A sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, by Fr. Joshua Leigeber.
What do we have to offer God that is not already His? Jesus’ parable (Luke 18:9-14) of the Pharisee and the tax collector teaches us that even good works—fasting, tithing, hearing the Word, attending Divine Service—become dangerous when we use them to trust in ourselves or compare ourselves favorably with others. These gifts are not given to make God indebted to us, but to remind us that everything we have comes from Him.
The tax collector, by contrast, comes with nothing to boast of: “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” We are all sick with the disease of sin, and the answer is not to hide our wounds but to bring them to Christ, the Great Physician. This is one of the great gifts of private confession and absolution, where Christ applies the healing medicine of His forgiveness to burdened consciences.
Like the Apostle Paul, we are humbled by the knowledge of our sin so that we might rejoice in God’s grace: “By the grace of God I am what I am.” We come before God not to impress Him, but as poor sinners in need of mercy—and Christ sends us home justified, healed, and made whole.
Listen to the full sermon below.