Monastry in the Desert, New Mexico

FIRST READING
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.”

SECOND READING
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.

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.

Abbott's Homily

My sisters and brothers in Christ,
Today we hear strong words about sin and about forgiveness. Always sin and forgiveness are at work in our lives. Perhaps with the grace of God we sin less at times, but our basic tendencies often pull us to make decisions or to do certain actions or to think thoughts that do not unite us with God and others in love, but instead separate us. Perhaps for some of us, doing good does not require much effort. We could be like the rich young man mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels and still not give our lives over completely to God and to doing His will.

The first reading today, from the Second Book of Samuel, is about David, who is often seen as an archetype of the person who has passion for God but who is not yet totally converted. David is full of energy for the Lord, but that energy is not always fully integrated into his life. We should admire the energy. Sometimes we also meet people who have an incredible energy for God but who also seem not entirely integrated people. In the Scriptures, this energy is sometimes given us as an example of how we should be in our own energies. In the Book of Revelation, the final book of the Scriptures, there is a famous passage that says: “So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” This speaks about the energies that we have. Many of us are often lukewarm, instead of hot or cold. Better to push against God or for God than to be indifferent to God. David was hot, not lukewarm. When he served God, he did it with his whole heart and soul, with all his being. Thus he should be a model for us. When he recognizes that he has sinned, he repents immediately.

The Gospel that we have heard today speaks on the same theme. Here we encounter a woman who had sinned but who now simply weeps at the feet of Jesus, after anointing them. She knew that Jesus could forgive her sins and with her whole heart she loved him. What about us? Do we know that Jesus does love us? Do we accept forgiveness of sins? We can want to become people whose full interest is taken up in knowing God and doing what God asks of us. This is so often the goal of truly saintly people. They don’t always achieve it, but, like the woman in the Gospel, they are willing to put all their life into serving the Lord. For some of us, there is the challenge of sin addictions: returning to the same sins over and over and over. Those sins can be anger, hatred, lust, laziness, envy or lots of others. But we seem quite stable in our sins. For others, there is the challenge of bringing energy to seeking God with all one’s being. For others, there is a challenge of accepting that God would even care about us.

The second reading, from the Letter to the Galatians, tells us that salvation is about belief in Jesus Christ, not in achieving anything in particular. Today we can turn once again to the Lord and ask Him directly: Touch my heart, give me divine energy, let me know you and love you. May our hearts be on fire with God’s love.