"O God ," say some self-deluded ones, " I give You praise, for I am not like other men—extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers... I fast twice on the Sabbath, I give tithes of all that I can get" ( Luke 18:11-13 ). Simply put: they are accustomed to thinking of themselves as righteous. Is this good? Of course not. To judge ourselves so self-satisfied means to forget the Lord, to forget that His judgment of us may not coincide with our conceit. Doesn't it often happen that what seems lofty in our eyes is vile in His sight? And finally, didn't He say that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and only he who humbles himself will be exalted ( Luke 18:14 )? Yes, brethren, it is not good to think too much of ourselves. No matter how successful someone may be in a pious life, let no one ever boast of himself, but until death, constantly be aware of his unworthiness before God, and cleanse himself more often with repentance and tears.
When Saint Sisoes the Great sensed the approach of death, as a man of great purity and holiness, while still in the body, he was deemed worthy to enter into communion with the afterlife and contemplate the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. With a radiant face, he first said to the monks surrounding him, "Abba Anthony has come!" After a brief silence, he exclaimed, "The choir of the Prophets appears!" At this point, his face brightened even more, and he began to converse with someone invisible. "With whom are you conversing, Father?" the monks asked. "The Lord's Angels," the elder replied, "have come to take me; but I beg them to leave me here, even for a little while, to repent." "But you do not demand repentance at all," they objected. "No, brethren," said the saint, "I do not know that I have made even the slightest beginning toward my salvation!" The monks marveled at the righteous man's humility, yet his face was already shining like the sun. "Look!" he finally exclaimed, "Behold, the Lord Himself has come!" Everyone was terrified. Then a voice was heard: "Bring Me the vessel chosen from the desert." And with that, the elder died, and lightning flashed, and the cell was filled with fragrance.
So, look: even with great holiness, true servants of God recognized themselves as unworthy of the Kingdom of God and found need for repentance. And we? O, brethren, let us at least from now on stop crying out about ourselves: "I, I!" Let the Lord say who we are. And until then, let us lower our eyes more often and, beating our breasts, say: " God, be merciful to me, a sinner" ( Luke 18:13 )! Otherwise, let us not forget that if we say that we have no sin, we deceive only ourselves, and the truth is not in us ( 1 John 1:8 ). Amen.