Love Saves

𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓. 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝟏 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝟒:𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟔

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟏𝟏: 𝟕-𝟏𝟎 “𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟕:𝟑𝟔-𝟓𝟎

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖…” (𝒗.50)

Today’s Gospel reading speaks of people who have the audacity to identify themselves with Jesus like the Pharisee in this narrative and yet not listen much less obey his Words. And there will be those who will humble themselves and bow down at the feet of Jesus like what the sinful woman did. How we will decide will determine our future.

         And this same scenario has remained unchanged and even up to today we still see and know of people who have the temerity to call themselves Christians and yet are so full of themselves that they can’t see beyond their own reason and it’s not unusual to find them in the church or spiritual community.

         Actually, this is what happens when members of communities or ministries remain cloistered behind the walls of comfort to which they have been introduced since they began what they believed was their journey towards spiritual transformation.

         For lack of mission work or missional activities which is common to many communities or ministries in modern economies in the west, many of these communities pursued their spiritual growth through various forms of catechetical programs and courses to compensate for their inability to go on mission in relation to the call of 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐 𝑨𝒅 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒔.

         What happened was that many of these communities and ministries, spiritual though they may be, have become cerebral in their approaches as to how evangelization is to be pursued. Because of this overflow of knowledge and information, many of the members and even leaders of these spiritual organizations have become demigods who no longer recognize pastoral authority except their own.

         There is no denying the fact that the charismatic renewal has done wonders for the Church in terms of reviving the sunken spirituality of many baptized Catholics and in arresting the growing secularism in society today. But it has also created a problem in some way as the encounter experience with Jesus has turned some of these modern-day disciples into self-righteous characters.

          When Jesus began his ministry of spreading the Gospel of salvation to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, the ordinary mass of people who marveled at his teaching and who were healed by him were naturally attracted to him.

         On the other hand, those who were in positions of honor and authority who abused their privileges such as the religious leaders in those days were repelled by his presence for, he exposed their extravagant demeanor and their misplaced religiosity.

         As there were still no paved roads at the time, cool water was also poured over the feet of the invited guest, and a drop of sweet-smelling perfume was dropped on the head of the guest. In this case, not one of the courtesies reserved for dinner guests was extended to Jesus.

         And the only plausible reason was that Simon could have been an admirer of Jesus as not all Pharisees were his enemies but he did not want  extend to him the usual courtesies as he would not want to be identified as someone who has compromised his position as a religious leader whose beliefs and principles were in contrast to what Jesus preached.

         As it was also customary that almost anyone can come into the house where a Rabbi was invited to dinner, the host has no control over who will come to listen if ever the invited Rabbi will speak and this was the case when a woman of ill-repute joined in the dinner celebration.

         As the Pharisees shun the company of public sinners such that they frown on giving them the help they needed for them to reform their lives and find healing and wholeness Simon was moved to say: “𝑰𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓.” (𝒗.39) And this was what makes this Gospel passage interesting because we can relate the situation of the woman described in this scenario with our own relationship with Jesus.

          Here we see the woman risked being ridiculed when she approached Jesus and anointed him with expensive oil and washed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. For a Jewish woman to appear in public with unbound hair was considered immodest but her action probably was motivated by one thing and that was love for Jesus and her gratitude for forgiveness.

         This scenario presents us with contrasting attitudes of mind and heart. Simon was conscious of his position as a Pharisee who notwithstanding his invitation for Jesus to dine in his house felt no need to extend to him the usual courtesies and thus was devoid of love. It was like his actions was all for show to have a celebrity like Jesus in his house.

         The woman apparently was conscious of nothing else but the forgiveness of her sins. The fact that she loosed her hair in public as she approached Jesus only shows that she was oblivious to her surroundings and was focused only on Jesus. She also did something that only love can do as she took the precious perfume she had and poured it all on Jesus. Her love was not calculated but extravagant. In a spirit of humility and heart-felt repentance, she lavishly served the one who showed her the mercy and kindness of God.

          And Jesus used the opportunity to draw a lesson from such an incident by narrating a parable about the case of two debtors and when Simon said the debtor who had more debt that was written off would love the creditor more Jesus drew a comparison between Simon and the woman. (𝒗𝒗. 44-48) This is the same with us.

At times we are like Simon who invites Jesus into our home but not give him the courtesies that befit him as Lord and King. We allow him into our home because this is what is popular. In the same way, we join organizations in our parishes or spiritual communities for that matter because this is where our friends are but not really understanding why we are there in the first place – and that is to worship Our Lord and Savior in faith and deed.

         We go through the process of listening to Jesus speak but not grasping the substance of his Word. People go through the motions of moving about in the church or community with the sole intent of manipulating the situations for their own benefit unaware of their actions that are influenced by the spirit of Jezebel.

         Self righteousness has become the bane in the church and our community today but this term is deceptive because self-righteousness is a defense mechanism of someone who has made it a habit to compare himself/ herself with others and to show that he/ she is better than the other person.    

          And Christian communities are loaded with these kinds of people because of the rules and policies that govern communities and organizations and the interpretation of such rules, practices and traditions has become an opportunity for self-righteousness to manifest.

         Most of the time they don’t realize that self-righteousness is a sin and is at the same level as the so-called seven capital sins. While we are obliged to point out this sin in a person, many of us balk because self-righteous individuals are not easy to deal with as they respect no other views except their own.

         The reality in today’s post-modern era is that there will be Simons among us who will identify ourselves with Jesus yet not listening to what he is saying and what he represents much more obey him and, there are among us like the woman in this Gospel reading who received forgiveness and was saved by love.  

         Simon, who regarded himself as an upright Pharisee, felt no need for love or mercy. His self-sufficiency kept him from acknowledging his need for God's grace and herein lies the difference of an authentic relationship with God. Self-sufficiency or the attitude that we can go through the motions of worshiping God without subordinating our human will to His Will is what separates us from God.

         This passage presents us with a choice. How we will choose will determine our future. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵. 18, 2025)