OT XI : II Sm 12:7-10, 13; Gal 2:16, 19-21; Lk 7:36 -- 8: 3

In his book, Healing for Damaged Emotions, David Seamonds deals with people who have scars that nobody else can see. He uses the analogy of those beautiful giant sequoia and redwood trees in the far western part of this country: "In most of the parks," says Seamonds, "the naturalists can show you a cross section of a great tree they have cut, and point out that the rings of the tree reveal the developmental history, year by year. Here's a ring that represents a year when there was a terrible drought. Here are a couple of rings from years when there was too much rain. Here's where the tree was struck by lightning. Here are some normal years of growth. This ring shows a forest fire that almost destroyed the tree. Here's another of savage blight and disease. All of this lies embedded in the heart of the tree, representing the autobiography of its growth. "And that's the way it is with us," Seamonds continues. "Just a few minutes beneath the protective bark, the concealing, protective mask, are the recorded rings of our lives.  "In the rings of our thoughts and emotions, the record is there; the memories are recorded, and all are alive. And they directly and deeply affect our concepts, our feelings, our relationships. They affect the way we look at life and God, at others and ourselves." (2) If we could look into the heart of this woman described in today’s Gospel, we might not be so harsh in our judgment of her. What brought her to such a wretched position in life? Was she abused as a child? Did poverty lead her into this?

The whole theme of today’s reading is God's mercy. The common theme of God's unbelievable mercy ties together the first reading about King David's plea for forgiveness for his terrible sin of murder and adultery, and the Gospel about the sinful woman who throws herself on the mercy of Jesus as He dines at the house of Simon the Pharisee. Pope Francis has said that Jesus is "the face of God's mercy."

Our God is a God Who always tries, not to punish, but to rehabilitate sinners, so that we may be made whole and experience inner peace and harmony.

Why did a Pharisee like Simon invite Jesus to his house?  It could be that Simon had invited Jesus with the deliberate intention of enticing him into some word or action which could then be made the basis of a charge against him.  More likely, Simon was a collector of celebrities and with a half-patronizing contempt had invited the young Galilean to have a meal with him.  That would best explain the strange combination of respect along with the omission of the usual courtesies.

Jewish good manners demanded that when an invited guest entered such a house of banquet, three things were always done. a) The host placed his hand on the guest's shoulder and gave him the kiss of peace. That was a mark of respect, which was never omitted in the case of a distinguished Rabbi. b) Since the roads were only dust tracks, and shoes were merely soles held in place by straps across the foot, cool water was poured over the guest's feet to cleanse and comfort them. c) Either a pinch of sweet-smelling incense was burned or a drop of attar of roses was placed on the guest's head.

The uninvited guest: According to social customs of the ancient Near Eastern world, dining rooms -- especially those of the rich and famous -- were left open to the public.  Uninvited guests and curious onlookers could pass in and out of the room at will.  This explains how the public sinner got inside.  What shocked Simon and surprised other eminent guests was the uninvited entry of a public prostitute.  She was carrying an alabaster flask of concentrated, costly perfumed ointment, her hair was unbound and she chose to make what was considered an excessive show of repentance and love. The woman thought she would offer the precious perfume to Jesus and ask for the forgiveness of her grave sins in public.

A parable of criticism and teaching: The rabbinical teaching said prostitutes should be kept at a distance of two yards. While Simon silently condemned Jesus for not divining the character of the woman, Jesus proved himself to be a prophet by reading the secret thoughts of Simon. Jesus then presented the parable of the two debtors to Simon, asking him, which person loved the merciful creditor more:  the one who owed five hundred denarii or the one who only owed fifty. Through this parable Jesus defended and justified the good intentions of the woman who had publicly demonstrated her true repentance. He also criticized the rude and inhospitable behavior of his host who had prided himself on his strict observance of the Mosaic Law. Thus Jesus demonstrates correct understanding of forgiveness and justification. The verse "She has shown great love" has become a classic text for showing that perfect charity has the power of forgiving sins: Jesus first loved the woman and she responded to his love by loving him back in this full surrender.

We are challenged to accept or reject the mercy of God. We often share Simon’s mentality, displaying an attitude of lovelessness and harshness.   Let us remember that Simon’s self-sufficiency prevented him from acknowledging his need for the grace of God. 

King David reacted to the rebuke of Nathan with great humility. He realized his sin, repented of it and lamented, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Then Nathan said to David, The Lord, for his part, forgives you.”

We need to be grateful to our forgiving God: As the repentant sinner showed her gratitude to Jesus by anointing his feet with tears and precious ointment, we, too, should show gratitude to God for unconditionally and repeatedly pardoning our sins. This is possible only if we try our best to keep the promises we make in our act of contrition in confession "to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.” Our sincere attempts to avoid the occasions of sin will be proof of our sincere repentance and the expression of our gratitude to the merciful God who has forgiven our sins.

We need to cultivate a forgiving attitude towards our neighbor: Although it is not easy, we must learn to forgive those who hurt us if we want to be able to receive the daily forgiveness we need from a merciful God. We start forgiving when we try our best to patch up quarrels, misunderstandings and disagreements and pray for the well-being of our offenders. Let’s pray that in this year of Mercy, we may be merciful to others who offend us, just as God is merciful to me.