The thing that often trips us up is sin which leads invariably to spiritual blindness. Sin dulls the conscience and subverts an individual over time into a lesser, proud and selfish being. The Pharisee in Luke’s Gospel followed the Law perfectly, and in his own eyes he was a righteous man. He was “safe”. However, he failed to see that he was full of spiritual pride, frequently condemning others for being greedy, dishonest and adulterous.
His faith was an egocentric, inward-looking one whereas the practice of true faith is always an outward movement, of reaching out in love to others. Faith, religion, is not about what you don’t do but what you do. Have we been kind, compassionate, patient, loving, giving today? Have we actually made the world a better place in small and big ways? Have we spread the gospel of love just as Jesus did?
Like it or not, we are all sinners in our own, hopefully, little ways. The key is to know where one’s sinful tendencies are, and when one has actually sinned, and to humbly keep coming back to the Lord like the tax collector with downcast eyes, who stood in the temple and kept praying for God’s mercy.
This humbling of one’s self is the only way to return to Jesus and to one’s true self, made in the image and likeness of God, so that one may be exalted into a more virtuous, more loving, a greater man or woman. Humility is the way to go.
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