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I consider myself a progressive liberal leaning Christian. My hunch is that most of you are in that camp as well. Scriptures sacredness, for me, does not depend on whether its contents are factually true. Contradiction in the Bible is not a threat to my faith. The fact that there are two different creation stories side by side in Genesis is no big deal. Finding possible signs of Noah’s ark on some mountaintop does not prove that my faith is any more real. Jesus’ mother’s virginity, or not, is hardly a cornerstone of my experience with the Divine. Scripture, for me, is holy because God continues to speak regardless if the human writers and interpreters get it right or not. God’s way trumps our way every time, eventually.

There are dominant themes in our Bible. A loving God prevails over an angry God. While judgment and accountability are definitely part of our relationship, God’s capacity for new beginnings is astounding. Generosity is a huge theme. Not only is God generous, God expects us to be generous. Generous in our sharing wealth. Generous in who we welcome to our table. Generous in our attitude of giving others the benefit of doubt.

We learn through the Bible that trust is closely linked with faith. O ye of little faith. We do not trust God enough. We trust ourselves, our neighbor, science or perhaps the randomness of chance. But do we trust God? Is our faith the kind that trusts God more than anything or anyone else? And what about humility? Do we really walk humbly with God, knowing in our bones that it’s not about us? …Well, maybe it is about us but not in the way this progressive liberal Christian too often thinks.

Politics are front and center in this DC beltway town. Faith and values seem to have become part of the political landscape. Both liberals and conservatives are focused on the family, (and other issues). It’s a great time to be a minister and regular church goer! What we do and say here can get mainstream attention, particularly if it’s an election year. What you believe is your own business? How you interpret scripture and stand on certain social issues is private? I don’t think so. Not if you are a candidate. Not if you’re a voter.

God is on the side of the oppressed. This was part of my seminary indoctrination, Lutheran and United Church of Christ. Jesus ministered to the underdog, making trouble and a point – God’s love is inclusive. Being poor wasn’t what got Jesus’ attention as much as being oppressed. Yahweh comes to set the captives free. Being wealthy wasn’t necessarily sinful. Plenty of ministry oriented things then and now are made possible through philanthropy. Getting rich on the backs of the poor and middle class, now that might be problematic.

Being wary of getting mired in church and state issues from the pulpit, let me just say that I personally have a difficult time with policies and practices that in one breath say choose life and in the next breath take so much life away. Granted, situations are never black and white and difficult choices are made daily. However, there seems to be a prevailing attitude that the one with the most firepower, money, or highest God approval rating wins and deserves to win. They are wrong. They are missing or misunderstanding God’s counsel in these life and death matters. I am a liberal progressive Christian because I have seen, I have experienced what conservative traditional Christians champion. Their God is too small. Their God is too militant. Their convictions are too absolute. Their faith is too judgmental.

Not so much lately but there was a time that I would be part of panels and workshops discussing being gay and Christian – a contradiction in many minds. Not one to place all my belief in what the Bible says at the exclusion of what God says, I grew weary of proof texting. That is, citing various scripture texts to support or refute a particular opinion. Ultimately it was, for me, my experience with God and God’s people that led me to believe and trust that God loved me. God creates and cherishes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender folk along with the straight ones. How did I know that this was God speaking and not me? Good question. My answer? I couldn’t be perfectly sure. Maybe I was kidding myself. But all that I had experienced in my faith and identity journey had led me to trust the persistent voice within me – a voice not my own. For had I listened to my own I would have missed my 31^st birthday. Then, taking a lighter but no less legitimate view I would add: Maybe when I die I will be in for a big surprise. I think I am going to heaven. But God may greet me with news that you theologically conservative Christians were right and I was wrong. Guess we will just have to wait and see. (I’m confident I have nothing to worry about)

I am a liberal progressive Christian because liberal progressive Christians have a sense of humor, to the point of being sacrilegious.  My type of Christians champion tolerance and acceptance over intolerance and exclusion. God needs us to work for justice, bringing hope to the despairing. Hope in the form of jobs, food, education, and access to health care. God needs us to talk about more than abortion, gay rights, and just war theory. Thank God I grasp many of the ambiguities of faith and life. Thank God I am not so simplistic to believe that the Bible is literally true and without error. Thank God I am not them. Dear God, give me the ability to build bridges between us and them. May my hand be one of the first to reach across.

You know, Sandy, that today’s gospel is a cautionary tale don’t you? Lest you get too self righteous in your humility and your relationship with God, you had better sit awhile with this text. Liberal, progressive Christians sometimes avoid the S word. Sin. It’s a downer with nasty baggage of shame. Being taught that we were eternally unworthy and needed to surrender to an angry God took its psychic toll. Original sin stepped aside for original blessing. We are sinners yes, but we are holy more. Consider this text an invitation to take an honest inventory of who you are, who God knows you to be.

The question Luke is most likely trying to address in this eighteenth chapter is “What is the nature of God’s kingdom?” We ask this question still. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. What should we expect of God from God?

Recall last Sunday’s gospel story. The widow is persistently demanding justice from an unsympathetic judge. Finally, he gives in and grants her the justice she seeks. The primary moral of the story? Nag God long enough and your prayers will be answered? No. It is this: The necessity of constancy in prayer is bound up with the human experience of losing heart or losing faith before the day of Christ’s coming. This story is a directive to pray in order that our faith not fail. God will never forsake us. May we not forsake God.

Today’s gospel reading highlights God’s extravagant acceptance of people with spiritual integrity. This integrity comes from resisting hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is acting as if we were someone we are not. Jesus, as is so often the case, turns assumptions upside down. The Pharisees are church leaders, outstanding citizens in the community. Pharisees are today’s church council leaders, deacons and ministers. While they get a bum rap in much of our scripture, their livelihoods and life priorities mirror many of our own. They were dedicated temple folk concerned about scripture and its teachings. They got off track as we sometimes do. Tax collectors, on the other hand, were generally viewed as rip off artists. Being a tax collector meant stealing from your neighbors.

The contrast used in this story is intended to illustrate the misguided attitudes of self importance and the significance of being honest with God. People are not always as they seem. This text is meant to correct the misunderstanding that one can justify themselves to God, that one can fool God with our prayer.

We are sinners in the hands of a loving God. We are known by God and loved still. Creator God, you have searched me and you know me. If I try to hide, you look for me. Not to scold me but to care for me.

Bill Vaughan, the late syndicated columnist, once said that “In the game of life, it’s a good idea to have a few early losses which relieves you of the pressure of trying to maintain an undefeated season.” There are no undefeated seasons. Isn’t that what hypocrisy is sometimes about? Trying to give the impression to other people that we live lives which are undefeated?

We all could eat a little humble pie now and then. Next time we put someone or a group down in an effort to consciously or unconsciously put ourselves up; next time that so and so political party has us thumbing or holding our nose; next time we are thanking God that we are not one of them; next time we refuse to respect a difference in opinion; stop. Remember that we have our prejudices; that we can be hurtful, even cruel; and that faith with integrity, not appearances, is what matters to God.

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