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Gospel Commentary for Sunday, October 26, 2025
“Whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Last Sunday we ended with Jesus encouraging us to pray always and never lose heart. The goal is to stay in touch with God, to understand His will, and to make the right choices. Prayer is a wonderful thing. In a world that constantly stresses us out, taking a little quiet time each day is one of the best things you can do for your nerves. I sincerely recommend it. If doctors truly understood how good it is, they’d probably prescribe it.
Today, Jesus takes us one step further and gives us another tip for growing in our spiritual life. It’s not enough to pray always—we also need to learn how to pray the right way. Some people may even pray for something bad to happen to a noisy neighbor, but thankfully, that’s not usually the norm. Still, there are prayers that miss the mark—not because they’re bad, but because they don’t help us listen to God; instead, they just help us hear ourselves. To help us reflect on this, Jesus presents the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
We live in a world that teaches us to work hard to get what we want. We have to study, be efficient, perform well, produce more—and we’ve grown used to being rewarded for our effort. “I worked hard, I studied a lot, I earned this.” That makes sense in the workplace or at school.
As 21st-century Christians, we’re part of this world, and we often fall into that way of thinking—what’s fair, what’s not. And that’s okay, as long as we remember that things work differently with God. That’s the message of today’s Gospel.
The first reading already gives us a clue: “The Lord is a just judge who shows no partiality.” Before God, there is no difference between rich and poor. In ancient times, the powerful thought their wealth could buy them favorable outcomes in court, but they forget that one day, they’ll have to stand before the Lord—the final Judge. And there, no bribes, no tricks will help.
Even here on earth, the humble person’s prayer rises like smoke to the heavens. The book of Sirach reminds us of that. It’s a good reason to keep praying without giving up, with a humble heart.
There’s more. God’s justice always sides with the poor. What moves Him is our weakness—when someone approaches God with nothing left, placing all their trust in a loving Father who cares for His children.
When someone stands before God with no merits to show, with only their poverty and need, that’s when God is moved to mercy and grants salvation.
The Pharisee in the parable proudly recited his good deeds out loud, and what he said wasn’t false—in fact, it was admirable. He even went beyond what the law required. But his downfall was thinking he was better than others. Being good must go hand in hand with being humble.
We could say that someone who thinks like the Pharisee isn’t necessarily bad—just naive. He’s like the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son, who believes he deserves his inheritance because he’s been obedient and well-behaved. But if he acts rightly, he’s doing himself a favor, and he should be grateful to his father who raised him well. The inheritance belongs to the father, and it can only be received as a gift—not as a reward.
God wants us to recognize that we are small, humble, and in need of His help—like the tax collector. In people’s eyes, the tax collector was despicable. He worked for the Romans, collecting taxes. People despised him, and many tax collectors were corrupt. But God doesn’t see things the way we do. God loved him and granted him grace, because he was sincere before the Lord.
Of course, we can’t fool God. This isn’t about pretending to be humble. It’s about taking our rightful place, being humble in heart, and recognizing that we need God’s grace if we hope to be saved. Our worth before God isn’t measured by how many good deeds we’ve done, but by our desire to grow and walk with Him. If we do this, then yes—our prayers will be powerful because they’ll come from the heart. Like a little child looking for their mother, who falls asleep peacefully when he sees her.
When we live like this, our way of sharing with others becomes a response to the love that God has poured into our lives. We’ll want others to experience what we’ve experienced. The journey isn’t “I do good things and God rewards me.” It’s the other way around: “I recognize what God has done for me, and that moves me to respond with love.”
Today’s Gospel ends with a key message for our Christian life:
“For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
It may be hard to grasp, but if we’re trying to be more than we are, we’re not being honest with God, and our efforts will be in vain. If we accept that God loves us and offers us His hand to keep going, then we’re on the right track. And everything we do will be for God and because of God. As St. Paul says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” May we be able to say the same. May we recognize how much we depend on God, and may we feel, like the tax collector, that God forgives us. And remember: it’s never too late to begin again.
Your brother in faith,