Readings:
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 7:36-50
Reflection:
Some sayings of Jesus have given interpreters of the New Testament much food for thought and debate over the centuries. None of them is more intriguing than Jesus’ words to the woman who risks her life and reputation to publicly wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair.
The Greek text is ambiguous and has prompted much speculation. Does this extraordinary action come about because her sins have been forgiven, or is the forgiveness she receives Jesus’ response to her great love? What leads her to take the enormous risk of acting as she does in the house of Simon the Pharisee?
The experience of being forgiven can certainly lead to a loving response on the part of the woman, but Jesus’ forgiveness is only pronounced at the end of the story. Does this mean that Jesus and the woman have already had some interaction that leads her to respond by entering Simon’s house and revealing her gratitude for the gift that Jesus has already offered? Is it her extraordinary outpouring of sorrow and love that leads to Jesus responding in kind by forgiving her and reinstating her within the community?
Sometimes in life, it is the experience of grace that leads to love, and at other times it’s the experience of being loved that leads to grace. In the end, it is we the reader who need to hear Jesus’ words and take them to heart. Forgiveness can lead to love and love can lead to forgiveness. Both are precious and both need to be given and received.
Fr. Chris Monaghan CP, lectures in the New Testament and is President of Yarra Theological Union. He is a member of the Passionist community of Holy Cross in Templestowe.