Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
The
Woman Who was a Sinner
[36] One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he
went into the Pharisee's house, and sat at table. [37] And behold, a woman of
the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was sitting at table in
the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, [38] and standing
behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears; and
wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them
with the ointment. [39] Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he
said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and
what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." [40]
And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to
you." And he answered, "What is it, Teacher?"
[41] "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five
hundred denarii and the other fifty. [42] When they could not pay, he forgave
them both. Now which of them will love him more?" [43] Simon answered,
"The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more." And he said to him,
"You have judged rightly." [44] Then turning toward the woman he said
to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no
water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with
her hair. [45] You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not
ceased to kiss my feet. [46] You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has
anointed my feet with ointment. [47] Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are
many, are forgiven little, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven, loves
little." [48] And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." [49]
Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who
is this, who even forgives sins?" [50] And he said to the woman,
"Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
Cited
in the Catechism: In declaring the promulgation
of the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism
"is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested
to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's
Magisterium." He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for
teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial
communion" (Fidei Depositum).
Passages from this Gospel reading are cited and explained in the Catechism paragraphs
575, 588, 1441, 2616 and 2712.
Commentary:
36-40.
This woman, moved no doubt by grace, was attracted by Christ's preaching and by
what people were saying about him.
When dining, people reclined on low divans leaning on their
left arm with their legs tucked under them, away from the table. A host was
expected to give his guest a kiss of greeting and offer him water for his feet,
and perfumes.
41-50.
In this short parable of the two debtors Christ teaches us three things--his
own divinity and his power to forgive sins; the merit the woman's love
deserves; and the discourtesy implied in Simeon's neglecting to receive Jesus
in the conventional way. Our Lord was not interested in these social niceties
as such but in the affection which they expressed; that was why he felt hurt at
Simeon's neglect.
"Jesus notices the omission of the expression of human
courtesy and refinement which the Pharisee failed to show him. Christ is perfectus Deus, perfectus homo' (Athanasian Creed).
He is perfect God, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, and perfect man.
He comes to save, not to destroy nature. It is from him that we learn that it
is unchristian to treat our fellow men badly, for they are creatures of God,
made in his image and likeness (Gen 1:26)" (St. J. Escriva, Friends of God, 73).
Moreover, the Pharisee was wrong to think badly of this
sinner and of Jesus: reckoning that Christ did not know anything about her, he
complained inwardly. Our Lord, who could read the secret thoughts of men (which
showed his divinity), intervened to point out to him his mistake. True
righteousness, says St. Gregory the Great (cf. In
Evangelia Homiliae, 33), is compassionate; whereas false righteousness is indignant. There are many people like this Pharisee: forgetting that
they themselves were or are poor sinners, when they see other people's sin they
immediately become indignant, instead of taking pity on them, or else they rush
to judge them or sneer at them. They forget what St Paul says: "Let any
one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor 10:12);
"Brethren, if any man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are
spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness [...]. Bear one
another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal 6:1-2).
We should strive to have charity govern all our judgments.
Otherwise, we will easily be unjust towards others. "Let us be slow to
judge. Each one see things from his own point of view, as his mind, with all
its limitations, tells him, and through eyes that are often dimmed and clouded
by passion.... Of what little worth are the judgments of men! Don't judge
without sifting your judgment in prayer" (St. J. Escriva, The Way, 451).
Charity and humility will allow us to see in the sins of
others our own weak and helpless position, and will help our hearts go out to
the sorrow of every sinner who repents, for we too would fall into sins as
serious or more serious if God in his mercy did not stay by our side.
"It was not the ointment that the Lord loved", St.
Ambrose comments, "but the affection; it was the woman's faith that
pleased him, her humility. And you also, if you desire grace, increase your
love; pour over the body of Jesus Christ your faith in the Resurrection, the
perfume of the holy Church and the ointment of charity towards others" (Expositio
Evangelii sec. Lucam, in loc.).
47.
Man cannot merit forgiveness for his sins because, since God is the offended
party, they are of infinite gravity. We need the sacrament of Penance, in which
God forgives us by virtue of the infinite merits of Jesus Christ; there is only
one indispensable condition for winning God's forgiveness--our love, our
repentance. We are pardoned to the extent that we love; when our heart is full
of love there is no longer any room in it for sin because we have made room for
Jesus, and he says to us as he said to this woman, "Your sins are
forgiven." Repentance is a sign that we love God. But it was God who first
loved us (cf.1 Jn 4:10). When God forgives us he is expressing his love for us.
Our love for God is, then, always a response to his initiative. By forgiving us
God helps us to be more grateful and more loving towards him. "He loves
little", St Augustine comments, "who has little forgiven. You say
that you have not committed many sins: but why is that the case? [...] The
reason is that God was guiding you [...]. There is no sin that one man commits,
which another may not commit also unless God, man's maker, guides him" (Sermon, 99, 6). Therefore, we ought to fall
ever more deeply in love with our Lord, not only because he forgives us our
sins but also because he helps us by means of his grace not to commit them.
50.
Jesus declares that it was faith that moved this woman to throw herself at his
feet and show her repentance; her repentance wins his forgiveness. Similarly,
when we approach the sacrament of Penance we should stir up our faith in the
fact that it is "not a human but a divine dialogue. It is a tribunal of
divine justice and especially of mercy, with a loving judge who 'has no
pleasure in the death of the wicked; I desire that the wicked turn back from
his way and live' (Ezek 33:11)" (St. J. Escriva, Christ
Is Passing By, 78).
Source:
The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries.
Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co.
Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage
readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers
for details.
"Ignorance
of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome
