Thursday 24th in Ordinary Time
«She stood behind him at his feet, weeping»
Mons. José Ignacio ALEMANY Grau, Emeritus Bishop of Chachapoyas (Chachapoyas, Peru)
Today, Simon the Pharisee invites Jesus to dine with the purpose of drawing people’s attention. It was an act of arrogance, but his behavior when he met Jesus, did not even correspond to the most elementary good manners.
While dining, a public sinner does a great act of humility: «As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them and poured perfume on them» (Lk 7:38).
On the other hand, when meeting Jesus the Pharisee did not give Him the greeting kiss, or water for His feet, a towel to wipe them, nor did he anoint Him on the head with oil. Furthermore, the Pharisee said to himself: "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is - that she is a sinner" (Lk 7:39). It was the Pharisee, in fact, who didn't know who He was!
Pope Francis has very much insisted on the importance of approaching the sick, thus "touching the flesh of Christ". Upon canonizing St. Guadalupe García, Francisco said: «giving up a comfortable life to follow Jesus’ call, she taught the love of poverty, which permitted a greater love of the poor and infirm to serve them with tenderness and compassion: and this is called "touching the flesh of Christ". The poor, the abandoned, the sick, the marginalized are the flesh of Christ». Jesus touched the sick and He allowed them and the sinners to touch him.
The sinner of the Gospel touched Jesus and He was happy to see how her heart was transmuted. For this reason, He gave her the peace to reward her courageous faith. -You, my friend, do you come with love to touch the flesh of Christ in so many that go by your side and need you? If you do it, your reward will be the peace with God, with others and with yourself.
«Your faith has saved you; go in peace»
Fr. Ferran JARABO i Carbonell (Agullana, Girona, Spain)
Today, the Gospel is calling us to be attentive to the forgiveness, which our Lord offers us: «Your sins are forgiven» (Lk 7:48). There are two things we Christians have to remember: we have to forgive without judging the person and we have to love a lot, for we are forgiven by God freely. It is like a double movement: the forgiveness received and the loving forgiveness we have to grant.
«When someone insults us, do not put the blame on him, but on the devil who is forcing him to insult us, and throw upon the devil all your wrath; as for the unfortunate whom the devil forces to do what he does, feel sorry for him» (St. John Crysostom). We are not to judge the person but to condemn the evil act. The person always is the continuous object of the Lord's love, so only our acts move us away from God. We have, therefore, to be always willing to forgive, receive and love the person, while refusing those acts opposite to God's love.
«The sinner wounds God's honor and love, his own human dignity as a man called to be a Son of God, and the spiritual well-being of the Church, of which each Christian ought to be a living stone» (Catechism of the Church, n. 1487). Through the Sacrament of Penance the person has the possibility and the opportunity to rebuild his relationship with God and with the whole Church. Our reply to the forgiveness received can only be our love. Recovering the grace and the reconciliation has to bring us to love with Christ like love. We are called to love as God loves!
Let us especially wonder today whether we realize how great God's forgiveness is, if we are those who love the person and fight the sin and, finally, if we attend with confidence to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. With the help of God we can do anything. May our humble prayer help us too.