Linkin Park, an alternative rock band who came to quick fame at the beginning of the century, sang regarding a world that, in spite of the positive and uplifting mood surrounding many in their generation, was filled with loneliness, heartache and other pains of excess. In October of 2000 the young group entered the scene with a message that “not everything is right in the world.” With their albums “Hybrid Theory,” "Meteora," and "Minutes to Midnight," they denounced the hidden pain of their generation and cried in longing for a better future. It is for the public to determine whether the group’s hope has, with the years, turned to just more “hype.”
The Christian message is a message of hope without hype. This means that every visible sign of progress and success in religion must be met with a healthy degree of skepticism. The prophets of Hebrew history provide us with years of stern warnings against backsliding, desperate shouting denouncing greed and injustice and regular martyrdom of those who challenge the status quo. People enjoying the gifts of power and privilege have been the least prone to heed the prophets’ warnings. Why would anyone dare to disagree, criticize or denounce a system that provides them with comfort, security and authority? Toeing the party line is often akin to the ageless art of survival.
The prophet Joel, on the face of great pain from Babylon
The psalmist addresses the God of Hope by describing, in worship and gratitude, his identity and activity. “You, you, you,” is the ongoing litany of the psalmist, delineating his infinite power and might and enumerating the many gifts and benefits God has already bestowed on his people. Restraint is not a concern of neither the author nor the believing community who sings it. This psalm’s hope, like the vision of Joel, flows to the ends of the earth. But the largeness of this vision is often exchanged for a smaller, ,ore contained alternative: a vision of justice and peace that benefits me. Once my family and I have been spared from destruction, provided for our hunger, set on a path of prosperity and enjoyed the power and privilege we crave, that will be enough justice, than you.
It is therefore odd to find Jesus teaching about piety while contrasting two characters that are so alike in their positions of privilege. The Pharisee and the tax collector are more like each other than they are different. They both, under Roman occupation, enjoy the benefits of the empire: Safe passage, a dignified employment, enhanced social standing, a steady income, respect and admiration from peers, and a solid future in their careers. It is true that the Pharisee and other Jewish religious leaders had no respect for tax collectors, but that is beside the point. Why, I wonder, would Jesus contrast people who socially and politically are so alike? What kind of qualities is Jesus wishing to contrast for us that will give us a better understanding regarding what the follower of Jesus is and is not? While their social condition is not as dissimilar as we might think (they both belonged to a very small first century “middle class”) their prayers are ostensibly different. The Pharisee, in contrast not with the tax collector but with the entire Hebrew tradition, prays oddly in the first person, highlighting his smug social status and morality as evidence of his piety. “Look just how well I’ve turned out, God!” His list of accomplishments clearly betrays his white collar status and his distinguished social class. In sharp contrast, the tax collector prays simply: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Any first century hearer would have immediately recognized the authorship of that prayer. The book of Daniel comes to mind, which at that time was enjoying a resurgence in popularity due to a renewed interest in eschatological speculation. Two opinions prevailed in those days regarding the future: one was that God had rescued and relocated his people back to the Promised Land, and the new temple built under Roman occupation was a sign of how God was prospering his plan among his people. The visible signs of progress and the wealth of the elite were evidence, for some, of God’s redemption. But an alternate viewpoint was also popular: that of the skeptics who wondered out loud whether the size of this “redemption” was consistent with the Great God of Hope. It seemed that "justice" had reached only a select few, and “the redeemed” was a rather small, very select group compared to the all encompassing vision of the prophet Joel. According to N. T. Wright this new reality under Roman occupation was also exile, living under the curse of disobedience and that a more extensive redemption was coming. Daniel's prayer of confession (Daniel 9) resonates in the brief line of the tax collector’s prayer:
9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:
"O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 "Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel
"Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem
15 "Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem Jerusalem
17 "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name."
The prayer of confession is subversive against the evil within, the sinful nature of Paul’s letters. The prayer of confession is also the antidote to a life stuck in the mire of sin and self preoccupation. Our spiritual fathers and mothers agreed, even before the teachings of Jesus (as evidenced in the prayer of Daniel) that confession of sin is a healthy discipline for the God-seeker. Many churches around the world would not even dream of having a worship service that does not include a prayer of confession of sins. And we too, practicing a daily time of meditation and bible reading, will do well to begin with a prayer of confession before God. This simple discipline of telling God “what I’ve done” is sure to turn religious hype into true hope.
