LUKE 18: 9-14 "To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: '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 tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that 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." We are told in the New Testament Scriptures again and again that a central piece of our lives as Christians is how we ACT out our faith?“?‡?¶feed the hungry, clothe the naked, minister to the sick, visit those who are in prison, shelter the homeless, seek justice for the oppressed, give what we have to those who need it infinitely more than us?“?‡?¶the list goes on, and on, and on." There are millions of things that we can and should be doing which embody our mission as Christians. And I must say that I am proud to be a member of this congregation, for here I see SO much of that work being done by all of you. You are amazing people, people who gladly give their time and energy to organizations that offer services to the poor and marginalized of this city, who work for justice on behalf of the victimized and oppressed in the international community. The question of whether you are acting on your faith then is answered by the weight of what you do, embodying the words of St. Francis himself when he said ?“?‡??Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words.?“?‡?? We are called to act on our Christian convictions, but we cannot act on our convictions until we know what those convictions are. WHY do we feed the hungry? WHY do we visit those in prison? WHY do we clothe the naked, fight for justice, comfort the downtrodden? Is it only because Christ did it? And if so, why then did CHRIST DO it? I tell you again, we CANNOT act on our convictions until we match them to GODS VISIONS! We learn a little bit about God?“?‡?–s visions in the scripture reading for today. Two men, a Pharisee and a tax collector, go to pray. We are told that the Pharisee prays to himself saying, ?“?‡??GOD I THANK you that I AM NOT LIKE OTHER PEOPLE?“?‡?? I fast twice a week, I tithe a tenth of my income?“?‡???“?‡?? Look at me God, he says, Look at my life, look at my actions! How could I be anything less than what you desire from your people? I don?“?‡?–t rob, I don?“?‡?–t kill, I don?“?‡?–t commit adultery, and I certainly don?“?‡?–t betray my people as this tax collector has! Why is the Pharisee so intent on distancing himself and his actions from this tax collector? Let?“?‡?–s consider the historical role of the tax collector. In Israel during Roman occupation he was considered to be amongst the disgusting sinners and most despised. He collected money on behalf of the occupying Roman government giving the money that he taxed from the people to the very people that were oppressing them. He could tax whomever he wanted, for he was personally protected by Rome itself. He was nothing short of a traitor to his own people, a pariah in his community and unwelcome by all. And yet, is he not still a human being? The tax collector that we meet in the scripture today does not sound like a strong or confident man. In contrast to the common perception of the tax collector, this man is beating his breast like a person in pain. He cries out to God, begging for mercy upon a sinner. But I ask you, does the Pharisee see the pain on the face of the tax collector? Can he hear the poor man?“?‡?–s voice as he cries out to God, begging for mercy? Surely the Pharisee must realize that the tax collector does not like the person that he is! How could the Pharisee be so self-absorbed, so oblivious, to the experience of his neighbor that he would fail to notice the suffering, the desperation, the isolation that this man must be experiencing. Can he not recognize this man as someone who has nothing and no one left to turn to but his God for comfort in his moments of greatest despair? But Pharisee is too busy praying to himself, thanking God for his own accomplishments. His self-righteousness prevents him from truly seeing the world around him, from truly experiencing God in the faces of the people next to whom he prays. The Pharisee has forgotten that God?“?‡?–s blessings are for all of us, that no person ever ?“?‡??makes it?“?‡?? on his or her own, that to God it doesn?“?‡?–t matter who you are or what you?“?‡?–ve done but only that you love. It?“?‡?–s time for us to ask ourselves some hard questions. Is it not true that we all are tempted as the Pharisee to look for comfort in our own actions? Do we not choose to ignore many of the things that are painful to us, things that challenge our notion of what it means to be in solidarity with others? When we see the poor, the homeless, the mentally ill and the physically sick in the streets, do we not turn our heads away? Do we not tell ourselves, ?“?‡??thank God that isn?“?‡?–t me,?“?‡?? thereby distancing ourselves from our brothers and sisters? Do we not then also construct systems that separate us from our neighbors, relegating the elderly to retirement ?“?‡??communities?“?‡??, placing those who are sick in facilities separate from our own, systematically removing that which is painful for us to acknowledge from our eyesight? IS THIS THE BODY OF CHRIST? It is the most difficult of truths to acknowledge and live out is that our faith demands more. Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, ministering to the sick and working for justice is more than simply the actions we take. It demands of us that we truly identify with other people. That we no longer act out of a desire to ?“?‡??help those in need?“?‡?? but rather participate from a conviction in God?“?‡?–s vision of the body of Christ. That the sick, the hungry, the downtrodden, the incarcerated, the stranger in our midst are no longer strangers but loved and accepted as a NECESSARY part of the beloved community we create here on earth. Our own Katherine probably said it best when she paraphrased an author whose name I can?“?‡?–t recall, who stated the definition of community as being ?“?‡??the place in which the people with whom you are least likely to associate are.?“?‡?? The Community of Christ is one in which the labels that separate us are constantly and consciously being stripped away as we strive for unity through our own humanity. We are ONE Body, my friends. ONE BODY. All of us, together, compose one body that is only as strong as its weakest, only as wealthy as the poorest of us, only as tough as the most broken of us, only as healthy as the sickest of us, only as safe as the most threatened of us, only as joyful as the most desolate of us. Together we are crucified, together we are made whole. For we are ONE BODY, my friends, ONE BODY broken and mended over and over again, One body lifted up in the name of Christ, loved on and soothed and cared for by a God who is always there and never leaves us, a God who whispers into the hearts of the oppressed and the victorious alike and calls us to the holy mission of striving always to be ONE Body. AMEN.