October 27, 2013 23 Pentecost, Proper 25 Luke 18:9-14 Are you a Pharisee or a tax collector? It’s hard to hear this morning’s parable without thinking you need to place yourself in one of the two roles, measuring yourself against the players in the story. And most of us are so used to hearing Jesus’ stories that we know right from the first line how this is going to turn out. It’s like when you hear the line “A lawyer and a priest walk into a bar.…” You know a joke is coming. And when there’s a tax collector and a Pharisee, you know a cautionary moral lesson is coming. And you know you want to align yourself with the tax collector. You can’t trick us, Jesus – we’re on to your sneaky stories! We know tax collectors are beloved by God. They are a stock character in the Gospels, representing rough-around-the-edges but ultimately repentant and humble people, right? After all, we know Jesus’ disciple Matthew who left his tax table to follow Jesus. We know wee