Worship - 26 October 2025

Summary of this week's theme

In the 1960s radio show Round the Horne, a recurring sketch parodied the tortured dialogue of a Noël Coward romance. Characters tied themselves in knots of self-conscious declarations: ‘I know you know I know.’  It’s a comic exaggeration of the way we often approach Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.

We can’t help falling into recursive self-righteousness: ‘I’m glad I’m not like those who judge the self-righteous who are glad they’re not like the Pharisee who thanked God he wasn’t like the tax collector.’  Yet that’s precisely the trap the parable warns us against. It reminds us that humility is vital and that judging others - however piously - reveals our own pride.

The Pharisee, confident in his goodness, acts as if he needs nothing from God.  The tax collector, aware of his failings, simply asks for mercy.  The shock of the story is that God vindicates the latter.  Perhaps the real point is that no one is more righteous than another; we all stand on level ground before God.  And when we judge others, we only hold up a mirror to ourselves (with or without eyes open).

Centuries earlier, the prophet Joel offered a message of restoration and joy.  He spoke of God sending ‘early rain for your vindication,’ filling barns with grain and hearts with praise. God’s Spirit, Joel said, would be poured out on all flesh - young and old, rich and poor - restoring both the land and the relationship between God and God’s people.  His vision reminds us that divine abundance, not human merit, brings renewal.

Poet Mary Oliver echoes Joel’s vision in her poem Don’t Hesitate:

‘If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it… Joy is not made to be a crumb.’

Her invitation to embrace joy contrasts with the scarcity mindset of self-sufficiency.  Like Joel, she reminds us that life, even after devastation, ‘has some possibility left.’ 

We live amid global and local suffering - from famine and conflict abroad to injustice and hardship nearby.  Joel’s prophecy challenges us to be bearers of restoration, not judges of others.

It’s easy to feel morally superior when others stumble, as seen in public scandals that fuel our indignation.  Yet the tax collector shows another way: not self-justification, but honest humility: ‘Lord, have mercy.’

May we turn from judgment to joy, from pride to grace, and live as bringers of God’s restoring Spirit in the world.