits and practices of the Pharisee, especially since he stands in the very place where atonement can be attained: the Temple. Just as one person’s actions can bring calamity upon the community, so can the merited behavior of one person save the whole community. It is just such an understanding that leads Christians to believe that Jesus’s actions and faithfulness allows others to be justified.

Then there is the problem with verse 14a, most often translated, “I tell you, this man [the Tax Collector] went down to his house justified rather than the other.” Yet, it can also be rendered, “To you, I say, descending to his house, this one is justified alongside that one.” The Greek word in question is para, from which we get such words as ‘parallel,’ ‘paradox,’ and ‘parable.’ It can mean “rather than,” but just as often it means, “alongside of,” or “because of.” To judge one or the other as “better” is to fall into the trap of the parable. To judge one or the other leaves us believing that God’s mercy and forgiveness is limited – which goes against that core Biblical teaching that “the sun shines on both the good and the bad, on the just and unjust alike.” To dismiss them both also traps us, since few of us are as overwhelmingly good as the Pharisee, nor as sinful as the Tax collector.

Which is why the more challenging interpretation of the parable rests on the very generosity that allows the Tax Collector to benefit from the collective repentance of the Temple system and the good deeds people like the Pharisee. [Amy Jill Levine, Short Stories by Jesus, p. 211] Yet, often this is what we want for ourselves, but don’t want others to have. Yet, deep down inside we know this does not sound like a consequence Jesus wants to teach us. Jesus teaches and practices the wideness of God’s mercy. God’s love, forgiveness and mercy are limitless and available to all. There’s enough for everyone. It is not a zero-sum, either-or world that Jesus practices.

Amy Jill Levine likens this all to a middle-school-group-project. One person may have the wisdom, one artistic talent, one can provide the snacks, and one appears to contribute nothing. Yet, if the project gets an A, all four benefit, even the one who did nothing. “This may seem unfair, but what if it is because the other three of us dismiss him as lazy or stupid. The other three may signal disappointment at his being assigned to our group. He may have felt unworthy in our presence. Yet, he trusted us and the system. Had the rest of us been more generous with him rather than resentful, we would have learned more as well. And what if he didn’t care at all? What if he depended on us, even though we were fools for doing his work for him? What we do is still worthwhile. We can afford to be generous. There are other systems of justice (e.g. test grades, a final judgment) in which his contributions or sins well be assessed.” [ibid p 211- 212]

In the end, like all parables, the story is left unresolved. Does the Pharisee praise God, or praise and only care for himself? Does the Tax Collector change his job and offer restitution to those he ripped off, or must he continue to work for Caesar’s Empire? Is only the Tax Collector justified in the end? Or, is he justified along with and because of the extraordinary life of the Pharisee? Do we believe we are our sister’s and brother’s keeper? Do we choose to live in a communitarian world where we all have something to contribute, even if what we give is the opportunity for someone else to provide us a benefit? And if our good deeds aid someone else, rather than begrudge them, why not celebrate and live a life in which all are justified? Will we despise others? Or, will we work and pray on behalf of the common good for all people?

The choices are left to us. Deep down inside we all know the choices Jesus makes. Will we fall into the traps in this story? Or, will we walk in the way Jesus calls us to follow? We know God’s goodness and mercy exceeds all that we can either desire or ask for! Thanks be to God forever and ever. Amen!