"We are All Beggars"
Luke 18:9-14, 2 Timothy 4:1-8
Rev. Everett L. Miller
The end is near for Paul. It seems that he has been sentenced to death or he expects to be soon, so he is writing to the one he has called his spiritual son, Timothy. Some scholars say that Paul did not write this letter, for one reason because it does not make the same type of theological points that his letters usually do. Those who say he did write it make the point that he was near death when he wrote it so he was not so much concerned with writing a theological treatise as he was with encouraging Timothy and coming to terms with his own impending death.
You all know that my Granny died a little over two years ago. Well, because she had donated her body for medical research, we just received her ashes about two weeks ago. Last Saturday a bunch of us met outside of Hunter, Oklahoma, on the old farm place and spread her ashes in an old orchard where she used to bird-watch. This got me to thinking about how much I miss her and how my Granny was one of the smartest and most philosophical people I’ve ever known. She was also never short of advice. But the last few times I saw her before she died, and I am convinced she sensed the end was coming a couple of months before it happened, she gave me a generous gift of money for Danielle and me, she insisted that I borrow an incredibly ugly and feminine fleece jacket because it was a cold morning, she told me she was proud of me, and she stood at the door and waved as I pulled out of the parking spot. She did not get philosophical. She simply did what had been most important to her; she did her best to use her meager resources to provide for her grandkids, to protect me from the cold even though I was 26 years old, and she encouraged me. This memory gives me perspective on what really matters in life.
Today is Reformation Sunday, celebrating the fact that on October 31, 1517, a German Catholic monk by the name of Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door. That was only the beginning, however. Martin Luther wrote volume after volume of theological works. He was one of the bravest and most talented thinkers in history. He is a giant among the framers of modern Christianity and Western Civilization as a whole, but the night he died he took a piece of paper and scribbled some words on it, the last words being: “We are all beggars, this is true.” They found it on his nightstand after he had died. With all of that important theology and doctrine within him, what was most important to him at the end was the fact that we are all beggars of God’s mercy and forgiveness, as well as the mercy and forgiveness of others. We are all, ultimately dependent on grace. Luther’s final words also help to put life in proper perspective.
Today's lectionary passage from Luke’s gospel tells us that one day Jesus was talking to some people who were too confident of themselves and looked down on others. He told them a parable of 2 men who went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, who everyone would assume was righteous; the other was a tax collector who everyone would have assumed was a scoundrel and sinner. But the Pharisee prayed these words: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a 10th of all I get.” Then the tax collector bows his head, beats his chest and says—“God, have mercy on me—a sinner.”
You all know that my Granny died a little over two years ago. Well, because she had donated her body for medical research, we just received her ashes about two weeks ago. Last Saturday a bunch of us met outside of Hunter, Oklahoma, on the old farm place and spread her ashes in an old orchard where she used to bird-watch. This got me to thinking about how much I miss her and how my Granny was one of the smartest and most philosophical people I’ve ever known. She was also never short of advice. But the last few times I saw her before she died, and I am convinced she sensed the end was coming a couple of months before it happened, she gave me a generous gift of money for Danielle and me, she insisted that I borrow an incredibly ugly and feminine fleece jacket because it was a cold morning, she told me she was proud of me, and she stood at the door and waved as I pulled out of the parking spot. She did not get philosophical. She simply did what had been most important to her; she did her best to use her meager resources to provide for her grandkids, to protect me from the cold even though I was 26 years old, and she encouraged me. This memory gives me perspective on what really matters in life.
Today is Reformation Sunday, celebrating the fact that on October 31, 1517, a German Catholic monk by the name of Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door. That was only the beginning, however. Martin Luther wrote volume after volume of theological works. He was one of the bravest and most talented thinkers in history. He is a giant among the framers of modern Christianity and Western Civilization as a whole, but the night he died he took a piece of paper and scribbled some words on it, the last words being: “We are all beggars, this is true.” They found it on his nightstand after he had died. With all of that important theology and doctrine within him, what was most important to him at the end was the fact that we are all beggars of God’s mercy and forgiveness, as well as the mercy and forgiveness of others. We are all, ultimately dependent on grace. Luther’s final words also help to put life in proper perspective.
Today's lectionary passage from Luke’s gospel tells us that one day Jesus was talking to some people who were too confident of themselves and looked down on others. He told them a parable of 2 men who went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, who everyone would assume was righteous; the other was a tax collector who everyone would have assumed was a scoundrel and sinner. But the Pharisee prayed these words: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a 10th of all I get.” Then the tax collector bows his head, beats his chest and says—“God, have mercy on me—a sinner.”
Here is how Jesus sums it up. “I tell you this man, rather than the other went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus does not say that the Pharisee would have been better off as a robber, evildoer, or adulterer or that he shouldn’t fast or give his ten percent tithe of his income. But this parable is about proper perspective, which Jesus’ story shows is similar to Luther’s last words. “We are all beggars. This is true.” The Tax Collector understands that; the Pharisee does not.
So when Paul senses that his fight is almost over, that his race is nearly finished, it is not more doctrine that is needed, as important as it is, but proper perspective that he offers Timothy. And his proper perspective is this: don’t let what other people are doing deter you from doing what God has called you to do. Other people may drift away to versions of the gospel that are really just what is easy and what they want to hear. But as for you, Timothy, continue preaching the Word, keep your head, be willing to endure hardship, and keep bringing others to faith in Christ.
There is no great treatise on justification and sanctification, no long meditations on the end times. Paul simply lays things out for Timothy. Paul only has time for what really matters; death is near. He is “already being poured out like a drink offering.” He says this to allude to the fact that Jewish priests, when they are performing a sacrifice at the temple, would pour out a cup of wine on the altar to complete the sacrifice. Paul says he is like that wine being poured on the altar signifying the completion of the sacrifice that has been his life since the risen Jesus appeared to him some 30 years earlier.
In 2 Corinthians he says, “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”
He’d traveled all over the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean, and he may have even been as far west as Spain. All of those sacrifices in his life for the gospel and as he nears the end it comes down to this: encouragement for Timothy and this statement, “There is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award me on that day—and not only me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” There is no bragging about where he had been and what he had done. He doesn’t even call himself righteous; it is the Lord who is righteous and who can award the crown of righteousness. Paul even makes the point of saying that this isn’t something special for him but for everyone who has faith in Jesus.
We are all ultimately dependent on God’s grace, on God’s mercy and forgiveness. We are all beggars, each and every one of us. This is proper perspective. Isn’t that so much of what faith in God and living as a disciple of Jesus Christ is about: having proper perspective, knowing that we need God and we need others, knowing that we are in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness, and in turn others are in need of our mercy and forgiveness. Isn’t so much of faith knowing that we are all beggars before God, like that tax collector beating his breast and beseeching, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” like Martin Luther on his death bed, like Paul who looks forward to his crown of righteousness not because he is righteous but because he has faith in Jesus and it is Jesus who is righteous.
It has been said that sharing your faith in Christ with others is really just one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread. We are all beggars and it is Jesus who is the bread of mercy and forgiveness, for which we all hunger. That is why the Lord’s Supper is so extremely important to Sunday worship, because it acts out this truth. To know that you are reliant upon God’s grace and to put your faith in the one who embodies that grace, our Lord Jesus Christ, and to re-orient everything in your life in light of that, now that is proper perspective.
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