Pride Deceives, Pride Divides

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus presents a parable about a publican, a tax collector, and a Pharisee, a man striving to be righteous according to the Law of Moses. Jesus tells us that “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. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ 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’” (Lk 18:11-13). The Pharisee thanks God that he is more fortunate than others but then goes on to extol his own virtues. The publican serves as an example of how good the Pharisee is, at least in his own estimation. In striving for righteousness, the Pharisee has managed to obtain self-righteousness. He is convinced that he is better than most others, especially the publican, and obtains this perceived superiority by his own efforts. He sees his own merits and is blind to his own sinfulness. He is blinded by pride.

We see no pride in the publican, at least as he stands before God and admits that he needs mercy. He might have reason to be prideful. He is certainly literate and has skills in math, gifts that make being a tax collector possible. Like many tax collectors, he might well have been considerably richer than the average man. He might have been much richer than the Pharisee. That wealth could have resulted from corruption and extortion, as was common among tax collectors. Presumably he probably has much for which to repent.

The Pharisee probably gets accolades from the people. They extol his virtue and holiness. This reinforces his high opinion of himself and his self-righteousness. On the contrary, the publican almost certainly is reminded frequently of his sinfulness by the people he taxes. He would be reviled even if he was one of the few honest tax collectors. The publican might as well be satan incarnate in the minds of the people while the Pharisee would be regarded as a man after God’s own heart.

That is hardly the case. Praise from the world is evidence of nothing before the Lord. Clergy can fall into the same trap as the Pharisee. ‘Father, aren’t you wonderful!’ ‘He is such a holy man!’ Maybe. Maybe not. Public opinion hardly measures a man’s worth let alone his righteousness. Indeed, the prophet Samuel was told this in no uncertain terms: “for the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1Sam 16:7). Priests, especially those that cater to the fringes, are likely to be seen as holy or righteous by those they serve. ‘Father is so courageous to promote contraception, abortion, and innovative forms of marriage!’ ‘Father is so holy and brave for being ordained a bishop against the will of the Pope!’ In both cases, pride is operative in promoting immorality and in embracing defiance. Pride is stoked by human accolade.

In such cases, when rightful authorities discipline and correct the errant cleric, he regards himself as a victim as do his followers. In the case of the Society of St Pius X, they see themselves as victims of the Vatican’s corrective measures of excommunication and declaration of schism. Recently they have appealed the declaration of schism and the excommunications brought about by their own acts, saying that ‘the Society intends to exercise the right which the Church recognizes to any person who considers himself harmed by an administrative act to seek its correction, in a spirit of respect for ecclesiastical authority and of faithful attachment to justice, truth and the good of the Church.’ They have been harmed? They have respect for ecclesiastical authority? The actions of the Vatican need correction? Wow! The pride here is entirely over the top.

Every heresy, every rupture of the Church’s unity, involves pride. This should not be a surprise given that the unity of the heavenly choir of angels was ruptured by the pride of satan and his minions. Oddly enough, not a few people see satan, at least as he is depicted in Milton’s Paradise Lost, as a hero for standing up to and defying God. Today a growing number of people imagine God to be a villain and satan to be a hero apart from any literary portrayal that might be sympathetic to the devil. This stems not only from pure pride, but a sense of autonomy that pride often fosters.

—Fr Booth