Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
September 17, 2020
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Luke 7:36-50
The meaning of this narrative is not clear. The woman’s sins are forgiven, but we don’t know whether the forgiveness has preceded her contact with Jesus at the dinner or is consequent to it.
Simon the Pharisee has invited Jesus to the dinner–a friendly gesture–but he doesn’t show Jesus the same degree of respect and honor as the woman does. He loves less than she does. At the end of the narrative the other guests raise questions about the meaning of Jesus’ assertion, “Your sins are forgiven.”
What’s clear is that there is a correlation between forgiveness of sin and loving Jesus. Maybe this narrative is an invitation for us to ask ourselves how we respond to Jesus’ forgiveness of our sins.
