11th Sunday of Ordinary Time

June 17, 2007

by Reverend Deacon Lawrence A. St. Onge

In today’s gospel we hear about a Pharisee called Simon who was eager to have Jesus dine at his house. The word “Pharisee” means “separated one.” At that time there were about 6,000 of them spread all over Palestine. They lived by very strict rules of life and religion; they taught in the synagogues and saw themselves as religious models. They were the self-appointed guardians of the Law and of its observance. They also considered the interpretations and regulations handed down by tradition as having the same authority as Scripture. If we were to look around, we could find in our own Church today some similar people who assume that same mantle of judgmentalism and intolerance as did the Pharisees at that time.

We don’t really know Simon’s real intentions for inviting Jesus to eat at his house. Whether he regarded Jesus’ presence as being a privilege or whether he simply wanted an opportunity to challenge Jesus about some of his teachings and behavior is unclear. In any case, Jesus accepted his invitation and he joined Simon and others to eat.  As we know from the gospels, Jesus was not selective about the company he kept; he accepted invitations from rich and poor alike, and from both Pharisees and tax collectors.

We see in today’s gospel a sharp contrast between the self-righteous Pharisee who keeps all the rules but does not have the sensitivity or even the common courtesy to perform the basic acts of hospitality and kindness toward a guest in his house; and a woman who has a reputation for sinfulness, but receives Jesus with loving service by washing his feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with expensive oil.

It is also unclear, but the woman’s reputation for sinfulness could very well be no more than her inability to keep all the prescriptions of the Law due to her poverty. However that may be, there is no doubt that she understands the importance of loving service, just as the Pharisee, Simon, is totally devoid of such sensitivity.

As the gospel continues, we hear how Simon rejects the idea that Jesus could possibly be a prophet, because, he reasoned, Jesus did not apparently realize what sort of woman she was – something that should have been perfectly obvious, even to one without the insight of a prophet. But Jesus turns the tables on Simon by reading his mind and exposing his judgmental attitude toward the woman. Jesus instructs him by way of the parable of the two debtors, both equally unable to repay the creditor, who wipes the slate clean for both of them, making clear that God forgives all, irrespective of the magnitude of their sin.  We see this in today’s first reading when King David, who had committed both adultery and murder, simply but humbly acknowledges to Nathan the prophet that he had sinned, and he is then forgiven by God. We hear in scripture, “A humble, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.” 

St. Paul in the second reading reminds us that there are no works that we can perform that will lead to our justification (i.e. salvation). The reality of life is that we are all of a sinful nature, whether it is large or small, and there is nothing we can do or say to pay our debt for our sinfulness. Debt is debt – you can miss the bus by five minutes or five seconds, but you’ve still missed the bus. The only way we can get on that bus is to be forgiven, which turns back the clock on our debt. And it is only through our faith in Jesus Christ that we receive that forgiveness of sins. He’ll forgive anybody just about anything, and that my friends is a pretty precious commodity in a world that more often than not prefers the ways of judgment and condemnation.

We must bear in mind that true faith is not just an intellectual act. It is primarily an act of love and total trust. There are some, who speak of “the faith” as a list of doctrines to be held, and their thinking is often not very different from that of the Pharisees and they can be equally judgmental and intolerant. They are also usually the one’s who seldom speak of love.  

As St. Paul tells us today, it is that trust in God through Jesus Christ that transforms our lives. There is no need for law when our lives are totally directed by love. A truly loving person cannot do an evil thing, although they may violate the letter of the law. But as long as there is love, the real intentions of the law will be observed. The power of the Law is summed up in the bond of charity. As scripture says, “Whoever loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law.” The woman in the gospel today placed her total trust in Jesus, and her many sins were forgiven, and consequently, she was able to love much.

I will end with a story that sums up what I have spoken about.

Once upon a time a certain well known priest was seen coming out of a disorderly house in his parish. A photographer passing by got a picture of him and a newspaper printed it. A group of Catholic laity put together a petition to the bishop to remove him as pastor, because no priest should be seen emerging from such a place. The priest was summarily summoned to the chancery office. The bishop, the chancellor and the vicar general sat behind the bishop’s desk, staring at him cold-heartedly. They didn’t like him much because he had a reputation as being a bit of a trouble maker. They were delighted to have something with which to slap him down. They didn’t even ask him to sit down, and just left him standing there. “You’ve seen the picture, Father?” they quizzed. “Once or twice,” he quipped. “What is that building from which you are exiting?” they inquired. “It is a house of ill repute,” he replied with a smile. “What were you doing there?” they asked. “Visiting some of my parishioners,” he responded. “At 11:00 o’clock at night?” they queried. “That’s when they called me,” said the priest. “And you felt obliged to visit them at that hour?” came the question. “At any hour of night if someone in the parish calls, I respond,” he stated simply. “You were giving spiritual solace to those unfortunate women then?” they uttered. “No, bishop,” he simply said. “What were you doing?” they inquired. “I was administering the last sacraments of the Church. I said the funeral mass for her the next day and went to the graveside. Any objection?” he asked. There wasn’t any. “Well, said the youngest of the triumvirate, we must be careful of giving bad example.” And the priest simply replied, “And Jesus once said that those who have been forgiven much love much.”  They didn’t say anything at all after that.