I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Luke 18:14
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.
Proverbs 3:27
For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?
James 2:2-4
Beneficent Savior, we know that your ministry was among the people. You made peers of the tax collectors and the prostitutes, and you were a friend of fishermen. May our own communities include the overlooked, building bonds of love, where all too easily there could be dismissal and exclusion. Help us every day to live into the promise of your all-inclusive grace. Amen.
Today's bible in a year readings