Simon is playing host to Jesus because Jesus is an interesting character in his community. Jesus entertains him I guess. The woman of disrepute knows who Jesus is and she knows she is a sinner in need of Jesus to pardon her many sins and to release her from the path to hell. She adores Jesus by washing his feet, drying them with her hair, kissing them and anointing them. Does this make you uncomfortable? It reminds me of Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament!
What this woman does is to make Simon and his other guests uncomfortable. Doesn't Jesus know what type of woman this is? Yes, He knows exactly. And He knows exactly what kind of person each of us is, including Simon. She is a sinner who has faith and seeks forgiveness and pardon. Jesus grants her this gift. It implies of course that Jesus is God and the woman's adoration is appropriate. But this leads the others to ask, "just who does He think He is?" Of course, we know--He's God, it's implicit in the Gospel passage.
Jesus knows who we are with all our sins too. Are we like Simon who simply enters into a casual relationship with our Lord, no different than any of his other relationships, or are we like the sinner woman, who knows her guilt, her need for salvation and her need for Jesus to pardon her and open the gates of paradise? In other words, do we adore our Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar and do we go to Confession? Do we celebrate the Sacrament of Penance? Are you Simon in this regard or are you the woman?
3 comments:
Your homily on this scripture yesterday was very nice... confessing sins takes integrity. I still say the lines at the Confessional should be at least as long as the lines going to receive.
I have to say, saying confession outside a confessional, in the pews or a room without the booth and screen was the worst thing I ever did..I did not make a good confession and removing the anonymity only served to make me less open to confessing "everything" for fear of the expressions on the Priest's face. After a few times I decided I would never do it again it brought me so much anxiety. How sad to avoid the sacrament because of this but the open, face to face was the only way we were allowed at that time..I have since found a "booth" and it leads to full confession without having any other focus besides what I have to say. Open confession all to often inhibits the faithful. I wish Priests would see this. Face to face the personalities always some into play. Period..
Anonymous, Yes, I have thought about this some. I sometimes confess face to face, reasoning that if I am to face Christ one day in person, then why not face the Priest in persona Cristi right now. However, there has been a time or two when I have thought to myself, "I hate to go and confess this to Fr. It was such a stupid thing to do...." That tells me you have a point.
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