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.
The primary thing that differentiated the Pharisee from the so-called sinful woman was that she recognized the depth of her need for Jesus, whereas the Pharisee took a more casual academic interest. The woman came in desperate hope. The Pharisee was as ready to be disappointed as impressed, seeing himself as better than Jesus, able to recognize the fact that the woman was a sinner, which Jesus had apparently missed. The Pharisee didn't recognize that he too ought to have wept for his sins at the feet of Jesus. Because he didn't recognize his need for forgiveness his was unable to receive it, and was therefore not motivated to do anything for Jesus in response. Although he invited Jesus to dinner he did not give water to wash his feet, or kiss him in welcome, or anoint his head with oil.
The woman knew her need for Jesus, sought him, and, this is key, he welcomed and did not reject her. It was this loving acceptance that motivated her response, since it represented the forgiveness she desired. It made it clear that her contrition was received and accepted. Thus she was forgiven much and then loved much in response. She washed his feet with her tears, kissed them, and anointed them with oil. This extravagant response was provoked by recognizing and receiving the extravagant love of Jesus himself. We can see too that her love represented a kind of "reparation" to the heart of Jesus for the omissions of the Pharisee since Jesus himself saw it as filling the omissions of hospitality by Simon the Pharisee.
Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days’ 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?
It isn't so much that any of us owes so much more or less than any other. The point is that some of us recognize it more, and our lives are changed as a result. We do ourselves no favors by pretending to be perfect, strong, and flawless. When we do so, we fail to give Jesus the access to our hearts that he needs in order to transform us. The risk is that we remain like Simon, stingy, judgmental, indifferent to others, and trapped in the prison of our egos. But when we recognize our need for Jesus he breaks open the shell of our egos, transforms us, and makes us both capable of love and motivated to do so.
We can infer from our first reading the degree to which Paul knew the transforming love of Jesus for himself. Since he saw himself as foremost among sinners (see First Timothy 1:15) and yet forgiven he received grace that allowed him to toil "harder than all of them". Let us not neglect the source of strength we find when we cast ourselves at the feet of Jesus, holding nothing back.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
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.
The primary thing that differentiated the Pharisee from the so-called sinful woman was that she recognized the depth of her need for Jesus, whereas the Pharisee took a more casual academic interest. The woman came in desperate hope. The Pharisee was as ready to be disappointed as impressed, seeing himself as better than Jesus, able to recognize the fact that the woman was a sinner, which Jesus had apparently missed. The Pharisee didn't recognize that he too ought to have wept for his sins at the feet of Jesus. Because he didn't recognize his need for forgiveness his was unable to receive it, and was therefore not motivated to do anything for Jesus in response. Although he invited Jesus to dinner he did not give water to wash his feet, or kiss him in welcome, or anoint his head with oil.
The woman knew her need for Jesus, sought him, and, this is key, he welcomed and did not reject her. It was this loving acceptance that motivated her response, since it represented the forgiveness she desired. It made it clear that her contrition was received and accepted. Thus she was forgiven much and then loved much in response. She washed his feet with her tears, kissed them, and anointed them with oil. This extravagant response was provoked by recognizing and receiving the extravagant love of Jesus himself. We can see too that her love represented a kind of "reparation" to the heart of Jesus for the omissions of the Pharisee since Jesus himself saw it as filling the omissions of hospitality by Simon the Pharisee.
Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days’ 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?
It isn't so much that any of us owes so much more or less than any other. The point is that some of us recognize it more, and our lives are changed as a result. We do ourselves no favors by pretending to be perfect, strong, and flawless. When we do so, we fail to give Jesus the access to our hearts that he needs in order to transform us. The risk is that we remain like Simon, stingy, judgmental, indifferent to others, and trapped in the prison of our egos. But when we recognize our need for Jesus he breaks open the shell of our egos, transforms us, and makes us both capable of love and motivated to do so.
We can infer from our first reading the degree to which Paul knew the transforming love of Jesus for himself. Since he saw himself as foremost among sinners (see First Timothy 1:15) and yet forgiven he received grace that allowed him to toil "harder than all of them". Let us not neglect the source of strength we find when we cast ourselves at the feet of Jesus, holding nothing back.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
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