Luke 18:9-14 (Proper 25)

Jesus spoke this parable addressed to those who believed in their own self-righteousness while holding everyone else in contempt:
“Two people went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed like this: ‘I give you thanks, O God, that I’m not like others — greedy, crooked, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I pay tithes on everything I earn.’
“The other one, however, kept a distance, not even daring to look up to heaven. In real humility, all the tax collector said was, ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ Believe me, the tax collector went home from the Temple right with God, while the Pharisee didn’t. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, while those who humble themselves will be exalted.”