C 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 17

First Reading: 2 Samuel 12:7-10.13

[While most religious and national epics portray heroes who can do no wrong, the Bible presents leaders, even the great king David, as flawed. David saw the beautiful Bathsheba bathing, and has an affair with her and she becomes pregnant. Uriah, her husband, is away fighting and David urges him to come home to his wife, hoping Uriah will then think he is the father. Uriah refuses and David has him killed. Then Nathan, the prophet, confronts David (today’s reading). Saul, the first King, was weak and jealous; David is an adulterer, murderer and cut down to size. God is Israel’s real king]

Nathan said to David, The Lord the God of Israel says this, I anointed you king over Israel; I delivered you from the hands of Saul; I gave your masters house to you, his wives into your arms; I gave you the House of Israel and of Judah; and if this were not enough, I would add as much again for you. Why have you shown contempt for the Lord, doing what displeases him? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, taken his wife for your own, and killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. So now the sword will never be far from your House, since you have shown contempt for me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. Then Nathan said to David, The Lord, for his part, forgives your sin; you are not to die.

Second Reading: Galatians 2:16.19-21

[St Paul gives a summary of his gospel in these few verses. I am redeemed through the love of Christ who gave his life for me, and not through my own good works]

We acknowledge that what makes a man righteous is not obedience to the Law, but faith in Jesus Christ. We had to become believers in Christ Jesus no less than you had, and now we hold that faith in Christ rather than fidelity to the Law is what justifies us, and that no one can be justified by keeping the Law. In other words, through the Law I am dead to the Law, so that now I can live for God. I have been crucified with Christ, and I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in this body I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake. I cannot bring myself to give up God's gift; if the Law can justify us, there is no point in the death of Christ.

Gospel: Luke 7:36 - 8:3 (or >< 7:36-50)

[The impression given of the unnamed lady with the ‘bad name’ in today’s gospel is that she was a prostitute and well known as such. She knew of Jesus and had received his forgiveness. Her presence and gestures scandalised the Pharisee host. Jesus on the other hand accepted her presence and ministering with gentle courtesy.]

One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to a meal. When he arrived at the Pharisee's house and took his place at table, a woman came in, who had a bad name in the town. She had heard he was dining with the Pharisee and had brought with her an alabaster jar of ointment. She waited behind him at his feet, weeping, and her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them away with her hair; then she covered his feet with kisses 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 this woman is that is touching him and what a bad name she has.' Then Jesus took him up and said, 'Simon, I have something to say to you.' 'Speak, Master,' was the reply. 'There was once a creditor who had two men in his debt; one owed him five hundred denarii, the other fifty. They were unable to pay, so he pardoned them both. Which of them will love him more?' 'The one who was pardoned more, I suppose,' answered Simon. Jesus said, 'You are right.'
Then he turned to the woman. 'Simon,' he said, 'you see this woman? I came into your house, and you poured no water over my feet, but she has poured out her tears over my feet and wiped them away with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has been covering my feet with kisses ever since I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. For this reason I tell you that her sins, her many sins, must have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such great love. It is the man who is forgiven little who shows little love.' Then he said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.' Those who were with him at table began to say to themselves, 'Who is this man, that he even forgives sins?' But he said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you; go in peace.'
Now after this he made his way through towns and villages, preaching, and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom of God. With him went the Twelve, as well as certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary surnamed the Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and several others who provided for them out of their own resources.

Life Questions:
(Choice of A – Same questions weekly/ or B)

A
1. What word or phrase stands out for you? Why?
2. With whom in the readings do you most identify? Why
3. Do you feel attracted to anything in today’s readings? Do you feel resistant to anything? Do you know why?
4. In what way do these readings affirm you?
5. In what way do these readings challenge you?
6. What can you do to respond to this challenge?

B
1. What reaction would you give to this statement: “Simon worked hard on the duties of his love for God. But the anonymous feminine heart discovered that religion begins in letting God love us”
2. When have women taught you forgiveness/ love?
3. Describe things that we see in our community (and ourselves?) that reveal scorn for weak members.
4. Who in your life has not held your past against you?
5. Share an experience when you were invited to begin to break the barriers of past hurts. What was your response?
6. What is your hospitality like? How do you express gratitude to Jesus?
7. “Go in peace” – What is peace? What would it take for you to be at peace? What must you do to accept Jesus offer of Peace?
8. Any verse appeal to you in a special way?

Reflection – different kind of reflection!

Meals are mentioned quite often in Luke. You have the meals where Jesus was present and you have the stories and parables that make allusion to meals and food. Eugene LaVerdiere contends that the Last Supper must be seen as the last in a series of meals which Jesus shared with his disciples, all of which tell us something about the Eucharist.

1 Think of the importance of meals in our lives: Through food and meals we offer hospitality, we celebrate special occasions (birth(days)/ marriage/ death) during meals. Meals can bond. Being left off an invitation list can also cause rows.

Meals in Biblical times:
- Table fellowship in that culture was far more than about nourishment. Friendship, intimacy, unity and it created a bond among the diners. To eat together was to belong together. When people were estranged, a meal opened the way to forgiveness and reconciliation (remember prodigal son – Luke 15).
- Betrayal and infidelity towards anyone with whom one shared the table was particularly reprehensible. (So Judas at Last Supper Luke 24:14-38)
- Welcoming a person at table was a way of accepting that person without restriction. This is why Jesus was criticised – He eats with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:27-33; Mk 2:15-17); Zacchaeus, (Luke 19:1-10); sinner woman crying in Simon’s house during a meal – today’s gospel (Luke 7:37-50).
Jesus’ table fellowship had no bounds whereas they thought the pious should only share a meal with the righteous.
Remember that the scriptures were written to help and challenge the communities the evangelists were writing for. Through these stories they may be challenging community members who, thinking themselves righteous, object to the presence of others who they consider to be sinning at the breaking of bread
1. In the various ancient cultures underlying the NT, dining with someone indicated solidarity with that person. For the Pharisees in Luke’s story, the disciples were demonstrating solidarity with tax collectors and sinners by joining them at table. It did not occur to them that the tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were professing solidarity with the disciples, rather than the reverse.
2. Responding, Jesus called everyone to repentance, including those who thought themselves righteous. At this meal everyone is called to conversion
3. The Pharisees and Scribes reject the notion that everyone is a sinner and in need of repentance. In this they struck at the Church as a sinful people continually called to repent and follow Christ. For them the meal was vitiated or at least flawed by the presence of ‘tax collectors and sinners’ and so they questioned its value.
4. Has this got implications for us at the Eucharist?/ receiving communion?/ Who is welcome? How welcoming are we as a community?]

Luke and the origins of the Eucharist.

We tend to think of the Last Supper from the point of view of institution of the Eucharist and “this is my body”; “This is my blood”. It is also one meal of many that Jesus had and taught at. There were seven others beforehand that Luke wrote about in his gospel. 1. Meal with Levi and other toll collectors and sinners and Jesus defends his disciples eating with such people [5:27-32]. 2. The prophet Jesus chides Simon for not extending hospitality to him and he defends the forgiven nameless sinner (weeping lady) [7:36-50]. 3. Jesus provides abundant food for 5,000 [9:10-17]. 4. Martha and Mary offer hospitality to Jesus and are challenged to centre their lives on him, - the one things necessary [10:38-42]. 5 Religious leaders are told that justice is important and that ritual purity accomplished through looking after the poor [11:37-53]. 6 Jesus again chiding religious leaders for seeking first place and for not inviting the less fortunate [14:1-24] 7 Jesus meal with Zacchaeus amidst complaints from bystanders [19:1-10].
In the last supper Jesus welcomes sinners who are about to betray him. Luke puts in a squabble at table over greatness. Jesus corrects their views by serving at table. [Matthew 20:24-28, and Mark 10:41-45 have it elsewhere]
The last supper is the first of three post resurrection meals. Last Supper is the first; Emmaus the second, and 24:36-49 – meal with the assembled community before the ascension the third.

Today’s gospel:

This story shows how the eucharist calls sinners to repentance and relates the eucharist to reconciliation and shows how the eucharist asks those who repent to welcome one another as followers and disciples of Christ.
It is not that the woman’s love led to or brought about the forgiveness of her sins but that her love flowed from her being forgiven. Having been forgiven much, she loved much. We expect a conclusion drawn for Simon, but the conclusion is a general one and not just for Simon: the one to who little is forgiven, loves little. We have joined Simon’s side and are asked to interpret it as our personal story. Simon the Pharisee thus becomes every Christian. In Luke’s telling of the story it is not so much Simon, the particular Pharisee with whom Jesus dined that Jesus addresses. Rather it is everyone in the Lucan community and every reader of the gospel whose attitudes and behaviour are embodied by Simon – every Christian who refuses to welcome or be reconciled with one who has repented or been forgiven – a similar message returns later in 15:1-32. The Pharisees are mirrored by the older brother who refused the father’s invitation to welcome his repentant younger brother in a feast of reconciliation. What is important is that the woman was recognised as a sinner. For Simon: once a sinner, always a sinner. Repentance made no difference with respect to someone’s life in the community or their joining in the breaking of bread. The relationship between hospitality, reconciliation and salvation would be taken up again in Zacchaeus 19:1-10
[Dining in the Kingdom. The origins of the Eucharist in the Gospel of Luke.
Eugene LaVerdiere LTP. (226 pages)]


Added note on the gospel:

There are no grounds for identifying the woman of the gospel with Mary Magdalene “Tradition has been cruel to Mary Magdalene. Indeed she could well qualify as the most sinned against victim of sexist prejudice. Her characterization as a reformed prostitute has gone almost unchallenged. The fact is: there is not a single shred of evidence to sustain that portrait of her. She has had the ill fortune to emerge for the first time in Luke’s gospel immediately after his story of his story of “the sinner” (7:36-50) Whether or not that ‘sinner’ was a prostitute (not at all clear) has nothing to do with the subsequent reference to ‘Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out’ (8:2)…. From parallel texts it is clear that possession by ‘seven demons’ means that Mary was a mentally ill woman, healed by Jesus. To class her as a ‘sinner’ is calumny.” (The Gracious Word, year C Wilfred Harrington OP, on 11C, gospel)

Praying with scripture:

“The life I now live in this body I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake” Repeat these words prayerfully and ask that you will realise God’s love for you.
Pray that you may be a forgiving person
Pray for a healing of past hurts in your life.