Pride in the Bible, especially in the Gospel of Luke, is a prominent theme of Jesus. Pride, or arrogance, that elevates one to think he's above the other morally or as having more dignity is a sin that Jesus frequently attacks with vigor in the Gospels. In the parable of the tax-collector and the pharisee, this denouncement of pride in the Bible is in full focus. Interestingly, however, in Jesus' day, his Jewish audience would have expected the Pharisee to have been the "good guy" and the tax-collector to have been the "bad guy." But, Jesus flips this predisposition of his audience on it's head. Pride is found not in the tax-collector but in the Pharisee; and, conversely, humility is found in the tax-collector.
This parable of pride in the Bible calls us to consider our prayer-life and how we go about viewing others. Are we focused more on the other's faults rather than our own? Are we talking to ourselves in prayer rather than talking to God, like the Pharisee?
From this parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-Collector, let us take inventory of acts of pride in our own hearts that manifest themselves on a daily basis in order to grow in self-knowledge and remove such acts of pride from our lives through constant humble prayer.
To learn more about this passage about pride in the Bible and the parable of the pharisee and the Tax Collector in the Gospel, and the connection between it, the Responsorial Psalm, and the Old Testament reading for this Sunday's Mass, subscribe today to The Mass Readings Explained:
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