St Augustine says, "God gives where he finds empty hands." Empty hands here could stand for self-emptying and humility. Self-emptying is a rare virtue in a world where we are so full of ourselves; in a world where we stubbornly refuse to let go of what we have in our hands in order to let God re-fill us with new gifts of grace. We live in a world where everyone seems to be enjoying riding on a high horse of self-righteousness and we seem to be in a constant state of denial of our sinfulness. An unknown writer paints this situation succinctly, saying, we have become “Very good lawyers for our own mistakes, but very good judges for the mistakes of others."
We can draw some inspiration in the story of David and an unnamed sinful woman who acknowledged their sinfulness and sought the forgiveness of God. David had sinned by taking away Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah and committed adultery. In order to cover his sins, he killed the husband. David disrupted moral and social order by breaking God’s commandment against adultery and by orchestrating the death of Uriah, her husband. The prophet Nathan came to David and fearlessly confronted him about his wrongdoing. He asked the king, “Why have you despised the Lord and done what is evil in his sight? You have cut down Uriah the Hittite with the sword; his wife you took as your own, and him you killed with the sword of the Ammonites” (2 Samuel 12:9).
Obviously, David was no longer at peace with himself, with God and his fellow human beings as a result of his sins. There is a metaphor, which describes sin as a wound inflicted by a poisoned arrow. Instead of removing the poison we make every effort to conceal it and the more we hide it, the more dangerous it becomes. David expressed how he felt when he hid his sins. He said, “Because I kept silent, my bones wasted away; I groaned all day long…my strength withered as in summer. Then I declared my sin to you; my sin I did not hide. I said, ‘I confess my transgression to the Lord’ and you took away the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:3-5).
David did not waste time in justifying his wrongdoing, but humbly admitted his guilt by saying, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). After David admitted and confessed his sins, Nathan said to him, “For his part, the Lord has removed your sin. You shall not die” (2 Samuel 12:13). The story of David shows the sinful condition of the human person who needs repentance to receive the mercy of God.
Jesus came into the world to free people from slavery to sin. Sinners were attracted to him because they saw his compassionate attitude towards them. When Jesus went to dine in the house of a Pharisee, a woman of the city, who was a sinner approached him. “She brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment” (Luke 7:38). She was like the Prodigal Son who returned to his father saying, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. However, she made her confession in a non-verbal language by her tears and by expressing an extravagant love.
Jesus did not hesitate to absolve the woman from her sins. He said to Simon who was his host and to the other Pharisees on table:
“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; hence, she has shown great love” (Luke 7:44-47).
There is a close connection between forgiveness and peace. The woman came to Jesus with her burden of sin and was worried by the weight of guilt. When Jesus forgave her, he took away her sins and restored peace in her heart. He said to her: “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (Luke 7:49). At confession, the Priest uses similar words in absolving the penitent, He prays, “…Through the ministry of the Church, may God grant you PARDON and PEACE.”
God invites us to seek for the forgiveness of our sins. Through Prophet Joel he hands this invitation with the following words: “Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Joel 2:13). No matter the gravity, the weight and nature of our sin, he promises he would forgive them. In the book of Isaiah he says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). When God forgives us, he grants us another chance to open a new chapter in our lives. In forgiveness, he reassures us of his love.
Jesus shocked the self-righteous Pharisees by paying close attention to the sinful woman. The positive attitude of Jesus toward the sinful woman is an eloquent message that lends credence to the words of St. Paul. According to Paul, “We acknowledge that what makes a person righteous is not obedience to the law but faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). If we approach God with a humble heart and a contrite spirit, we would surely be forgiven.
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------
11th Sunday of the Year; 2 Samuel 12:7-10.13; Galatians 2:16. 19-21; Luke 7:36-8:3.