20140918 OUR LOVE FOR GOD AS A RESPONSE TO GOD’S FORGIVING LOVE
First
reading
1
Corinthians 15:1-11 ©
Brothers,
I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you
received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save
you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing
anything else will not lead to anything.
Well then, in the first place, I taught you
what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in
accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to
life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared
first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five
hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though
some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and
last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one
expected it.
I am the least of the apostles; in fact,
since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by
God’s grace that is what I am, and the grace that he gave me has not been
fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the grace of God that is with me, have
worked harder than any of the others; but what matters is that I preach what
they preach, and this is what you all believed.
Psalm
Psalm
117:1-2,15-17,28 ©
Give
thanks to the Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
Give
thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love has no end.
Let
the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Give
thanks to the Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
The
Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
his right hand raised me up.
I
shall not die, I shall live
and recount his deeds.
Give
thanks to the Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
You
are my God, I thank you.
My God, I praise you.
I
will thank you for you have given answer
and you are my saviour.
Give
thanks to the Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel
Acclamation 2Co5:19
Alleluia,
alleluia!
God
in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and
he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
Or Mt11:28
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Come
to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and
I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 7:36-50 ©
One
of the Pharisees invited Jesus to a meal. When he arrived at the Pharisee’s
house and took his place at table, a woman came in, who had a bad name in the
town. She had heard he was dining with the Pharisee and had brought with her an
alabaster jar of ointment. She waited behind him at his feet, weeping, and her
tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them away with her hair; then she covered
his feet with kisses 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 this
woman is that is touching him and what a bad name she has.’ Then Jesus took him
up and said, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ ‘Speak, Master’ was the
reply. ‘There was once a creditor who had two men in his debt; one owed him
five hundred denarii, the other fifty. They were unable to pay, so he pardoned
them both. Which of them will love him more?’ ‘The one who was pardoned more, I
suppose’ answered Simon. Jesus said, ‘You are right.’
Then he turned to the woman. ‘Simon,’ he said
‘you see this woman? I came into your house, and you poured no water over my
feet, but she has poured out her tears over my feet and wiped them away with
her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has been covering my feet with kisses
ever since I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed
my feet with ointment. For this reason I tell you that her sins, her many sins,
must have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such great love. It is
the man who is forgiven little who shows little love.’ Then he said to her, ‘Your
sins are forgiven.’ Those who were with him at table began to say to
themselves, ‘Who is this man, that he even forgives sins?’ But he said to the
woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’
OUR
LOVE FOR GOD AS A RESPONSE TO GOD’S FORGIVING LOVE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: 1 COR 15:1-11; LK 7:36-50
http://www.universalis.com/20140918/mass.htm
In the gospel, we are faced
with a conundrum, which is the relationship between love and
forgiveness. Is love the fruit of forgiveness or is forgiveness the fruit
of love? In the story of the adulterous woman, it appears that
forgiveness is the fruit of love. It appears that because of the love the
woman showered on Jesus, her sins were forgiven. Jesus said to her,
“‘Your sins are forgiven.’ ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’”
But wouldn’t this
contradict the primacy of God’s love for us in Christ’s paschal mystery
in today’s gospel? St Paul speaks of the one gospel that has been passed
down from one generation to another. What is this gospel
essentially? It is the kerygma, the passion, death and resurrection of
Jesus for our salvation. What is critical is that He died for our
sins. This is the basis for redemption. So important is this message
that Paul insists that “what matters is that I preach what they preach, and
this is what you all believed.”
It is clear that forgiveness
precedes our love for God. It is God who loved us first. Hence,
in the story of the two debtors, Jesus asked the Pharisee, “Which of them will
love him more?’ ‘The one who was pardoned more, I suppose’ answered
Simon. Jesus said, ‘You are right.’” So the love of the woman must
be seen as the manifestation of forgiveness already given. It is this love that
leads to the acknowledgement of sin. She was expressing her gratitude,
for Jesus said, “For this reason I tell you that her sins, her many sins, must
have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such great love. It
is the man that is forgiven little who shows little love.’ “
St Paul became an apostle because of his
experience of God’s mercy. He said, “And last of all he appeared to me
too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it. I am the least of the
apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the
name apostle; but by God’s grace that is what I am, and the grace that he gave
me has not been fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the grace of God
that is with me, have worked harder than any of the others.”
In contrast, the Pharisees
had no love because there was no consciousness of sin, and therefore no
experience of forgiveness. They felt that they were the holy ones because
the Lord had blessed them since they were rich. Simon had no love for
Jesus because he did not need any forgiveness. When Jesus asked him
pointedly who would love more in the story of the two debtors, he answered
grudgingly, “I suppose” it was the man who was forgiven more. Jesus told
“’Simon … I came into your house, and you poured no water over my feet …You
gave me no kisses… You did not anoint my head with oil” but she has done
all these and more by going so low as to use her tears to wash His feet, and
used her hair to dry them and then anoint His feet with ointment.
It is obvious that this
gospel can only be accepted by those who have come to recognize their
sinfulness as a consequence of encountering the love of God. We must
therefore, in the light of today’s lesson, consider the implications of our
love for God, which is determined by how much we are aware of our sinfulness.
The real problem today is
that we are suffering from a narcosis of sin. There is a spiritual
numbness in our conscience to sin. We treat sins lightly. We make
light of sin. Oh, we say, it is a small sin or a human
weakness. Today, some even brazenly boast about the “original” sins
they committed, how they managed to do the most obscene or evil act. If
not, we depersonalize sin by speaking of sin impersonally, like talking about
environmental sin, the sin of society and structural sin. We do not speak
of personal sin, or our personal responsibility for sins committed in the
world.
This is true even for
those of us who are better informed in church doctrines. Our study of
theology and psychology has taught us how to rationalize sin away. This
was what the Pharisees did. Instead of confronting their own spiritual
narcosis, they avoided it by asking theological questions, ‘If this man were a
prophet, he would know who this women is that is touching him and what a bad
name she has” or “‘Who is this man, that he even forgives
sins?’” We desensitize ourselves to sin by avoiding it. We
distract ourselves from sin by pretending to disagree on the idea of sin.
Instead of concentrating on freeing ourselves from sin, we attempt to free
ourselves from the remorse of sin.
Unlike saints who are so
conscious of even their venial sins and imperfections, many of us are not aware
of our sins. Indeed, a sign that we are growing in our spiritual life and
holiness is a greater sensitivity to sin, especially our own. But St.
John tells us that if we say that we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves and
make God a liar (cf. 1 Jn 1:8-10). Indeed, St Paul reiterated that Christ “died
for our sins” (cf. 1 Cor 15:3). By taking away sin, we have rendered in
vain the very redemption of Christ and destroyed the significance of His
death. Christ would have died for nothing and for no one.
We must imitate the
adulterous woman in today’s gospel who was humble and contrite. In
stooping so low as to wash the feet of Jesus, she demonstrated her
humility. Without which, there can be no real recognition of sin.
Her tears were signs of contrition. As a result of this baptism of tears,
she expressed her love through the ointment she applied on Jesus.
Ointment is the expression of the Holy Spirit, the love between the Father and
the Son. Yes, we must return to the fundamental message of the gospel,
namely that He died for sins. There can be no resurrection for us if we
do not admit that we are sinners and name our sins instead of making light of
them.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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