Sunday is supposed to be the Christian Sabbath. It is supposed to be a day when we rest. Now, let’s be honest, how many of us have a list of things we expect or at least hope to accomplish today? Maybe a bit of shopping, cleaning, gardening, organising, cooking, laundry – who doesn’t have laundry to do? How many of us take the time to mentally or even physically make lists of what we need to do and then check things off as they get done? Some of us even get a bit of a dopamine hit, you know, ‘happy chemicals’ in our brains from completing tasks on our lists.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.'
It is easy to hear the Pharisee’s prayer and focus on his obvious distain for others. Simultaneously doesn’t it sound like he is treating his faith like a check list of things he has to do? Fast twice a week – check and check. Give a tenth of my income – check. I am a good man. I can judge others because I have checked off my list. Ha! Do we know Christians who treat faith in the same way? Do we know Christians who think that showing up to church on Sunday, and dropping money in the collection plate absolves them of everything else during the week? Check and check? Do we see a problem with this attitude?
What happens when faith is just a list of obligations and expectations? How meaningful is our faith if it is something we think we have to do rather than something we want to do? To what extent do we get distracted by our ability to get it done so we can check off the list? To what extent do we judge others based on the extent to which we can see them checking off the list? How is this helpful for anyone?
The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.'
Listening again to the Pharisee’s prayer, can we honestly say this prayer brought him any closer to God? Did the Pharisee’s prayer bring him any closer to God’s Beloved children? Herein lies the biggest problem with treating faith like a checklist. It can become impersonal and separate us from the possibilities of relationship.
Faith is not supposed to be a list of things we do. Coming to church is not an obligation we are supposed to fulfill because God is somehow keeping attendance and determining our fate based on that. Ideally, we come to church because we choose to come. We come because we want to be here. We come because it means something to us, it matters to us, it nourishes us and prepares us for the week ahead. Maybe we can even say this time brings us closer to God and to a family of faith that supports us and helps us live out that faith throughout the week.
Coming to church is one opportunity for prayer and this is ultimately what prayer, however we engage in it, should do. Prayer should nurture relationships – with God and with God’s Creation. Prayer should open our hearts and minds to listen for God working in and through us. Prayer should create spaces for possibilities. Prayer should be a reminder that there are still things to learn, still gifts to unwrap. Prayer should connect us to God’s ongoing presence in our lives walking alongside us.
The Pharisee didn’t just miss the mark because he judged others. He missed the mark because he lost an opportunity to experience the love of God through prayer. This is what makes the tax collector’s prayer so compelling. It is simple. It is open. It is humble. 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' The tax collector says what he needs to say. Then listens, hoping, trusting that God’s love will transcend his indiscretions and transform his heart. The tax collector doesn’t come trusting in his list, he comes trusting in God.
How have we come today? How do we pray? The choice is ours everyday. May we be open and humble enough to let go of our need to check off our actions and speak and listen to God in ways that create space for God to work in and through us here in this place at this time and in all the ways we encounter God and embody our faith throughout the week and beyond. This we pray as we sing: (VT) 712 Beauty for Brokenness