One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to come to his home for lunch and Jesus accepted the invitation. As they sat down to eat, a woman of the streets—a prostitute—heard he was there and brought an exquisite flask filled with expensive perfume. Going in, she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping, with her tears falling down upon his feet; and she wiped them off with her hair and kissed them and poured the perfume on them. When Jesus’ host, a Pharisee, saw what was happening and who the woman was, he said to himself, “This proves that Jesus is no prophet, for if God had really sent him, he would know what kind of woman this one is!” Then Jesus spoke up and answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “All right, Teacher,” Simon replied, “go ahead.” Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—$5,000 to one and $500 to the other. But neither of them could pay him back, so he kindly forgave them both, letting them keep the money! Which do you suppose loved him most after that?” “I suppose the one who had owed him the most,” Simon answered. “Correct,” Jesus agreed. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look! See this woman kneeling here! When I entered your home, you didn’t bother to offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You refused me the customary kiss of greeting, but she has kissed my feet again and again from the time I first came in. You neglected the usual courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has covered my feet with rare perfume. Therefore her sins—and they are many—are forgiven, for she loved me much; but one who is forgiven little, shows little love. And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then the men at the table said to themselves, “Who does this man think he is, going around forgiving sins?” And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Food for thought
How much extravagant are you with Jesus? How much are you ready to do for love of Jesus? Look at this woman's extravagancy. She took the most precious thing she possessed and spent it all on Jesus. Love is not love if it calculates the cost. Love gives its all and its only regret is that it has not still more to give. What is most expensive to you? What is dear to you? Is it your time? Are you a busy person, with lots of things to do? If so, how much of your time are you willing to pour at the feet of Jesus? How much time and how often do you sit for Jesus? And when you sit for Jesus do yore get some people criticising you, like Simon of today's gospel ?
Every time we sit for Jesus we are like the woman in the gospel reading: we pour out our dear time at Jesus; we get criticized by some people; we get Jesus defend us as he did in the gospel reading. He said: ““Look! See this woman kneeling here! When I entered your home, you didn’t bother to offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You refused me the customary kiss of greeting, but she has kissed my feet again and again from the time I first came in. You neglected the usual courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has covered my feet with rare perfume. Therefore her sins—and they are many—are forgiven, for she loved me much; but one who is forgiven little, shows little love.”
She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. This is the verdict that Jesus made of the woman! Jesus defends those who are dear to him. Like he told us yesterday Like he told us yesterday, we need to learn to be grateful. While the Pharisee was seeing evil in the woman's act, Jesus was seeing goodness: When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw the woman's act of love, he said to himself, 'If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him.' Jesus on the other hand saw not evil but love. He said: See this woman kneeling here! When I entered your home, you didn’t bother to offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You refused me the customary kiss of greeting, but she has kissed my feet again and again from the time I first came in. You neglected the usual courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has covered my feet with rare perfume. Therefore her sins—and they are many—are forgiven, **for she loved me much.**
Some people are like the Pharisee; they only see evil in others' acts. But at the end of the day, who can and does judge all is Jesus, not man. It is only Jesus who will judge all of us. At our death, none of us will judge any of us. Thank God.
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