Dear Family,
If you don’t remember anything else about this Twitch or about the Sunday homily which I hope you just heard me give, remember this: 1) Be honest with yourself like David in the first reading; and 2) Be thankful for God’s mercy and forgiveness like the woman in the gospel. Almost by accident I discovered these two summary thoughts in a little book by Fr. Joe Robinson. But there is more.
I need to go back a few steps. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about today’s Twitch. I was still recovering from last week’s hospitalization. (This time they got the talcum into my pleura. It’s supposed to seal your lungs and stop the water accumulation. Just watch for the little puffs behind me.)
I kept going back and rereading the scriptures for today. Somehow I got into a chicken/egg loop. (Too much time sitting around “healing.”) Since Jesus tells the woman her sins are forgiven AFTER she comes in to wipe his feet with her tears, why was she there? Luke is obviously saying that she is there because of her realization that God loves her no matter what, and Jesus obviously has been the means by which she came to that knowledge. But how and when? We can only speculate.
Jesus had been out preaching and people were following him. Why? Because somehow He touched them in the depths of their souls. And I think that’s exactly what happened to the woman; she had been deeply touched, and knew, despite whatever she had done, she was loved by God. That was the effect of the preaching of Jesus. For that to happen, she had to come to some kind of acknowledgement of her failings, just like David did in the first reading.
There is also another person present, the Pharisee. He too, had heard Jesus, and in some way the words of Jesus, as well as his deeds got the Pharisee’s attention. He invited Jesus to his house to perhaps be the first on the block to entertain the new prophet in town. But it was also obvious from Luke’s point of view, that the Pharisee “didn’t get it.” When the Pharisee is “scandalized” by Jesus letting the woman wash his feet, it becomes clear that the Pharisee didn’t have the courage to look deeply into his own heart to ask what was happening. Jesus had to point out to him that even the normal signs of hospitality were missing from his invitation, so preoccupied was the Pharisee with his position and status in the community… a superficial preoccupation.
When Jesus makes the ‘official pronouncement’ to the woman that her sins are forgiven, He is simply acknowledging what has already happened. Why? The woman had the courage to look deeply into her heart, and responded with acts of love that reflected what she felt from the Lord.
You know, I wonder if your minimal use of the sacrament of Reconciliation isn’t part of this story. Is it about getting forgiven at the moment the priest absolves, or is it about celebrating what has already begun to happen because you had the courage to look deeply in your heart. Let’s face it. Introspection is not our strong suit, especially when we live in a world with crazy 24/7 news cycles that can’t possibly stop long enough on any issue to look deeply. Maybe that’s why I like the PBS Newshour; at least they try.
I sure hope that this is that last letter from “exile.” One never knows. Some weeks ago I wrote a reflection that began, “If you are reading this, I have died.” In rereading it, I found an examination of conscience that flows from today’s Scriptures. Now I realize I wrote for me and not you. God’s mysterious ways…
In Jesus,
