“Pray Always”

Luke 18:1-14

Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, October 12, 2025

Let us pray: O Lord, I thank thee that I am a pastor, that I am not like other people who are sinful and do all manner of evil…Wait! That’s the wrong prayer! (shuffle through papers as if to find right one): clear throat. OK, um, here is the right one: “O Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.” (Look up) – That’s better! That first prayer was not meant to be prayed in public!

Well, the Pharisee in our Gospel reading wanted to pray in public, making it clear that he was not a sinner. He starts off his prayer just fine: “God, I thank you…” That’s a good prayer – one we ought to pray daily, if not several times a day. That’s why praying before meals is such a good habit – it reminds us at least two or three times a day that God is the source of all our blessings, and to take a moment to be thankful for those blessings. Prayers of thanksgiving remind us of God’s goodness to us. Thanksgiving lifts our spirits, brings us closer to God, and takes our focus off ourselves and our problems.

That’s the idea, anyway, but this Pharisee did not get the memo, because even in giving thanks to God, he is self-centered. His prayer is literally full of himself:  “I am not like other people…I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” His prayer seems to be an excuse for boasting about how religious he is. One has to ask, “Is this even a prayer? Or is it just bragging? Who is he actually talking to?” He is the epitome of a person who does good work in order to be noticed. The fact that he stood by himself, separate from the crowd, probably near the front of the temple, makes him more likely to be seen and heard. Also, he may not wish to run the risk of accidentally touching someone who could be unclean or sinful.

On the other hand, we have the tax collector, who stands “far off” – not up front with the rest of the worshipers, not in a prominent place, but hanging back. He feels himself unworthy to approach any closer. The tax-collector prays humbly, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Perhaps he has done unscrupulous things – such officials were often tempted to collect more than they were supposed to,

 and the government didn’t really care, as long as they got their proper share. As a tax-agent, he had to deal with the Romans, who were Gentiles. By his close association with these foreigners who did not follow the laws of Moses, he himself was considered to be unclean, especially by those who were more pious, such as the Pharisee. Indeed, the tax-collector himself must have felt unclean, for he did not even dare to lift up his eyes to heaven, but rather beat his breast, a sign of extreme anguish. This tax-collector saw himself as a sinner in need of forgiveness, unlike the Pharisee, who saw himself as a paragon of virtue.

One of my favorite theologians, Professor Justo Gonzalez, writes, “[The pharisee] stands by himself so as not to be contaminated by others less pure than he. The other stands far off because he does not consider himself worthy. Yet, the one who stands far off is in fact nearer to God.” As Jesus says, “this man [the tax-collector] went down to his home justified rather than the other, for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

True humility is seeing oneself as one really is – warts and all – both the good and the bad. The tax-collector saw clearly that he was a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness; the Pharisee saw himself as pious and pure – and thought himself justified in God’s eyes by his own religiosity. He had made an idol out of his own goodness, and he was worshiping that, rather than God. But pride and arrogance are also sins, which he seems to have overlooked. No one is guiltless before God. Only Jesus Christ was without sin. Biblical scholar John Pilch comments, “The Pharisee needed nothing; the tax agent recognized he needed God.” We must all approach God with humility, if we hope to approach God at all.

James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Trusting in our own goodness prevents us from seeing that we are dependent on God for everything, including forgiveness. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2,  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” Gonzalez comments, “…the one who brings piety, purity, and obedience, and who trusts in all these, is farther away from God than the one who simply brings misery, weakness, and dependence.” As the beloved old hymn, “Rock of Ages,” goes, Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to thy cross I cling.”

A good way to begin a prayer is with praise and thanksgiving, but before we go any further, we need to confess our sins and humbly ask for God’s forgiveness. “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner,” as the tax-collector prayed. That is why we always have a prayer of confession near the beginning of our worship service. After confession, prayer may move on to supplication – that is, asking something of God.

In our second parable we see a widow who has been unjustly treated. Day after day she comes before the judge, who doesn’t seem to care about justice or helping the weak and powerless. In that day and age, widows were often among the poorest and most marginalized, especially if they had no adult male relative to assist them – a father or brother perhaps. There was no social safety net.

In that that ancient patriarchal culture, women did not normally speak in public, and a male relative would have represented the widow before the court. The fact that she appears alone before the judge indicates that she has no one else to lean on for support.

This judge should have known better. The Hebrew Scriptures are full of injunctions to care for the widow and the orphan. For example, the prophet Isaiah advises, “Learn to do good; seek justice; rescue the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow.” But instead of defending this widow from her foe, the judge simply ignores her. Maybe he knows she cannot afford a bribe to sway his opinion, and maybe her opponent can. Yet because of her annoying persistence, he finally grants her the justice she seeks. Jesus concludes, “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.” In other words, if even a corrupt judge will listen to a poor widow who has to badger him day and night, how much more will God, who loves and cares for his people, be eager to hear us.

This parable reminds me of Jesus’ words in Luke 11, where he teaches his disciples the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus asks his disciples, “Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for a fish, would give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asked for an egg, would give a scorpion?” In other words, if we sinful human beings know how to give good things to our children, how much more will our heavenly father provide us with what we need? Notice that I said, “what we need.” Just like a good parent, God will not give us everything we ask for. There was a time when I thought having a baby alligator for a pet would be a great idea. For some reason my parents did not agree. I had to make do with a stuffed one.

Sometimes what we pray for may not be what God has in mind for us. That is why Jesus taught us to pray “thy will be done,” and to trust in God’s plans and providence. Only later will we be able to see why a certain prayer was not answered the way we wanted. Sometimes we will not understand this side of heaven. Yet Jesus encourages his listeners to persist in prayer and to never give up hope.

As it says in verse one, he told this parable to show us “the need to pray always and not to lose heart.” The concluding words of this parable, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” indicate that persistence in prayer is a sign of faith.

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul reminds them to “pray without ceasing.” – “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  (1 Thess. 5:16-18). This is also not a bad recipe for prayer: rejoice always in the good things God has done. Pray without ceasing for those things we truly need, and for the needs of others. And then whether God answers the way we want or not, give thanks, for God our heavenly parent is always listening. Amen.

Gonzalez, Justo L. Luke: Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible. Louisville, Kentucky: Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.

Pilch, John J. The Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday, Cycle C. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press.

Sermon ©Deborah Troester 2025