The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to seek the guidance of the Spirit as we work to heal the divisions between people in our environment that impede our fullness of life.
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians proclaims the kerygma of the Resurrection of Christ.
* [15:1–11] Paul recalls the tradition (1 Cor 15:3–7), which he can presuppose as common ground and which provides a starting point for his argument. This is the fundamental content of all Christian preaching and belief (1 Cor 15:1–2, 11).
* [15:3–7] The language by which Paul expresses the essence of the “gospel” (1 Cor 15:1) is not his own but is drawn from older credal formulas. This credo highlights Jesus’ death for our sins (confirmed by his burial) and Jesus’ resurrection (confirmed by his appearances) and presents both of them as fulfillment of prophecy. In accordance with the scriptures: conformity of Jesus’ passion with the scriptures is asserted in Mt 16:1; Lk 24:25–27, 32, 44–46. Application of some Old Testament texts (Ps 2:7; 16:8–11) to his resurrection is illustrated by Acts 2:27–31; 13:29–39; and Is 52:13–53:12 and Hos 6:2 may also have been envisaged.
* [15:9–11] A persecutor may have appeared disqualified (ouk…hikanos) from apostleship, but in fact God’s grace has qualified him. Cf. the remarks in 2 Corinthians about his qualifications (2 Cor 2:16; 3:5) and his greater labors (2 Cor 11:23). These verses are parenthetical, but a nerve has been touched (the references to his abnormal birth and his activity as a persecutor may echo taunts from Paul’s opponents), and he is instinctively moved to self-defense. (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 118 is a Song of Victory.
* [Psalm 118] A thanksgiving liturgy accompanying a procession of the king and the people into the Temple precincts. After an invocation in the form of a litany (Ps 118:1–4), the psalmist (very likely speaking in the name of the community) describes how the people confidently implored God’s help (Ps 118:5–9) when hostile peoples threatened its life (Ps 118:10–14); vividly God’s rescue is recounted (Ps 118:15–18). Then follows a possible dialogue at the Temple gates between the priests and the psalmist as the latter enters to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice (Ps 118:19–25). Finally, the priests impart their blessing (Ps 118:26–27), and the psalmist sings in gratitude (Ps 118:28–29). (Psalms, PSALM 118 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus forgives a Sinful Woman.
* [7:36–50] In this story of the pardoning of the sinful woman Luke presents two different reactions to the ministry of Jesus. A Pharisee, suspecting Jesus to be a prophet, invites Jesus to a festive banquet in his house, but the Pharisee’s self-righteousness leads to little forgiveness by God and consequently little love shown toward Jesus. The sinful woman, on the other hand, manifests a faith in God (Lk 7:50) that has led her to seek forgiveness for her sins, and because so much was forgiven, she now overwhelms Jesus with her display of love; cf. the similar contrast in attitudes in Lk 18:9–14. The whole episode is a powerful lesson on the relation between forgiveness and love.
* [7:36] Reclined at table: the normal posture of guests at a banquet. Other oriental banquet customs alluded to in this story include the reception by the host with a kiss (Lk 7:45), washing the feet of the guests (Lk 7:44), and the anointing of the guests’ heads (Lk 7:46).
* [7:41] Days’ wages: one denarius is the normal daily wage of a laborer.
* [7:47] Her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love: literally, “her many sins have been forgiven, seeing that she has loved much.” That the woman’s sins have been forgiven is attested by the great love she shows toward Jesus. Her love is the consequence of her forgiveness. This is also the meaning demanded by the parable in Lk 7:41–43. (Luke, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)
Matthew Walsh, S.J. comments that in addition to forgiveness, which Jesus offers freely, there is another important lesson on hospitality.
Simon did not offer the hospitality that the woman did: she bathed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair; she anointed his feet with ointment and kissed his feet. Simon offered none of these. But there is another side to the coin of hospitality, namely that Jesus receives the love and care of the woman. He also assures her of the forgiveness of her sins. And so, we can see that this loving hospitality goes in both directions. The woman offers Jesus her hospitality; Jesus assures her that she is forgiven and loved by God. (Walsh, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus the Physician brings miraculous healing to the woman's sins,” by Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD).
"Healing the sick is a physician's glory. Our Lord did this to increase the disgrace of the Pharisee, who discredited the glory of our Physician. He worked signs in the streets, worked even greater signs once he entered the Pharisee's house than those that he had worked outside. In the streets, he healed sick bodies, but inside, he healed sick souls. Outside, he had given life to the death of Lazarus. Inside, he gave life to the death of the sinful woman. He restored the living soul to a dead body that it had left, and he drove off the deadly sin from a sinful woman in whom it dwelt. That blind Pharisee, for whom wonders were not enough, discredited the common things he saw because of the wondrous things he failed to see." (excerpt from HOMILY ON OUR LORD 42.2) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 comments that God’s grace was, for Paul, also an experience of his mercy and love. Jesus didn’t condemn Paul for his sins. He led him to repentance and gave him new understanding. In changing Paul, Jesus didn’t turn him into a robot with no free will. Neither did he erase Paul’s personality. Rather, he loved Paul as God had created him. And out of that love, he redeemed him and made him a son of God. Paul went on to use his gifts and talents, his temperament, and even his weaknesses to build God’s kingdom.
So Paul’s testimony is credible. By the grace of God you are what you are, he tells you: a beloved child of God. That grace is powerful and effective; it fills you with God’s love and mercy. It has changed you, and it is still changing you today.
Rejoice! God has made you his own!
“By your grace, O God, I am what I am. Thank you!” (Meditation on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes that the Greek audience to which Paul writes is not comfortable with the resurrection of a physical body when their philosophy considers the spiritual world to be pure and the material world to be corrupt. The citing of hundreds of witnesses to Jesus Resurrection is a gutsy proclamation. Friar Jude reminds us that the “saving” of the woman is not a matter of perfection but of being vulnerable to falling into self hatred and selfishness of sin.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces peace activist Father John Dear who describes nonviolence as an expression of who we are more than something we do. He names how the nonviolence exemplified by Jesus, Mohandas Gandhi, and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. can disarm our systems and world.
The visionary nonviolence taught by Gandhi and King flows from our disarmed hearts, from our inner depths, where we renounce our inner violence, let God disarm us and cultivate interior nonviolence, then moves us to practice meticulous interpersonal nonviolence with our families, neighbors, co-workers, communities, cities, nation, all creatures, and Mother Earth. As we face the structures of violence head on with the power of organized nonviolence, we build grassroots, bottom up, people-power movements to end tyranny and injustice and institutionalize nonviolent democracy and social, economic, racial, and environmental justice. When organized on large national and global levels, active nonviolence can peacefully transform entire societies, even the world, as Gandhi demonstrated in India’s revolution, as the civil rights movement showed, as the growing women’s, LGBTQ, and environmental movements demonstrate, as the People Power movement showed in the Philippines, and as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the churches of South Africa showed against apartheid. Gandhi said that nonviolence, when it is harnessed, becomes contagious and can disarm the world. (Rohr, n.d.)
We ponder the structures of division in our society and gratefully receive the prompting of the Spirit to move us toward compassion, mercy, acceptance, and love for the people we encounter on our journey.
References
Luke, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved September 19, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/7
Meditation on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved September 19, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/09/19/1076016/
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved September 19, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/15?1
Psalms, PSALM 118 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved September 19, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/118?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Transformative Nonviolence. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved September 19, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/transformative-nonviolence/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Which Will Love Him More? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved September 19, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=sep19
Walsh, M. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved September 19, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/091924.html
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