God Alone Is Enough

10-26-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Albert

In today's Gospel, Luke poses an important question about discipleship: Who is righteous, unrighteous and self-righteous? In other words, Who is saved? Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself; O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity - greedy, dishonest, adulterous or even like this tax collector. but the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast and prayed: O God, be merciful to me, a sinner. God alone can make a person righteous, that is, saved.

The Pharisee here places himself on equal footing with God by declaring his own righteousness. He also is guilty of pride in the way he despises others and places himself above " the rest of humanity" The pharisee puts on a show - during prayer, by declaring how "generous" he is in his tithing. and yet he despises the rest of humanity. In contrast, the tax collector, traditionally considered the lowest of the low in Jewish society, can only pray humbly that God will show him mercy for his sinfulness. The lesson is quite clear to the disciples who are on the road with Jesus, and to us who journey with him through our Christian life: Salvation is not something that we earn through our own devices. we cannot depend on ourselves if we want to be saved. we can only depend on God's mercy. God alone is enough.

In our daily lives, it is easy to fall into the trap of comparison - thinking that we are doing better than others or feeling self-righteous about our own efforts, but the Lord calls us to move beyond these external markers and to examine our hearts. self-righteousness leads to pride and makes us blind to our own weaknesses. it causes us to judge others, rather than acknowledging our shared need for God's grace. In the first reading from Sirach, we are reminded that God does not turn His ear away from the cry of the poor or the oppressed. "The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds," we are told. In the same way, The tax collector' s humble prayer is heard by God, who is always attentive to those who approach Him with a sincere heart.

God does not ask for perfection - He asks for honesty. He desires that we come before Him as we truly are. flawed, broken, but open to His transformative love. The more we acknowledge our limitations, the more we open ourselves to the healing power of God's grace.