Beware Self-Righteousness

So easily can we become so satisfied with our way of doing things, our opinions, ideas and behavior, that we subtly inflate ourselves into self-righteousness and, like the Pharisee in today's Gospel, place ourselves above others, especially those whose "faults" appear, in our judgment, so obvious.  Whether we pray exactly as the Pharisee did, our innermost thoughts can lift us to a higher, "better-than-thou level.  The worse part is, that we don't even realize we are thinking this way.  Sometimes a humiliating event will "put us in our place" and remind us that we too are like the rest of humankind, in need of redemption, in need of Jesus.  Our Lenten reflections on the life of Jesus and his message, can also bring us to the realization that , "Hey, I need help, I need forgiveness, even more than 'this publican' next to me."  If not, then I don't need Jesus.  He died to redeem sinners, and if I'm not one of them, I don't need his sacrificial death.  God forbid!
Bro. Rene