Too Big For His Britches – Luke 18:9-14

A text – Luke 18:9-14

⁹ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other, for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

A reflection:

If you know me, you have heard me talk about my dad, born and raised on a tiny farm in Southern Illinois, not far from Kentucky. Although they didn’t speak with a nasal twang, most of his relatives easily made the word “well” span two syllables, and they regularly used many of the expressions Festus Haggen baffled his Dodge City neighbors with. Dad always kind of reminded me of Sheriff Andy Taylor, too, a person others respected who could turn a southern phrase with the best of ‘em.

He knew his Bible, which meant I learned it very well, too. And this parable was never referenced with the label “exalted” but instead with “too big for his britches.” Everybody and his brother know when someone is too big for his britches, and we are all just waiting around for that one to get taken down a peg or two. “Why, such as him – how could he go around like that? Ain’t he had no fetchin’ up?” That last one comes from my beloved Aunt Mary’s mouth, not my dad’s, but you get the picture.

Everything Jesus did and taught turned hierarchy on its head. Especially when dealing with his own students, he reminded them often about not inflating themselves but instead remembering exactly who they were and how many blessings they had received from their father in heaven who loved them. Jesus’s whole life was about being grateful for God’s gifts and then giving them to others. Especially to others who felt they didn’t deserve them. The resulting joy and gratitude made them into apostles and evangelists like the woman at the well and at least two tax collectors. May the same be said of us – may those who see us know we’ve been fetched up well and that we are not too big for our britches. Can I get an Amen?

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for Jesus’s reminders to never exalt ourselves. Help us to remember, when we are feeling a little puffed up, that we are your children and have a lot to be grateful for and nothing to be stuck-up about. Help us to go through our world gratefully. Amen.