11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Bishop of Lake Charles
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
June 13, 2010
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.” Luke 7:47
The scene is set in the Gospel today for the encounter of Jesus with a sinful woman. The Gospel describes the woman in her act of repentance. She repents by repeatedly kissing the feet of Jesus and washing them with her tears and drying them with her hair. From any vantage point, this is an extraordinary gesture.
It is so extraordinary that it raises the question in the mind of the Simon, the Pharisee. “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner” (Luke 7:39).
What is missing from Simon’s thought is not just compassion. What is essentially missing is a realization of sin, both the woman’s sin and his sin. The realization of sin is the ability for us to know the truth about ourselves and everyone else we encounter. It is easier to show compassion, when we are able to admit the sin that is within us.
Pope Benedict XVI pointed this out on his recent trip in May to Portugal. He said, the church “has a deep need to relearn penance, to accept purification, to learn, on one hand, forgiveness, but also the need for justice.” All of these elements—penance, purification, forgiveness and justice—go hand in hand. They are part of the same reality. Remove any single one of them and you risk distorting the true picture.
Many years ago I heard an address from the President of Catholic University at the time to a group of judges and lawyers. He concluded his address with this comment. He said that next time they were sitting in judgment at a trial, they should look at the accused and say to themselves, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” When we are presented with sin on the part of another, we should look at ourselves and admit honestly what it is we are capable of.
The great spiritual writers of our Catholic tradition have always pointed out that when we approach God in prayer there are two things we should do. We should first make an act of faith. Then, we should confess our faults. Then and only then can we establish our true relationship to God in prayer.
The realization of the woman in the Gospel is that her sins are many. Before she can hear Jesus say, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:48), she must kiss His feet and wash them with her tears and hair. In this act she demonstrates her great love and sorrow and then with her heart opened by repentance fully accepts the forgiveness that Jesus extends to her. There is a model here for all of us to follow.
Today we are honoring our beloved married couples. They have witnessed in fidelity to the beauty of married life. This married life is important to us for a number of reasons. It is first and foremost the very basis of our civilization, the faithful marriage of man and woman. Furthermore, for the Christian, marriage is a symbol of the union of Christ with His Church. No less a teacher than St. Paul reminds us of this. “For no one hates his own flesh,” writes St. Paul, speaking of husbands and wives, “but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body” (Ephesians 5:29-30). The love of husband and wife is a testimony to the love of Christ for His Church. We thank you for that witness.
I daresay that you could not have lived this witness without many occasions for forgiveness. When a husband and wife have those arguments and disagreements that are inevitable, then there can be no reconciliation until the offended party admits that there is much in his or her own life that could stand changing. And the offending party cannot apologize and ask forgiveness until he or she has admitted fault. All of this requires humility, a joyful humility, admitting that we are part of a human family that is flawed and in need of God’s grace.
As the woman in the Gospel, moved to repentance, we are moved to love. At this moment, love makes possible everything, including forgiveness.