Luke 7:36-50 24th Week in Ordinary Time

A. Text/Context

Just for clarification, the name Simon in this gospel is the name of the Pharisee. This is not the Simon Peter, the disciple of our Lord
The gospel also shows us many norms and standards in culture that are broken
For example invitations can only happen if they are of equal status in society
So the invitation of the Pharisee to Jesus has violated cultural boundaries
Then comes the woman. She bathed the feet of Jesus with her tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed them and anointed them with a perfume
The actions of touching are so physically intimate when the culture of the Jews would not even allow a man or a woman to look directly eye to eye with each other
So Jesus continued with a parable of the debtor and the 2 creditors. One debtor owed 500 days of wages and the other 50 days of wages they did not pay and the debt was forgiven
Of course the one who owes bigger compared to the one who owed a smaller amount is more grateful to the creditor
The debtor who owed a bigger debt will love the creditor even more because he is a recipient of the charity and the generosity of the creditor
The sinful woman who poured an expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus would not even think that she is wasting money because she is motivated with love
Out of a greater love, no amount of money can pay for it and the woman poured all that expensive perfume as a sign that forgiveness is better than any other else. And because of that the woman is forgiven

B. Human Situation

So how do we apply the message of the gospel in our own human situation?
The person who makes a genuine repentance for his or her sins will also feel the touching and the burning forgiveness from God
That would mean that if we are a real penitent we would make restitutions much greater than the sin that we have committed
If we are a real penitent, restitutions will just come out naturally and voluntarily. Restitution is a payment for the sins you commit
You will cross even the difficult boundaries just to show you are sorry
Even if we are managers or CEOs we will not think about shame, humiliation, or embarrassment if we are really sorry. Nothing can stop us if we are motivated with love
The same love and devotion that the sinful and penitent woman gave to Jesus in the gospel
She doesn’t care anymore what other people will say because the joy of forgiveness is overwhelming. With a huge sin forgiven, you will be forever grateful
The effect of that is an expression of a greater love than ever and the one who has given forgiveness is also the happiest person in the world
Forgiveness, reconciliation will mend shattered hearts, it will restore broken relationships
After that, love and charity will bloom once more. Perhaps sweeter and greater than before

C. Challenge

So this is the challenge that the gospel brings us today
There is no moment in our life that we will not be clouded with sin because sinfulness is part of our human weakness, because we are limited
And therefore let us also allow the grace of God to enlighten our hearts to make us realize that what we did is wrong
If one, or two, or three, or four or even ten people have already told you that what you did is wrong and still you believe that what you did is correct then something is wrong
You have become very stubborn so as not to recognize your mistakes. Pride has already permeated in your heart and there will be no room for asking for forgiveness
St. Paul said in the 1st reading that so you preached and so you believed
We allow grace to work so that we may feel the forgiveness of God and there will be more room for a greater love to flourish