Contempt, Confession, Conversion

Luke 18:9-18

Rev. Heather Carlson

October 26, 2025

 

“for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

 

We might quickly choose to nod and move on. We’ve already mastered this lesson. Don’t get a swelled head. Beware: pride goes before the fall. Yet, such confidence in ourselves - thank you God that I am not like that Pharisee - puts us in the very danger we want to avoid. 

 

Slow down and let Jesus speak to us of contempt, confession, and conversion.

 

Save us from contempt. 

•  told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt.

• Contempt = despising, disdain, mockery, scorn, belittle

• Number one corrosive element in marriage - any relationship

 

In the church:

1. Paul instructs the Corinthians to guard the young and physically unimpressive servants of God.  Speaking of Timothy: “Let no one despise him” (1 Corinthians 16:11) frames a pastoral charge: assess ministry by faithfulness, not externals.

1. Not outfit, occupation, education, length of time in the church 

2. Discernment of elders

2. Bible Study - unlikely heroes: unwed teenage mom from middle of nowhere. Peter an uneducated fisherman. Moses a poor speaking fugitive. Cultivate a countercultural valuation. Celebrate what the Lord chooses—weakness, humility, suffering—knowing that divine power is perfected therein.

3. Reject contemptuous speech in doctrinal disagreement. Romans 14 demands that convictions be held “before God,” not used as ammunition against family in Christ.

 

“Scripture traces contempt from Herod’s palace to church potlucks, exposing its presence in unbelief and immaturity alike. Yet the gospel transforms scorn into honor: the despised Stone becomes the Cornerstone, the despised apostle bears unrivaled revelation, the despised weak brother is welcomed by the Lord. To live under that reversal is to render contempt obsolete, replacing it with reverence for God and esteem for every image-bearer redeemed by Christ.”

 

Confession

 

“O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.” No fancy words, no pious chest pounding, and no artificial religious preservatives here. Just honest, open, begging from the depths. 

 

When I introduce myself at a party I'm more likely to use titles like wife, mother, minister, amateur chef or singer, Christian or even cyclist wannabe, but I can't recall if I've ever introduced myself "Hi, my name is Heather, and I'm a sinner." Sounds a bit like the confession that begins an Alcoholics Annonymous meeting. The way it functions in those settings is to remind the group members of their commonality.

 

Our commonality “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”

 

What kind of mercy we need may vary from person to person and from day to day, but the prayer places us in the awareness of our need of God. This prayer is for all who know shame that seeks to weigh you down. It is for those who want to love as God does. It is for those who seek to delight God's heart. It is for those who need the compassion to forgive others. It is for those who need help in the midst of difficulty and turmoil. It is for those who want to grow in the likeness of Christ. It is for those who burn with love for our hurting world. It is for those who long for God.

 

Have mercy on me, a sinner. The title isn't meant to weigh us under with shame. It is ONLY a despairing term if we believe it is the only name we carry, or that there is nothing to be done about our sin.

 

But we who gather around the font, tell the story of a God who out of great love for the world came to live among us. To reveal the ways of God. And even when God's way was rejected, even after spikes had been driven through his skin and bone, he uttered from the cross, "Father, forgive them." 

 

A mercy and pardon so strong and alive, that even death was defeated as Jesus emerged from the grave on Easter morning. A call upon our lives so strong that we bring ourselves and our children to be washed in the mercy of God.

 

"I am a sinner." It is in fact the words we say when we gather in common confession. We come confessing the honest truth that we share in common - we are sinners, in need of God's mercy.

 

The tax collector needed a place to cry out to God. That is why we as a congregation practice confession – we offer a place to cry out for God. Sometimes people wonder if we need the prayer of confession every. single. Sunday. The words may make us squirm. 

 

A minister in Vancouver told a story a few years ago in a sermon that has stuck with me. He spoke of a 1950’s TV talk/panel show hosted by Dick Cavett. Television was new and people were still getting used to it. Shows were broadcast live. During one of the shows, Dick said, “One of us on the platform has his fly undone, so we are all going to stand up, turn around and do up our flies.” They all stood and did the action for the sake of the one. In the same way, we do not know who it is among us when we gather for worship needs these words of the prayer of confession. But we say them together. Giving each other the words and the permission to confess. Declaring each Sunday that this is the place where we cry out “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

 

One of the marks of a healthy church is that it is a place where confession is encouraged and welcomed. Not to feed the gossip tree, but to feed a spirit of truth and healing. If we are going to bring the Good News of Christ to our community, then we have to be a people and a place where confession isn’t just welcome, it’s encouraged and practiced. 

 

Conversion - a change in character, form, or function

•  I tell you, this man went down to his home justified.

 

Let Jesus’ conclusion scandalize us. That it is the one who has done nothing to deserve or earn God’s grace who finds welcome by God. When will we stop pretending that the Christian faith is for “winners” those who are a success at life and belief? As one scholar wrote, “The good news is for losers, for those who don’t have their lives together, for those who are uncertain of their beliefs, for those who can’t get by on their own. In short, it is a faith for people who need God to save them because they can’t save themselves.”

 

It is what we believe as reformed churches: Saved

◦ By Grace alone

◦ Through Faith alone

◦ In Christ alone

◦ According to the Scripture alone

◦ to the glory of God alone

 

The people who hear this parable are shocked, maybe even angry. How could the cheating, deceptive, dishonest tax collector be right with God. God's mercy IS shocking in its persistance and generosity. The requirement only of need. The Pharisee that day relied upon his own credentials to impress God, and failed, the tax collector spoke the truth about his life, about my life, about all of our lives - "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

 

It’s to tell us that God draws near to those who aren’t even sure how to draw near to him. In the end, this parable turns out to be not so much about the tax collector, or about the Pharisee. It is about God. About God’s grace being amazing. Thanks be to God. Amen.