GOD'S LOVE AND FORGIVENESS

Luke 7:36-8:3

Today’s gospel reminds me one the story of the cookie thief. A woman at the airport waiting to catch her flight bought herself a bag of cookies, settled in a chair in the airport lounge and began to read her book. Suddenly she noticed the man besides her helping himself with cookies from the cookie bag between them. Not wanting to make a scene, she read on, ate cookies, and watched the clock. As the daring “cookie thief” kept on eating the cookies she got more irritated and said to herself, “If I wasn’t so nice, I’d blacken his eye!” With each cookie she took, he took one too. When only one was left, she wondered what he would do. Then with a smile on his face and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half. He offered her half, and he ate the other. She snatched it from him and thought, “Oh brother, this guy has some nerve, and he’s also so rude, why, he didn’t even show any gratitude!” She sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate, refusing to look at the ungrateful “thief.” She boarded the plane and sank in her seat, then reached in her baggage to fetch her book, and what she saw made her gasp with surprise. For there in front of her eyes was her bag of cookies. Then it dawned on her that the cookies she ate in the lounge was the man’s and not hers, that the man was not a thief but a friend who tried to share, that she was the rude one, the ungrateful one, the thief

The cookie thief story reminds us, as we see in today’s gospel, that it often happens that the one pointing the accusing finger turns out to be the guilty one. In the cookie story, the woman believed she was such a wonderful person and that the man sitting beside her was thief and ingratitude. In the end she discovered that she was the thief and ungrateful one and the man was wonderfully friendly. In the gospel the Pharisee thinks he is the righteous one who is worthy to be in the company of Jesus and that the woman was the sinful one, unworthy to be seen with Jesus. In the end Jesus showed each of them where they really belonged and the woman was seen as the one who was righteous and more deserving of the company of Jesus than the self-righteous Pharisee.

When you hear the word sinner, who do you remember? Some of you will remember a philandering husband. Some of you will remember a nagging wife, a government official who is corrupt or has mistresses. Some of you will perhaps remember dishonest customs or the prostitutes. It is not always that when we hear the word sinner we will think of ourselves. Why do things like this happen? Well, because it is easy to notice the fault of other people while being blind to our own faults. People who delight in criticizing others forget that they are worse. Coming to the gospel of today, a question comes: What was the mistake of the Pharisee? If the woman was indeed a prostitute where then did he err? After all, what he said about the woman was true, wasn’t it? Of course the woman was a sinner. Jesus did not say that the woman was not a sinner. Jesus only said that the man was a sinner too, and in fact a worse sinner than the woman, because he ignores that he is a sinner. And here is where the lesson for us comes.

Why did this woman approach Jesus and anoint him at the risk of ridicule and abuse by others?  The woman's action was motivated by one thing, and one thing only, namely, her love for Jesus and her gratitude for forgiveness.  This woman did something which only love can do; to loosen her hair, to wipe Jesus’ feet and cover them with kisses. She took the most precious thing she had and spent it all on Jesus.  Her love was not calculated.  In a spirit of humility and heart-felt repentance, she lavishly served the one who showed her the mercy and kindness of God. 

Jesus will never lose such opportunity to draw a lesson for his disciples.  And he makes it clear that great love springs from a heart forgiven and cleansed.  "Love covers a multitude of sins". The woman's lavish expression of love was proof that she had found favor with God.  The contrast of attitudes between Simon and the woman demonstrate how we can either accept or reject God's mercy.  Simon, who regarded himself as an upright Pharisee, felt no need for love or mercy. His self-sufficiency kept him for acknowledging his need for God's grace. 

What Jesus is saying to the Pharisee and to us is this: "He, to whom little is forgiven, loves little!" The personal security that I create for myself because of my observance of the laws of God and of the Church frequently prevents me from experiencing the gratuitous love of a forgiving God. What matters is not the observance of the law as such, but the love with which I observe the law. Jesus says: For this reason I tell you that her sins, many as they are, have been forgiven her, because she has shown such great love. It is someone who is forgiven little who shows little love. It is awareness of being freely forgiven that makes one experience the love of God. When the Pharisee calls the woman a “sinner”, he is considering himself to be a just man who observes and practices the law. He places his security in what he does for God, not in the love and the forgiveness of God towards him.