Sept. 15 two meditations

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Scripture: Lectionary # 446: I Timothy 4:12-16. Psalm 111:1-2,16-17.28. Luke 7:36-50

“Little is forgiven the one whose love is small.” We learn how an unnamed woman loves much and how Jesus shows his gratitude for her actions. She does not speak in this scene where she, Jesus, and Simon, a Pharisee are present in the home of the latter, Simon. It is a magnificent scene present in the other Gospels but not as beautifully and spiritually as we hear and read in Luke.

Simon invites Jesus to dine but is careless and inattentive to Jesus. He forgets to offer water to bathe his feet and remove the dust before dining. Hospitality is one of the greatest of customs and virtues in the Semitic world and to forget the ordinary rituals is a sign that something was not right. Fortunately, an unnamed woman somehow enters the home of Simon and performs the washing of Jesus feet with her tears, the drying of them with her hair and then anoints them with a precious perfume or oil. Jesus then takes this loving action on her part as a moment for teaching Simon an important lesson. As usual, Jesus does this through a parable that underlines forgiveness. Simon interprets the parable correctly and probably improved on his hospitality the next time he invited a guest.

Simon also is thinking and judging both the woman and Jesus. She is judged a sinner and Jesus should know this if he is a true prophet like Moses has predicted. Jesus knows the inner moving of the heart of Simon and that of the woman, therefore, he uses the parable to bring home an important point. Jesus says to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” He experiences her love and her trust in him so he shows his gratitude by these divine like words for only God can forgive! The woman had perfect love for him and had no fear of doing what she did in a home in which she was not invited. Simon, on the other hand, may not have sinned but lacked the great and expected virtue of a warmth of welcome.

We often hear of people who do not thank others for gifts or kind words. This is similar to the lack of hospitality that Jesus experienced from Simon. Maybe they never received this gift of gratitude from their own parents and carry this inappropriate behavior in their dealings with people who do something good for them but do not receive a thank you.

Jesus expresses his love for her by saying, “Your faith has been your salvation. Now go in peace.” She had done what was necessary and would not need further embarrassment from the other guests so when Jesus says to her, “Go in peace” this means that she may leave; her great act of hospitality has been done.

Is it not interesting to hear that Jesus did not say her love is what saves her, but her faith? She already had great love for Jesus and does not love because she has been forgiven; she is forgiven through her confidence and faith that Jesus would accept her and he did. Though unnamed she is forever remembered in our Scriptures and in our own hearts whenever this Gospel is read or proclaimed. Jesus has done this for us in memory of her. Amen.

Scripture: Lectionary # 639. September 15, Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows:

Hebrews 5:7-9. Psalm 31:2-3.3-4.5-6.15-16.20. John 19:25-28 or Luke 2:33-35

The two passages from the Gospels of Luke are always associated with the celebration of this feast. However, the scene at the foot of the Cross is the mystery of Jesus that associates her with profound sorrow as he is dying on the Cross. Simeon’s words recorded by Luke are a shadow or foretelling of the great tragedy of Calvary so clearly expressed in John with Mary and the Beloved Disciple standing next to each other at the foot of the Cross.

One of the doctoral students at the International Marian Research Institute here on the campus of the University of Dayton has researched this text of John and as a Servite he is proving and reclaiming that this is the center of the devotion and feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Our feast has a long tradition going back to the seven Servites who were the founders and first members of the Servants of Mary (O.S.M.). It is they who have handed down this devotion and commemoration in the liturgy. Churches and shrines dedicated to the Sorrowful Mother are in existence because of the Servites.

Five of the seven sorrows are directly taken from the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John while the other two are from our living and faithful traditions about Mary in the life of her son. Scripture and Tradition go together in our celebration of this feast honoring Mary. It is fitting that it also occurs on the day after the feast of the Exaltation of Jesus upon the Cross.

Here are the seven sorrows of Mary with their corresponding references:

1. Simeon’s foretelling of the heart of Mary being pierced by a sword (Luke 2:33-35).

2. The flight of the holy family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-18).

3. The loss of the child Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:41-52).

4. The Fourth Station of the Cross: Jesus meets his mother on the way to Calvary ( Tradition and devotion).

5. Jesus dies on the Cross (John 19:25-28).

6. Mary receives the body of Jesus taken from the Cross (the Pieta in St. Peter’s, art and sculpture).

7. Jesus is placed in the tomb ( our Creed, all four Gospels have the burial of Jesus)

There is a great Hymn called a Sequence that is attached to the celebration in the readings. It is also centered on the scene at the foot of the Cross and is called the “Stabat Mater” the mother is standing there. For us it can be prayed and meditated upon since it does enter into the feelings of the Mother of Jesus and expresses them so well in a poetic Latin. The translations in English are very good. Amen.