Great Forgiveness, Great Love

Many years ago a store attendant was surprised when I said thank you after she had finished serving me. Her remark was “Mister you know how long I ain’t hear that in here”   The simple conventions of politeness which are signs of a welcoming spirit have been lost and with it the ability to show love in simple things.

The gospel for the Mass of this eleventh Sunday of the year teaches us a very valuable lesson in this respect.   Commandments, especially the commandment of love, are often fulfilled in the normal conventions of politeness and decency that we find in each culture and country.

The gospel today presents us with two [2] persons, One who keeps the conventions sincerely and one who does not.   One, Simon, considered himself a great person, superior to others especially this itinerant preacher, Jesus, and certainly the sinful woman. He did not feel nor have the need for the small conventions of politeness and decency common among the Jews.

It was the normal thing among Jews of the time of Jesus to offer a visitor who had come in from the dusty roads, water to wash his/her feet. It was normal to greet a visitor with a kiss. Simon’s welcome to Jesus was not a welcome at all. In fact it was an insult and in spite of the meal was a form of rejection.

The other, the sinful woman, even though it was not her home that Jesus was entering fulfilled these conventions of politeness from the heart. Her attitude, in spite of being a sinful woman was one of welcome.

Jesus draws Simon’s attention to the difference between his attitude and that of the sinful woman, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment.”

Jesus also shows Simon the result of the sinful woman’s attitude. She attains salvation. “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.” He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The lesson for us is that we do not have to do extraordinary things to attain salvation. The ordinary conventions of politeness and decency done with love; making others feel wanted and respected become extraordinarily powerful for attaining salvation, especially when done towards persons whom we may consider unimportant or less than ourselves;. We normally have no problem in showing deference to a person whom we consider to be of a higher social status but it does cost us sometimes to fulfill the normal courtesies with the vagrant or the beggar or the drug addict, those we consider to be less than.

The “Good Morning or evening”, the “thank you”, “after you Madame”, “Excuse me, please, and thank you” are small words which can be signs of great love and of welcome.

Today we thank God for all who have taught us the simple conventions of decency and politeness, and those like St. Theresa of the Child Jesus who teach us how to turn these little conventions into acts of great love. If for us they become acts of love our salvation is assured. This is a lesson that our country solely needs. This lesson we have to teach our children. If we do our nation will become the kinder gentler nation it is meant to be.

Prayer

All powerful and ever-loving God, we are losing the virtue of compassion and so our world is losing very quickly its gentle, kind character. Help us to build a world of love and compassion, so that no one will have to hide to avoid shame being heaped upon them. Help us rather to discover the gifts and talents which you have given to all of us so that together we can construct a world of harmony and peace. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother and your son Jesus. Amen

Gospel – Luke, 7:36-50

A Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said.

“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred day’s wages and the other owed fifty. Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.

Which of them will love him more?”

Simon said in reply, “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”

He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. 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.” He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”