May Jesus Christ be
praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.
Today we hear about
forgiveness, but forgiveness is not the end of the story.
In our reading from the second book of Samuel,
we hear of the encounter between Nathan the prophet and David the King. It was the task of the prophet of God to
confront the sins of the King. There is
no question about the guilt of David.
Though he had been greatly blessed by the Lord, saved from danger,
anointed as king, was rich with wives and with houses, David took the wife of
Uriah and then he had Uriah killed. King
David was guilty of adultery and murder.
The prophet announced the judgment of the Lord to the King. Facing the judgment of God, David admitted
his guilt. He offered no excuses. He recognized his sin and he confessed his
guilt before the Lord. His contrition
was accepted in the sight of the Lord, even though his contrition was the
result of his fear of the justice of God.
In our reading from the
Gospel today, it is not fear of punishment that leads the sinful woman to wash
the feet of the Lord Jesus. The tears of
contrition that flowed from her eyes and bathed the feet of the Savior were the
result of faith and love. Like David, her guilt was not doubted. Unlike David,
her sins were well known to the community.
The Pharisees recognized her as a sinner. They were always ready to acknowledge the
sinfulness of others. The Pharisees were
not, however, ready to be merciful.
Perhaps the Pharisees would grant mercy and forgiveness to those who
deserved it. The Lord Jesus, however,
bestows the grace of mercy and forgiveness upon those who recognize that they
need it.
Today we have heard
about forgiveness, but forgiveness is not the end of the story. David was sorry for his sins because he
feared the punishment of God, and his sorrow was accepted. The sinful woman was sorry for her sins
because she loved the Lord Jesus and her sins separated her from Him and from
the community, and her sorrow was accepted.
They had both been given the grace of forgiveness. They had both encountered the mercy of God. And now having received the grace of mercy
and forgiveness, they could live in the freedom of the children of God. Forgiveness makes the relationship
possible. The forgiveness of our sins is
necessary for us to live in a relationship with God.
Sin is a rejection of
the invitation of God. It is our
rejection of the Lord’s invitation to relationship. It is the use of something that is bad or the
misuse of something that is good. With
every sin that we commit we build a wall of rejection to the grace of God. With every sin that we commit, we chose some
thing on earth over someone of heaven.
The forgiveness of our sins, offered to us in Christ Jesus through the
sacraments of his Church, enables us to live in relationship with God. The forgiveness of our sins is not the end of
the story. We seek the forgiveness and
the mercy of God, sometimes out of fear, but hopefully more often out of love,
so that we can sit at table with the Savior.
We seek the forgiveness and mercy of God, so that with Saint Paul, we
can still live our human lives because they are lives of faith in the Son of
God who loved us and offered himself up for us.
As we celebrate this
Eucharist today, let us ask for the courage to seek the mercy and forgiveness
of God. May the Blessed Virgin Mary
intercede for us that we may have the humility to accept the grace of her
Son. And let us ask for the grace to
reject the temptation of sin and accept the invitation to live in the freedom
of the children of God. Amen.
Preached
at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
