"Her Many sins are forgiven because of her great love." (LK 7:47)
Have you ever experienced the feeling of happiness that comes when you have been able to unload yourself of your sins in confession, especially if it was a struggle for you to do so? Didn't you feel light and free as a bird, and with a burning desire to go out and love - to love God and never offend him again and to reach out in love toward those around you?
If so, it means that you have felt in your own heart a little of what the sinner in our story must have felt in her heart one day.
That morning, she had probably heard Jesus speak in the synagogue or in the village square. He had been proclaiming a kingdom where there was forgiveness for all who had sinned.
She set out to find Jesus. She was overwhelmed by the love of God who had reached out to touch her in such a personal way, and was calling her to a relationship of communion with him.
She found him dining at the house of Simon who was a Pharisee. She went over to Jesus and began to wash his feet with her tears. Then she dried them with her hair and anointed them with perfumed oil from an alabaster jar.
"Her Many sins are forgiven because of her great love."
By her actions, she expressed her deep gratitude - she showed "great love."
She was convinced that in Jesus she had found salvation. The ointment was a sign of veneration; and in kissing his feet, it was as though she were saying: "You have saved my life."
She was not concerned that she had uncovered her hair in public, which was a shameful thing to do for a woman of her time. It simply did not matter to her.
Of course, Simon, the Pharisee, could not understand the behavior of the woman. Nor could he comprehend Jesus' reaction, since it was unlawful for Jews to have any contact with sinners.
Therefore, Jesus told him the parable of the two men who were in debt and whose debts were forgiven, explaining that the one who had been forgiven more would love more.
"Her Many sins are forgiven because of her great love."
Jesus thus showed that he approved of the woman's attitude, while he had something to say personally to simon: " I came to your home and you provided me with no water for my feet. She has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair" (LK 7:44).
By failing in his duties as a host, Simon showed that he lacked something the woman had: gratitude and love - even though he was law abiding and thought of himself as a righteous man. He had not had the same overwhelming experience as she, nor had he received the sense of freedom that comes through God's forgiveness. He felt neither particular love for Jesus nor the need to convert. Nor did he realize that the forgiven sinner was close to God.
"Her Many sins are forgiven because of her great love."
Some people interpret these words to mean only that: because of her great love her many sins had been forgiven. But the woman's love in this episode was the result of the forgiveness she had already received. Her gratitude was the proof that she had been forgiven many sins. Jesus, in fact, concludes that the person is forgiven little, who shows little love.
Doesn't this hapapen to us, too?
It is in experiencing the love of God who is always the first to reach out to us with his forgiveness, that we find the strength to love and to always start anew.
"Her Many sins are forgiven because of her great love."
She has shown "great love." Seeing God's love for her the sinner loved in return. She is therefore the figure and model of the Christian, whose entire duty is summarized in love - love for God and for one's neighbor.
We should not view this woman's conversion, her turning to God and his love, as if it were one of a few exceptional "great conversions." No. This lesson is for all of us. God is constantly looking for the one who is lost. His heart goes out especially to those who most need forgiveness. Jesus was, in fact, accused of being the "friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Lk 7:34).
It is with this love that God generates love in us and establishes a relationship with us that is not legalistic but real and personal. This rapport is essential if we want to be called Christians.
Chiara Lubich
The commentary to the Word of Life is translated in 90 different languages and dialects, and reaches more than 14 million people worldwide, through the press, and radio and TV programs
If you would like to read experiences of life related to this or to past "Words of Life," they can be found in Living City magazine, the monthly publication of the Focolare Movement. For information or to subscribe, write to: Living City, P.O. Box 837, Bronx, NY 10465. A book, From Scripture to Life, containing Words of Life with commentary by Chiara Lubich and related experiences of life is available through New City Press, the publishing house of the Focolare, 202 Cardinal Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538. To order the book or magazine call 1-800-462-5980. E-mail: ncporder@aol.com
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