Be Merciful to Me, Bring Mark

2 Tim 4:6-9, 11, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14                                  October 24, 2004

    And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: [10] "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. [11] "The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. [12] 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' [13] "But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' [14] "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted."

2 Tim. 4

    For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. [7] I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; [8] in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

2 Tim. 4:9, 11, 16-18

    Make every effort to come to me soon; only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.

    At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. [17] But the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me, in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the lion's mouth. [18] The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

CCI: The good fight is won as we recognize our need for God and one another.

Into: They were good friends. The older man was known as Encourager, he seemed to be able to see the potential in every street urchin and recovering addict, in fact the younger man was one of his projects. They had spent more than a decade together. One time while they were working in a really tight place, one of Encourager’s many Urchins bailed on them. He decided the going was too tough, so he got going home. The Young Project thanked God that he was not like the Urchin: he stayed with it when times got tough, he endured the hardships that came his way, was willing to suffer for his master. It was a major loss to have the Urchin leave, yet despite that set-back, they continued to work together until one day, ever positive, Encourager decided to give that same Urchin a second chance, he realized he had done the wrong thing, he was aware of his sin. His young project though, who was now pretty much the leader, would hear nothing of it. Encourager insisted, the new leader dug in his heals and finally, they settled the issue by going their separate ways. Encourager took the Urchin and went East, the Leader found a new partner went North and separately, they carried on their work. End of story, their friendship, it seems, did not survive.

         Of course the Young project we know as Paul, the Encourager was Barnabas and the Street Urchin was a boy named John Mark. I share this part of the story with you, because I believe in this scene we have Jesus’ parable acted out for us.

         Let me retell this parable. A politician went into the church to pray. As he was leaving he told the reporters “I thank God for what I am. I pray every day, I meet with my staff to study the Bible, I teach a Sunday School class and give my tithe to the work of the Lord. I am not like other politicians, they are adulterers, thieves, liars and hypocrites.” About the same time a political disgrace enters the church and he does not even lift his eyes to heaven and simply says, “God, be merciful to me, I am a sinner, I take advantage of people.” It is this one who returned to his office having been heard by God.

         Ok Pastor, that is good way to tell the story, but how do these two stories relate? Well, I believe that both Paul and the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable were judging themselves by who or what they were not. Paul was not a quitter and the Pharisee was not a Tax Collector, this comparison made them good in their own eyes, but it blinded them to their own sinful weaknesses and their relationship with God suffered.

         And so often that is what we do. We define ourselves by who or what we are not. As this nasty political season continues the stump speeches are filled with lines like, “I will not give the rest of the world a veto over our security.” Or, “I will not commit our troops to a conflict without a plan for winning.” Abused wives are told by their husbands to remember that no one else could love them and then they are told by their counselors to remember that they are not victims. Now, while the second definition is true, that definitionn by itself will not bring about growth. When Bishop Spong spoke last week he said to Woodside Church, “If you are going to be a church that has an impact in this community, you can not define yourself simply by saying ‘We are not fundamentalists.’” The “we are not” definitions may be helpful in getting started on a new path, but they will not lead us into the future.

         In fact, these negative definitions are often our favorite method to make us feel superior. “My child did not have a baby before she was married.” “My yard does not look like a junk yard.” “My grandchild does not get into fights.” “I would never do that.” By comparing ourselves to the negative behavior of others, we make ourselves superior to them.

         Sometimes we use these negative definitions to justify ourselves. “Yes, I sometimes drink a little too much, but I am not an alcoholic.” Or, “I may share prayer requests very widely, but I do not gossip, at least not like my neighbor.” We may say, “There go I, but for the grace of God.” But is this saying much of jump to saying, “Thank you God that I am not like that.”

         Just like the Pharisee, we like to find the people to whom we can compare ourselves and the result is always broken relationships, because when we elevate ourselves over others, we separate them from us. If I think I am better than you, I will not meet you on level ground, and without level ground there can be no godly fellowship. The negative definitions, the comparisons with others, these become a tyrannical prison guard that keep us hostage to the past.

         What happened to the Pharisee in Jesus’ story, he may have simply gone through his entire life quite pleased that he was not a tax collector, we do not know. However, we do know what happened to Paul. After separating from Barnabas (whose name means son of encouragement), he traveled to the West and then returned to Jerusalem where he was arrested for stirring up trouble. He appealed to Caesar and was sent to Rome. It was while he was a prisoner in Rome that he wrote his letter to Timothy. It was a letter of encouragement and instruction, as well as an invitation to come to Rome to visit him. As he gives his instructions to Timothy, he asks him to bring with him his coat and his parchments, probably his scriptures. He was cold and missed having his books available to him. He then urged Tim to come before winter set in and it would be too late and too dangerous to travel. And then, and this is what is most important to us, he asked Tim to bring Mark with him, tradition tells us this was the same young man that had deserted him so many years ago, this was the young man who had come between him and Encourager, and now, when all the others had abandoned him, he wanted Mark with him. At the end of his life, Paul had come to realize the blessing this partner could be. No longer was he comparing himself to Mark, now he saw Mark as a partner.

         What happened to change his attitude? I think the answer to that question is found in verse 7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. . .” Paul had chosen faithful service as his hallmark. His desire was, “Whatever else people may say, I long for them to say, ‘He was faithful.’” Throughout his life Paul had served Jesus one day at a time. At times his service had been with abandon, at times it was carefully planned. His longing to get to Rome to share the Gospel drove him to use every tool available to him, even the political and legal system. From the day Jesus stopped him on the road to Damascus, Paul did not look back. He trained his spirit the way an athlete trains her body. He endured hardship, he disciplined his life, he focused his energy on the task at hand. And when he came to the end, he had been changed.

         Throughout his ministry he had seen people drop out of the race. In fact, in this passage, he speaks of several who dropped out. Demas and Alexander the Coppersmith will forever be known as men who did not finish the course. However, the most spectacular dropout in Paul’s life had been Mark, this young man had been the cause of His split with Barnabas, but now he wants Mark. As he ran the race, he learned to understand how much we need each other. As he ministered and studied and poured his life out for Christ, a new awareness of the importance of the body of Christ grew.

         Yes, Paul had judged this young urchin early in his ministry, but now he had learned what God can do through anyone. Instead of defining himself by who he was not, he now defined himself as a follower of Jesus Christ.

         And that is the path to freedom from the tyranny of negative definition for all of us. Jesus Christ has accepted you as you are. He died for you while were yet a sinner. He has invited into his presence through prayer and one day you will be with him for eternity. You are now a child of God, you are a saint before Him, you are dearly loved by almighty God. That is your new identity, that is the self-definition that will give you purpose. But he has not done that only for you, he has also done it for the disgraced politician, the drop out minister and the neighbor who has insulted you. In other words, we all stand before God on level ground.

         Have you been defining your life by what you are not? That was the pharisees approach. The tax collector on the other hand simply recognized who he was. He did not make a list of sins, he did not even thank God that he was more humble than the Pharisee, he simply recognized that he was a sinner. It was not about his actions, it was about his person.

         This morning, if you have been setting yourself on a pedestal by comparing your good points to failings of another, it is time to let God redefine your life. First, with the tax collector admit you are a sinner. Second, with Paul commit to finishing the course set before you. And third, reach out to those you have judged and with them continue to fight the good fight.