11TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - C

RESTORED BY LOVE

When we were students in Rome, at first, we used to go out of our house dressed in clerical or priestly clothes.  But the Filipino workers readily spotted us and would come to us crying and sharing their woes. To avoid this, we decided to wear casual clothes when we left the house.  But still the Filipino workers there gravitated towards us. “You cannot fool us,” they said. “We can smell you are priests!”  What a Filipino instinct!

 In the gospel today (Luke 7), Jesus was enjoying a party in Simon the Pharisee’s home.  Suddenly, there was a gatecrasher.  A woman, known to be sinful, heard about Jesus and entered the house to get close to him. She was not invited.  She merely “smelled” that the Lord was there! 

Why did the sinful woman do such a daring action?  First, it was because of Jesus’ reputation.  Here was a man of God who came into the world looking for sinners, talking, listening, befriending them. While others labeled and avoided them, Jesus approached and embraced sinners.

Today, we are not wanting in people who are always ready and waiting to accuse and blame, to criticize and put down, to condemn and ostracize others. But Jesus is the one person with a positive and open heart towards sinners. As Christians, we can “smell” this and we know his kindness and mercy are true.

The woman has a second reason for gatecrashing that party. She had no illusions about herself. She was humble enough to accept her sins. She knew deep down that she could not help herself. She needed God’s help. Notice the description of her action. She stood behind Jesus, reached out for his feet and bathed them, all the while weeping (v. 38). She was indirectly but very powerfully telling Jesus she needed him, his help, his power. Because of that humility, Jesus spoke the most powerful words on earth, the words that restore human dignity, self respect, and hope. “Your sins are forgiven” (v. 48).

The woman came as a shamefaced sinner and after that encounter, she stood up a new person, even a saint, in the eyes of the Lord.

How many of us are willing to admit we have done wrong. How many of us feel we have become sinful men and women because we have hurt God and others many times and in many serious ways? Do you “smell" the Lord inviting you to unburden your load?  Do you feel that you are a sinner in need of God’s help? A few days ago, a young man, confused and directionless and immersed in many acts of rebellion and personal neglect, came to me to say that finally what he needed was a time to find himself, to get back on his feet and face life anew. He “smelled” Jesus calling him to renewal.

As Catholics, we “smell” where Jesus is waiting for us, right there in the Confessional, in the sacrament of forgiveness and new life. Let us pray for the courage to step forward and come near to Jesus.  Let us pray for humility to accept our sins and desire to be free.