Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
Are we convinced of our own righteousness? Maybe we are to a greater degree than we realize. The reason for this is that we want righteousness to be a solved problem. We want to be able to check certain boxes and know that we are therefore good.
O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.
We want to be able to say, for instance, 'I'm baptized and I've recently been to confession. I always go to Sunday mass and give regularly to the poor.' Someone who can say all that is good right? If they are not depending on God now in this moment, maybe not. Without the humility of the tax collector we run the risk of being closed to the help we need when we are faced with a new temptation or trial.
Your piety is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that early passes away.
Let's change our attitude. Righteousness should no longer be about self-image. It isn't something we have so that we can feel safe. Righteousness is something for which we need to depend on God at each moment. It is only secondarily about what we do and do not do. In the first place it is an attitude to depend entirely on God.
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former
This is why God tells us he desires mercy more the sacrifice. Sacrifice can be a performance piece, done more for us than for God. Mercy can only come from the humility that first receives the mercy of God.
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