Prisoners of Self-Righteousness!

Thursday, October 15, 2026

Eph 1: 1-10; Lk 11: 47-54

Today’s Gospel continues Jesus’ woe messages against the religious leaders. 

Though they are woe messages, the religious leaders could never absorb them as a warning from Jesus. Indeed, it was harshly worded. However, Jesus’ aim was not their condemnation but to give them a jolt to wake them up from their self-righteousness. But they could never see the concern and longing hiding behind Jesus’ words.  

As a result, their response to such correction again follows the same path of rebellion. They wait ‘to catch in something he might say.’ In resisting Jesus’ message and devising a plot to catch him, they reveal their hatred to sincere repentance and conversion. Sadly, the painful truth only enrages them further without bringing them to realization.

When Jesus invites them to embrace truth and, as a result, conversion, the religious leaders prefer the prison of self-righteousness. No matter what the Lord says, their hearts cannot recognize their faults, nor are they willing to change. Their behaviour reveals that the biggest obstacle to conversion is the total lack of humility that accepts the truth and works on it. 

Jesus’ message invites us to examine our own response to correction. How do we respond to something that awakens our conscience? In the process, accepting corrections without any ill-feeling or resentment is crucial. The correction becomes a blessing when we allow it to transform us. Our openness and sincerity to corrections puts us back on the right path to God. 

Let us pray that we may pursue the path of holiness by allowing God to transform our lives.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar