Love, Forgiveness, Salvation (Lk 7:36-50)
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
During this liturgical year, our gospel readings come from the Gospel of Luke. The public ministry of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke begins in Chapter 4 (vv.14-30) with the proclamation of his mission statement using the words of prophet Isaiah, in the synagogue at Nazareth. “Good News to the Poor”, was his motto. Jesus gives a very broad meaning to the word ‘poor’. In Chapters 4 to 6 of Luke, Jesus has been curing the sick and the possessed, being kind to women (Lk 4:38-39), feeding the hungry (Lk 6:1-3), giving hope to the hopeless (Lk 6:17f) and forgiving sinners (Lk 5:20). (see Lk 7:22 for a concise summary). Meanwhile the Pharisees and the Scribes are beginning to be critical of the Good News of Jesus (Lk 5:30-6:11). Against this backdrop, the gospel text invites us to reflect on how we can also have an experience of being forgiven in a loving relationship with God, and thus enjoy salvation.
Jesus was one of the guests at a feast thrown by the Pharisee, Simon. I believe Jesus was not the only guest, and perhaps was even least of the guests. If he were the only guest, he would have been better cared for by his host – with washing of the feet, anointing of the head and with a kiss of welcome! A woman comes in. She has a bad reputation. It is her presence that forces the attention of Simon on Jesus. The rituals that she performs on the feet of Jesus are perhaps part of her profession! But surely when done in public, that too in the house of a Pharisee, and to the feet of a rabbi, it is simply scandalising! And Jesus lets her do it. God allows us to be ourselves in his presence. This is simply scandalising. Therefore, Simon has to call for an order. He cannot let his home become defiled by an unholy ritual and the contact with an unholy woman.
In scriptural understanding, a prophet is not expected to have extra-sensory perception, but he is one who warns people and calls them for conversion, like what the prophet Nathan does to David in the first reading. So Simon’s assumption is that Jesus being a prophet, as Simon perceives Jesus to be, should warn this woman and call her for conversion. But the reality is, Jesus is not a prophet. He is the Son of God. He does not condemn, nor does he condone; he does acknowledge that “her sins are many” (Lk 7:47); but he forgives. He forgives because the woman has loved much. Actually one who needs the invitation to conversion is Simon. That is why Jesus speaks up to Simon.
Simon has a strong sense of justice, like King David in the first reading, but that does not make him justified (saved) in the eyes of God. Therefore, Simon stands in need of the experience of the love of God. And that is Jesus’ invitation to Simon.
The woman has experienced the love of God in Jesus. She stands in need of forgiveness. Jesus utters two sentences to this woman. “Your sins are forgiven” (Lk 7:48). “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Lk 7:50). First, it is an experience of being forgiven. And the second, the experience of salvation. In between these two stages there is a better understanding of the nature of God and the spiritual journey itself. The sinner woman goes home, renewed with a new lease of life, having experienced God. We see parallels between this passage, and what Jesus is going to tell us in the parables of the Prodigal son and the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, who went to the temple to pray. The woman is like the Publican, she goes home justified; and the Pharisee remains untouched even by the presence of Jesus in his home.
Today’s gospel then invites us to surrender ourselves at the feet of Jesus in an act of humility and repentance and to open ourselves to be immensely loved by God.
