THURSDAY 24TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II
1 Corinthians 15:1-11, LUKE 7:36-50
WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN MUCH, LET US DO MORE
We easily spite and scorn those we regard as useless and acute sinners. We do not want anything to do with them and we do not want them around us.
I had finished mass some time ago, when a young lady walked up to me and said that she wanted to discuss something with me. When I finished discussing with her, she asked to go for confession, and she did. When she had left, another fellow walked up to me saying 'I wonder wetin that yeye ashawo de tell you sef, see as you serious de listen to am, that girl na bad girl oh'. I was taken aback by the statement. This is how many of us Christians judge and condemn people from afar. Even when they are genuinely sorry for their sins and seek God's forgiveness, some of us still judge them even inside the church.
The compassion Jesus had for the woman in the gospel reading of today is very striking. How could Jesus be talking with a woman who had a bad name in the town to the extent of allowing her to pour tears in his body and wipe them with her hair? This must surely be a scandal to the righteous pharisees.
Jesus on the other hand, was more concerned about the soul of the woman. His encounter with the woman made her to truly repent of her sins that she started weeping for forgiveness.
If only we can give some seemingly terrible people space to encounter God, they would truly repent of their sins.
Many of us Christians, like the pharisees, think that we have already been saved, we show no sorrow for our sins because we feel we are very close to God. The pharisee who invited Jesus for a meal did not take Jesus serious, but a woman who only heard Jesus preach, and that Jesus was on his way to see the pharisee, got her forgiveness and salvation. Let us live a better life and do better than we are doing now to show our appreciation to God for his graciousness in our lives. God help us. Amen.
Fr Michael Osatofoh Eninlejie MSP
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