20222.10.23 | Living with Integrity
“Living with Integrity”
Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring
Eden United Church of Christ, Hayward, California
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
October 22, 2021
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector addresses the question of personal righteousness. Since the term “righteousness” scares most of us and it’s not one that many use in daily conversation, I’ll explain that when people talk about righteousness in church, we are usually talking about the degree to which a person is right with God. And, whether we are right with God depends on what standard is applied.
Three different standards for righteousness are applied in today’s parable. The first is illustrated by the Pharisee. The second is exemplified by the Tax Collector. And the third is expressed in Jesus’ instructions to the disciples. I’ll explain each, and then suggest what these various approaches may imply for us.
The Pharisee was a good Jew. The benchmark for righteousness for Jews was the Hebrew Law, and the degree to which one adhered to the Law. According to Luke, the Pharisee in today’s parable exceeded the Law’s requirements, and he knew it. Consequently the Pharisee believed that he was morally superior to his peers, which inspired him to recite the rabbinic prayer, “I thank thee, O God, that I am not like the others...”
The Pharisee’s language and tone seemed arrogant, which they were, but no one doubted that the man had adhered to the Law, i.e., exceeded the required standard of behavior.
The scandal that the Pharisee represents, then, is not his failure to meet the benchmark set forth by the Hebrew Law; it was his lack of humility that was problematic. The Pharisee thought that he was morally superior to others, and that he did not need forgiveness and grace. So he did what was right, but not in the right spirit. He lacked humility.
King Solomon was another example of a biblical character who lacked humility. Ironically, Solomon was considered one of the greatest kings in ancient Israel. He was better educated than all of his royal predecessors, and yet there came a point in his life when none of his knowledge mattered, because his judgment became so skewed that he failed his people.
A phrase from novelist and philosopher Walker Piercy comes to mind: “It’s possible to get all A’s and still flunk life.” King Solomon was intelligent, but he lacked humility. He got sucked into believing his own headlines. He allowed the worship of foreign gods; and worse yet, he started to think of himself as a god, and he came to think of God as his servant rather than himself as a servant of God.
One of the most important lessons that Israel learned from Solomon’s example was the importance of humility. They learned that no matter how many degrees one accumulated, no matter how much one knew about the law, or how much success one achieved, true faithfulness was (and is) grounded in a life that reflects a knowledge of the law and a spirit of humility. In order to get right and be right with God, we need to be able to see and name our mistakes, seek forgiveness, and receive God’s grace.
The trouble with the Pharisee, in today’s parable, is that he expressed one good trait—knowledge of the law--but not another. He lacked humility. Now, let’s take a look at the other characters in the story.
II
The tax collector, like the Pharisee, was a lifelong Jew, but unlike the Pharisee, he did not adhere to the Hebrew Law. Instead, he used his knowledge of the Hebrew language and culture to extract revenue from his own people for the benefit of a foreign occupier. To compound matters, he overstated people’s tax bills, and skimmed the extra off the top for his own gain.
The tax collector was a traitor to his nation, and a person without integrity. His words and deeds were not aligned. He simultaneously espoused his faith but cheated the faithful. He didn’t follow the Law, which prohibited stealing and taking advantage of the poor. However, the tax collector recognized his error and asked for forgiveness, which brought him back to “right relationship” with God.
In his commentary on this passage in Luke, New Testament scholar Fred Craddock is quick to point out that the most common interpretive error made about today’s parable is the assertion that the Pharisee is the villain and the tax collector is the hero. This is not the case, says Craddock. Neither is the hero nor the villain. A more accurate view of the two characters is to say that they are both half right and half wrong. [Craddock, et al. Preaching Through the Christian Year: Year C, (Norcross, GA: Trinity Press, 1994) p. 456.]
The Pharisee was right to know the Law and follow it, and the tax collector was right to confess his sin and seek forgiveness, but we never find out if the tax collector changed his ways.
So, Jesus’ teaching in this parable is that true righteousness--getting right with God--required then, and now, that we acknowledge our sins, demonstrate humility, change our behavior, receive forgiveness and grace, and live changed lives.
III
A modern example of this teaching of Jesus comes from a New Testament professor friend of mine, Dr. Stephen Patterson, who used to teach a course for UCC health and human service executives that I worked with in the UCC National Offices.
Dr. Patterson told those executives that the most important job they had was to align their organization’s espoused mission, vision, and values with the daily operations of their institutions. Aligning MVV throughout the organization, he said, starts at the top. If the CEO isn’t walking the talk, everybody knows it, the rank and file are demoralized, productivity and the quality of service tanks, and so does the bottom line.
Speaking from his experience as a parent, Dr. Patterson explained, “I’m Co-CEO of my family. My son and daughter keep me honest. They are ‘the integrity police.’ When they were in preschool, they wouldn’t eat their vegetables, so my spouse, Deborah, and I made a deal with them. We said that if Johnny and Sophia ate everything on their plates, Mommy and Daddy would play a game with them after supper. This strategy was very effective, because they LOVED games. Immediately the kids started finishing their supper. The children were rewarded with game time and Mommy and Daddy time.
Then one day, a month or so into the new behavioral modification plan, Dr. Patterson explained, “I was busy trying to finish a chapter in my latest book. I got up from the table and headed to my study to write. But I did not immediately dive back into my work, because Johnny ran into my study, grabbed one of my hands, and started pulling me out of my chair saying, “Daddy, you said we could play a game! You said…”
Dr. Patterson concluded, “The trouble with children is that they remember what you say. They call out your hypocrisy when they see it. They challenge you to walk your talk.”
Jesus was a bit like the Patterson children. He challenged his followers to walk their talk, so that they--that we--might live in right relationship with God and our neighbors.
Such a life is not easy to live or maintain. This is one of the reasons why we need each other. Moreover, this is one of the reasons that we need to be members of communities that can form and inform our faith values and spiritual lives, and that can provide us with a sense of identity and accountability.
IV
Similarly, we need organizational leaders to do the same. Members in the groups we lead need to hear and see us expressing our beliefs and values, and aligning them with our daily practices. Organizations that are most successful in identifying and electing leaders with these capabilities are able to recruit, hire, and promote folkx whose personal vocations, values, and goals are aligned with the organization’s espoused MVV.
Anyone can tell what an organization’s true Mission, Vision, and Values are by looking at the actions of its employees at any level.
A retired colleague of mine, the Rev. Jerry Wagenknecht, was the chaplain and later the Senior Vice President for Mission and Spiritual Care with Advocate Health Care in Chicago, Illinois. He often told a story about an employee who embodied the type of integrity that organizations of all types need in order to deliver on their MVV. This particular employee happened to serve as a janitor in the ER at one of Advocate’s hospitals.
One night Chaplain Jerry was paged to come to the ER. He hustled to the ER waiting area, and realized that he had no idea who had paged him or where the person in need was located, so he turned to the first staff person who he encountered—a night janitor—who had been dispatched to clean up the ambulance bay, and asked “What’s going on here?”
The janitor looked up from the floor, and said, “We’re saving lives, sir.”
Unlike some people who might have been sarcastic and said, “What do you think I’m doing? I’m mopping the floor.” The janitor poignantly said, “We’re saving lives, sir.” You see, the janitor’s sense of vocation and the hospital’s mission were aligned. That employee and that hospital’s mission had integrity. And, everyone knew it, regardless of whether they were the CEO, an OD consultant, a patient, or a front-line worker.
V
I think it is God’s dream that our individual callings and organizational missions align, so that we exude the type of integrity Jesus described in today’s parable.
Here at Eden Church, we don’t claim to have mastered integrity, but we are 100% committed to trying. Here we strive to discern the truth, live with integrity, and hold each other accountable for aligning our espoused values with our daily actions.
In those moments when we have our acts together, we experience an inner peace that the world can’t give or take away, even when what we say and do is unpopular.
My prayer for each of us today, and our congregation, is that we may be quick to recognize our errors and omissions, confess our sins, learn from our mistakes, and live changed lives, so that others might be inspired to join us on this journey with Jesus. And we can all glorify God with a better world. Amen.