Our Lord laments those who were so full of themselves that there was no room for accepting the testimony of St. John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets, whom they dismissed as demonic because of his austerities. Our Lord continues the lament that they are so self-righteous that there is no room in their hearts even for the goodness that He, the Messiah, brings. They dismiss Him as a drunk who overeats, simply for having dinner with people who wanted a second chance in life. Pride is threatened by the goodness of others, and so it seeks only to criticize and tear others down. Sometimes the proud correctly identify the faults of others, other times they are so critical that not even Our Lord is immune to their judgments. In every case, the proud are utterly blind to the goodness that God is doing all around them, through sinners and saints alike.
How different is the litany of charity that we hear from 1 Corinthians 13 today. Love is not jealous, pompous, or inflated (1 Cor 13:4). Love does not seek its own interests (1 Cor 13:5). It rejoices in the truth (1 Cor 13:6)! Let us pray for hearts open to this love of God which Christ comes to share with us. Let us pray for the grace to rejoice in the truth about God’s goodness, about the good things that God is doing in and through those around us. May God help us to do as He does, working to build up our neighbors (not tearing them down with proud, often mistaken, judgments!), and so share in Our Master’s joy (Matt 25:21)!