From those questions, the test discerns your preferred ways of acting in the world: introvert v. extrovert, feeling v. thinking, end-product valued more than process or vice-versa. And the test “reveals” your personality type…according to that test. Every time such a tool came up for discussion or use, we all got the same lecture: this isn’t a tool for you to categorize or pigeon-hole someone else. This is a tool for you to use on yourself, to become more aware of your ways of being in the world and how they fit (or don’t) in any particular situation. For example: I tested out as an “INFP” – and one thing you and I can take from that is I am a process person, not an end-product person. I can leave stuff not quite completed for a very long time. I also can be a pain in the neck, harping on how, in any group, we need to pay attention to the process we follow. I am NOT a “the ends justifies the means” person at all. And right now, you may be thinking, I don’t care how you test out, get to the point. The point is this: no matter how many times we were lectured on not using the results against someone else….somebody always did. Someone would say a variation on “No wonder I can’t get along with you, you are an INFP,” or an ENTJ, or some other combination. “No matter you’re a dreamer, or a jerk, or are tone-deaf to other people, you are a……” one of those letter combinations. They broke the rule of not applying what they learned to other people. There is something in humans, or at least in humans in our culture, something in us that looks around at others in order to find out how we fit in among these humans. We’re always taking stock – checking out how you’re doing versus how I’m doing versus how she’s doing. And usually, this is not useful. It doesn’t help us thrive, or feel successful. Because when we’re looking, we always find someone who appears to be doing better than us. Doesn’t matter if we are happy or content with who we are or what we’re doing….as soon as we catch a glimpse of somebody having more or doing more or being more, then suddenly we’re not quite as satisfied any more. We’re not quite happy. And yet….nothing has really changed for us. We are just the same as we were before we learned about that other person. But we let ourselves feel less than in those moments. On the other hand, we may go in the other direction. We may look around ourselves and we think, “Huh. Looking at him, looking at them, looking at her….my life looks pretty smooth. I’m doing pretty well. What do you know. I must be doing okay.” And, once again, nothing has really changed. You’re the same person you were before you did all that looking around and comparing. How is it that you would now take some kind of pleasure or self-congratulation from your life, because you compared it to others…instead of just being grateful for a good life, just as it is, without that comparison dance? In today’s story, we have two men who have entered the temple to worship God and to pray. One is a Pharisee, one is a tax collector. It may be helpful to review why these two categories matter. First: the Pharisee is a very religious person. Pharisees were considered experts in the Jewish law, those who knew the religious requirements and traditions fully and who were sought out in disputes, to settle questions about how to live a good life, like what does God require of me in getting along with my in-laws, or what is the appropriate offering in the case of this specific rule-breaking? Pharisees were considered both very religious and experts in Jewish law, and they took that role very seriously. That’s one reason that in Jesus’ life as the Gospels report it, we witness so many Pharisees questioning Jesus and trying to “correct” his opinions on God’s will or teaching. Pharisees were held in respect and were considered higher up on the social scale. And they were considered to be “good” people. The tax collector was not held in respect. Most tax collectors were seen by others as cheaters, because many of them collected more tax than was required and skimmed some off the top for themselves. The taxes of course went to the Romans, the occupiers, so tax collectors were also sometimes seen as betrayers of their own people – working for the occupiers’ good, rather than their people’s good. Tax collectors were not respected, and they were considered less than religious, or good. So here are these two men. The tax collector isn’t comparing himself to anybody. He’s standing in the temple, asking God to have mercy on him. He’s admitting he’s a sinner, that he has done wrong. This moment in the temple is between him and his God, and his posture is one of humility and contrition. The Pharisee, on the other hand, is feeling pretty sure of himself. He counts off to himself all the good things he does: “I fast…I give away a tenth of my income.” (v. 12) And he says, “Thank you, God, that I am not like that guy over there.” (v. 11) The Pharisee isn’t humble, he’s feeling pretty full of himself. And Jesus says, in effect: “Don’t be like this guy.” Don’t be looking around and totaling up other people’s sins as if that lets you off the hook. As if someone else’s mistakes contribute to your goodness. We are to come before God with humility, all of us. We are to recognize that we are all sinners. We in the progressive church shy away from that word “sinner” because of how often it has been used as a weapon against certain groups – but it is a condition of being human: we all are sinners. As Paul wrote, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) God calls each of us to be humble, and recognize that we do indeed fall short….and that God meets us in our need and “fall-shortedness” and greets us and helps us to do better. What our neighbor, or our friend, or our family member is doing does not change what we need to do, or how we need to keep working on ourselves to become better and better followers of Christ. What matters is how we work on ourselves, to become better and better at following Jesus. Not to beat ourselves up….but to recognize that each of us has ways in which we can grow and learn. “Don’t be like that guy.” Sounds like Jesus might be breaking his own rule, if you stop to think about it. But have you noticed? Jesus didn’t say, “Don’t be like Nicodemus,” or any other specific Pharisee. When Jesus told parables, he often used the job a person had, like tax collector; or their ethnic group, like Samaritan. He didn’t call individuals out, to shame them. He used categories to get his point across. He was not encouraging anybody to look at their neighbor and compare themselves to that specific person. “Don’t be like that guy in the story.” Watch what YOU do, how YOU are. In these difficult times, it is tempting to look at people who differ from us in their political opinions and say something very similar to what the Pharisee said, “I thank you, God, that I am not like THEM.” I have been at meetings over the past months where we’ve been talking about protests, and how to speak out against some of the agenda that one political party is pushing….and there are always a few people present who talk about those who support that agenda as stupid, or moronic, or evil. Not the agenda items as stupid or moronic or evil, but describing the people that way. And I don’t think that is correct. I think that is the modern day equivalent of being the Pharisee in the temple and saying, “I thank you, God, that I am not like them.” The truth is, we are like them. Not all of them, of course: there are people who are targeting specific groups not out of a concern for our well-being as a country, but because they want more of the economic pie than anybody else. But the majority of folk, the majority of us, want the same things. We want useful, gainful employment. We want the best for our kids. We desire a good world in which to live. Where we all differ is how we identify threat to our country or our community. Where we differ is how we understand what makes for useful employment or community safety. Where we differ is how we answer the challenges of our days. I am not excusing the hate in some of those policies. I am not excusing the behaviors. What I am saying is that we are not that different in our basic goals. “Don’t be like that guy in the story.” Don’t smear people with name-calling. Don’t distort an issue by labeling, or dismissing people. Talk about the issue itself. Bring up the facts that apply. Listen to the concerns that have driven those people to other conclusions. Offer what you see as a better way forward. Above all, let’s not hold ourselves as having all the answers and them as having all the errors. In a spirit of humility, let’s not exalt ourselves. When it comes to prayer; when it comes to speaking of our faith and our truth; let us not puff ourselves up. Let’s stay humble. Let us have mercy on one another, as God has mercy on us.