BIBLE STUDY #138


ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

June 16, 2013



READING 1

2 SAMUEL 12:7-10, 13



Nathan said to David:

“Thus says the LORD God of Israel:

‘I anointed you king of Israel.

I rescued you from the hand of Saul.

I gave you your lord’s house and your lord’s wives for your own.

I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah.

And if this were not enough, I could count up for you still more.

Why have you spurned the Lord and done evil in his sight?

You have cut down Uriah the Hittite with the sword;

you took his wife as your own,

and him you killed with the sword of the Ammonites.

Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house,

because you have despised me

and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.’

Then David said to Nathan,

“I have sinned against the LORD.”

Nathan answered David:

“The LORD on his part has forgiven your sin:

you shall not die.”



The Word of the Lord



READING 2

GALATIANS 2:16, 19-21



Brothers and sisters:

We who know that a person is not justified by works of the law

but through faith in Jesus Christ,

even we have believed in Christ Jesus

that we may be justified by faith in Christ

and not by works of the law,

because by works of the law no one will be justified.

For through the law I died to the law,

that I might live for God.

I have been crucified with Christ;

yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me;

insofar as I now live in the flesh,

I live by faith in the Son of God

who has loved me and given himself up for me.

I do not nullify the grace of God;

for if justification comes through the law,

then Christ died for nothing.



The Word of the Lord



GOSPEL

LUKE 7:36—8:3



A Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him,

and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.

Now there was a sinful woman in the city

who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.

Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,

she stood behind him at his feet weeping

and began to bathe his feet with her tears.

Then she wiped them with her hair,

kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,

“If this man were a prophet,

he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,

that she is a sinner.”

Jesus said to him in reply,

“Simon, I have something to say to you.”

“Tell me, teacher, ” he said.

“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;

one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty.

Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.

Which of them will love him more?”

Simon said in reply,

“The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”

He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”



Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,

“Do you see this woman?

When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,

but she has bathed them with her tears

and wiped them with her hair.

You did not give me a kiss,

but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.

You did not anoint my head with oil,

but she anointed my feet with ointment.

So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven

because she has shown great love.

But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”

He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The others at table said to themselves,

“Who is this who even forgives sins?”

But he said to the woman,

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”



Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another,

preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.

Accompanying him were the Twelve

and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,

Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,

Susanna, and many others who provided for them

out of their resources.



The Gospel of the Lord



Reflection



Whenever I read this Gospel passage, I am always reminded of the people I know who are just like this Pharisee: self satisfied, arrogant, and judgmental. They are sure of their righteousness and look down on others they think are inferior to them.



On the other hand, a woman comes into the Pharisee’s house full of remorse for her sins. She wept, bathed his feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and anointed them with ointment. We don’t know what her sins were. We assume she was a prostitute, but the text is silent on this matter. Her actions show her sorrow and her need for forgiveness.



The Pharisee would not offer forgiveness to this woman, but would rather that Jesus stay away from her because she is a sinner. He is judgmental, but not forgiving. He thinks he is a better person than her and looks down on her.



Jesus tells a story about forgiveness. Two people were in debt to a creditor: one owed 500 days wages, and one owed 5o days wages. Since neither could repay him, he forgave the debts. Jesus asks, “Which of them will love him more?” the Pharisee responds. “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”



Notice that Jesus says her many sins are forgiven. He doesn’t downplay her sins, doesn’t try to make them less than they are, doesn’t make any excuses for her sins. But God’s love is bigger than our sins. He is willing to forgive anything we are willing to confess. In my mind, the only unforgiveable sin in the one that’s not confessed.



Since she is forgiven a lot, she is willing to love a lot. It seems that the Pharisee is arrogant enough to not see the need for forgiveness. His sins may be less than the woman’s, but since he is forgiven little, he loves little. We see the relationship between forgiveness and love. We should be grateful for God’s forgiveness, and be willing to show that love and forgiveness to others. But, when we are unforgiving, it is hard to love. If we love than we practice forgiveness. That’s what loving people do. But if we are arrogant and judgmental, we find it hard to love.



We never condone sin: we don’t make excuses for it, we don’t say that everybody does it so it’s ok, we don’t say who are you hurting so forget about it. We need to acknowledge our sins before we can ask for forgiveness.



But we don’t condemn the sinner, either. The rule of thumb is to hate the sin but love the sinner. And if we’re to love the sinner, that means we are to forgive them because that’s what loving people do.



I find that those who are unwilling to forgive others are also unwilling to admit their own sins. When we are unwilling to ask for forgiveness, we eventually cut ourselves off from the avenues of God’s grace, and God becomes distant and not a part of our lives. And since we’re not forgiving people, we find it hard to love.



What an awful way to live, cut off from God’s grace and love. It’s a bleak existence practiced by too many people. We need to pray for these people that somehow God’s forgiveness becomes a part of their lives and opens them up to love God and others.



I think being accepting of everyone who comes to worship with us is a way to show our love to others. No matter whom you are or what has happened in the past, I hope everyone feels welcome at St. Joseph’s. I want our church to be a beacon of light and hope to all who enter. What better place to feel God’s love and forgiveness than in church? Why would we want to turn anyone away or make them feel unwelcome?



We are all sinners who need God’s forgiveness. Let’s be grateful for God’s love for us and show that to others.





Fr. Phil