PRIDE IS JUST THE SYMPTOM (Lk 18:9-14): 24 October 2010 (Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Two people are praying in the temple, but God is hearing very different prayers. The first, a Pharisee, claims his place–presumably, the “best seat in the house”–as he recites his feel-good prayer; the other, a tax collector, is huddled at the back of the temple. The Pharisee sounds like he’s thanking God, but if you listen carefully, he’s really just praising himself. The tax collector, on the other hand, can hardly look up in shame, managing only to beg for mercy.
Our Lord concludes by saying that it is the sinner who leaves the temple justified and talks about the reversals that will befall the proud and the humble:
“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”