[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 7:36–8:3

 

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Your faith has saved you; go in peace. (Luke 7:50)

Ignoring the gasps that must have been uttered by the guests, the woman burst into Simon’s house and made her way toward Jesus. His earlier acts of kindness had stirred her heart and filled her with courage. A seed of faith was growing in her, and she was compelled to worship him because of the love she was beginning to experience.

Surely the guests were disgusted. Didn’t Jesus know who this woman was? She didn’t deserve to speak to him, let alone touch him. Sensing their discomfort, Jesus told Simon a story about two men who owed money to a moneylender. In a sweeping move of undeserved kindness, the moneylender forgave their debts completely. Perhaps all the guests felt that their observance of the Law had earned them the right to be with Jesus. And here was Jesus, commending this woman for her faith! What kind of faith did she have? Weren’t they better than her?

Simon’s guests seemed to have had a different understanding of faith. For them, it had something to do with their religious standing or their outward appearance. None of them was caught up in obvious sin, after all. But the faith Jesus saw in this “sinful” woman was different. He saw an open heart and a willingness to change her ways. He saw a heart that was pierced with love. And for that, heaven’s doors were opened to her.

What a generous God we have! He always welcomes us. He is always ready to forgive us, to deliver us, and to teach us. He hears our every cry for help, and it delights him when we run to him. Today, let’s all take on the faith that this woman had by simply turning to Jesus and telling him that we want to be with him. He will take care of the rest.

“Thank you, Jesus, for the seed of faith that you have given me. I come to you today, with all my sins and failings, and lay them at your feet. I know you can heal me and save me!”

2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13; Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 7, 11; Galatians 2:16, 19-21

 

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

1. In today’s first reading, Nathan reveals to David the consequences of his murder of Uriah. Why do you think David is still called a “man after God’s heart” (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22), in spite of this horrible sin?

2. The responsorial psalm speaks of the fruit of repentance in the psalmist’s life: “I confess my faults to the Lord, and you took away the guilt of my sin.” How would you describe the fruits of repentance and the Sacrament of Reconciliation in your life?

3. In the second reading, Paul says that he has been “crucified with Christ.” What do you think this mean? In what ways have you been “crucified with Christ”?

4. In the Gospel, the woman with the alabaster jar performs a great deed out of love for Jesus. Then Jesus proclaims these amazing words, “So I tell you her many sins have been forgiven, because she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” What do these words mean to you, and how do they apply to your life?

5. The meditation ends with these words. “What a generous God we have! He always welcomes us. He is always ready to forgive us, to deliver us, and to teach us. He hears our every cry for help, and it delights him when we run to him. Today, let’s all take on the faith that this woman had by simply turning to Jesus and telling him that we want to be with him. He will take care of the rest.” What steps can you take to draw closer to the Lord and experience more deeply his love, healing, deliverance, and forgiveness? What steps can you take to give what you have received from the Lord to others?

6. Take some time now to pray and ask the Lord to deepen your faith in him and in his great mercy, as you give him all your burdens. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as a starting point.

[Salvation]

A Christian Pilgrim

THE REPENTANT WOMAN

 (A biblical reflection on the 11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time [Year C]- June 16, 2013) 

First Reading: 2Sam 12:7-10,13; Psalms: Ps 32:1-2,5,7,11; Second Reading: Gal 2:16,19-21; Gospel Reading: Luke 7:36-8:3 (Luke 7:36-50) 

If I have any regret about the New Testament it’s that none of the writers was a woman. We miss the feminine understanding of the story of Jesus Christ. Luke is the writer who comes closest to feminine sensitivity. Immediately after this story of repentant woman he draws our attention to the role of several woman in the ministry of Jesus.

Luke sometimes pairs off the story of a man with a corresponding episode about a woman. Invariably the woman will be shown as more open to faith than the man. For instance, Zechariah and Mary both received angelic annunciations but his doubting is in sharp contrast to her faith and obedience.

Much of the important action in Luke’s gospel takes place at tables. In this story we meet the man who is master of the table. He is a Pharisee, somebody very concerned about the rightness of life and very much given to warning people about the danger of contamination …… or the occasions of sin.

In one way he represents the power of the male world. He had the initiative, organizational ability and necessary wherewithal to invite guests to a banquet. It was customary to invite some special guest whose wisdom would enrich the table. Simon – it’s significant that we are told his name but not the woman’s – had sufficient influence to get Jesus as his star turn. Simon was a religious man with power and influence. But later in the story his weakness will be revealed.

A woman came in. Unnamed, she is one of Luke’s anonymous little people, so dearly loved by God. But even worse than having no name, she actually had a bad name in the town. A bad name doesn’t just happen: it has to be spread. Whose tongues did the spreading? I bet it was all the “good” people.

This “bad” woman needed to put her life together …… to reach reconciliation within herself. By God’s grace she found the source of reconciliation …… in Jesus, come to save sinners.

See how this woman goes to confession. Her language is made up of tears and touch. Her actions are with kisses and an extravagant anointing. Did Jesus ask her “How many times?” or that most naïve of questions, “Did you take pleasure in it?”

Lucky for her that she did not come along centuries later in search of reconciliation. A wooden grill would not have understood her tears nor responded to her deep need for touch. In addition to his purple stole, every minister of reconciliation should come equipped with a spare packet of Kleenex!

The story comes back to the man. “He said to himself” …… it’s always a bad sign when you start talking to yourself: it shows there’s a big argument going on inside: an argument with that part of life you’re repressing. And when we are attempting to deny part of our reality, one of the defence mechanisms we employ is to shelter behind a law. It protects our feeling of righteousness.

The law said that a rabbi should stay at a safe distance from any woman in public. Now here was a woman with a bad name, and this man, Jesus, is letting Himself be touched by the evil creature. Thus Simon is staying in his head, judging and assessing guilt. His mental powerhouse is now shown to be the trap that imprisons him for he is incapable of responding with feminine heart to the situation.

How can one break through the defensive screen? Jesus uses the story of the two debtors to unhinge the prison door. He invites Simon to come out from behind his defensive screen by responding to a question. Not about debts or correctness of behaviour, but about love. “Which of the two will love him more?” Jesus sees the entire encounter, not as an issue about sins and contamination by bad people, but as a day when love is released from beneath the crushing burden of guilt and debt. She must have been released of a terrible burden, such is the extravagance of her love. “Her many sins must have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such love”.

Simon, the conscientious Pharisee, worked hard on the duties of his love for God. But the anonymous feminine heart discovered that religion begins in letting God love us.

As a man ordained to priestly ministry in the Church I feel uncomfortably close to Simon the Pharisee. What challenges me is that many of us who frequently, even daily, occupy seats at the table of the Lord, may be veryu distant from His heart because of our cold judgments and unfeeling principles. Jesus may be far closer to the hearts of some who are barred from receiving Him at the altar. Like the unnamed woman, they may not sit with Him at table, but they know of His mercy and they come from behind Him to touch Him in prayer.

Perhaps it’s better to have loved extravagantly, though not always properly, than to have lived ever so rightly, though not lovingly. Best of all, of course, is to live rightly and to love extravagantly.

Note: Taken from Fr. Silvester O’Flynn OFMCap., THE GOOD NEWS OF LUKE’S YEAR, Dublin, Ireland: Cathedral Books/The Columbia Press, Revised Edition, 1991 (1994 reprinting), pages 155-157.