September 12, 2004; The 15th Sunday after Pentecost Readings: Exodus 32:1, 7-14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10; Psalm 51:1-18.   The Rev. Dr. Hilary B. Smith Your Image of God How is it that the Pharisees and the scribes had such a different opinion about sinners than did Jesus? Today the term Pharisee has negative connotations. But, in fact, they were faithful people, well educated in all aspects of their faith. The Pharisees and Jesus shared the same basic faith. Yet, they treated known sinners differently. The point at issue was not whether one had sinned. The seriousness of turning from God was not in dispute. Psalm 51, which we have prayed today, gives us a clear sense of the seriousness of sin. We hear the sorrow of the one who knows the pain of having transgressed. What can one do in such a situation? Hear the words of the psalmist, who says: "Have mercy on me, O God...Create in me a clean heart...Give me the joy of your saving help again." The focus is on God. The psalmist would have offered sacrifices—but knows that God’s love and forgiveness can not be bought. God’s forgiveness cannot be bought by our actions because God gives it to us. "The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. We cannot change God; God changes us. So if God is so merciful and loving, why do the Pharisees mock Jesus for eating with sinners? The history of the Jewish faith is quite complex. We could talk about the "Deuteronomic Code mentality" and how the covenant, introduced by the prophets, broke with the punishment oriented nature of understanding relationship with God (Dennis Linn, Shelia Linn, and Matthew Linn, Good Goats: Healing our image of God, Paulist Press, 1994, p. 62). That would take some time. Put simply, the Pharisees had a different image of God than did Jesus. The Pharisees’ image of God was that of a judge who had no choice but to pass judgment and impose a punishment. Jesus gave them two different images for God. God is like a shepherd who has lost a sheep. The shepherd will look for that sheep, and when the sheep is found—there will be great joy. Rather than making excuses for the wrongs of individuals, Jesus puts the focus on God and gives us a clearer understanding of the dynamic of God’s love. When a person goes astray, that person is not condemned; that person becomes the focus of God’s searching concern. God will never abandon us, no matter what we have done. God will search for us, and then rejoice upon finding us. Every person has value in the eyes of God. Just as a shepherd will leave the ninety-nine sheep to look for the lost, so God will always seek to be in communion with us—no matter what. God is also like a woman who loses a coin. That coin has value and she needs the coin. Every person has value and God needs each one of us. God needs us in the sense that it is God’s nature to love us and be in relationship with us. Why? Because that is who God is. The coming of Christ into the world was the ultimate way of loving humanity and searching for us. Through his words and actions, Jesus showed us God through his humanity. Jesus would have welcomed the Pharisees into his table fellowship. Because of their bitterness and judgmental attitude, however, the Pharisees exclude themselves from the celebration. They believe that they merit God’s favor because of their actions. People tend to become like the God they worship. Their God was a harsh judge, and so they were righteous in their judgment of others. Who is God for you today—at this point in your life? What is the dominant image of God that you carry with you? Does it bring you closer to God or does it keep you at arms length? Does your image bring you closer to others or not? Why is one’s image of God so important? We tend to become like the God we worship. If God is a harsh judge for me, I will probably judge others and see the worse in them. Many people do just that without realizing how their own relationship with God and understanding of God is influencing them. There is a helpful book in this topic, entitled Good Goats: Healing our image of God. The authors offer a suggestion for getting in touch with God who is love. First, "Get in touch with the love of God in your heart. 2. Put a smile on your face that matches that love. 3. Smile at a person who loves you and allow that person to smile back at you." They go on to say: "Taking in the smile of someone who loves us is such a simple thing. Yet, it can be one of the most healing things in life. A friend’s smile can heal us if we know that God loves us, just for a start, at least as much as the people who love us the most (Good Goats, p. 50)." Amen.