Eleventh Week in ordinary Time year C

ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B

(17^TH JUNE 2007)

This is a very special gospel….. this incident, of the woman washing Jesus' feet and drying them with her hair…. is featured in every one of the four gospels….albeit in slightly different forms…….. whilst the gospels are strikingly similar in many places…… there are not that many incidents that are featured in each of the four gospels incuding Johns gospel, which is distinctly different from the gospels of Mark, luke and Matthew…….    what is also interesting is this…… it has been noted by one commentator…. that although this incident is featured in every one of the gospels, the writer of each gospel uses and adapts the incident differently to make different points………

in Luke’s gospel…..( Lk 7:36ff)   woman who has sinned greatly, and knows just how important it is to be forgiven ….shows enormous gratitude and devotion to jesus……

In Matthew….(Mt 26:6 ff)  the woman is not a sinner at all…. rather she is doing a deeply symbolic and prophetic action…. anointing him…  in preparation of his burial…. for this woman recognizes the significance of jesus and what he has come here to do…

In Mark (14: 1 ff) similarly, the woman’s actions are like that of a prophetess ! 

finally, John’s gospel (John 12:1 ff) names the woman…. it is Mary of Bethany…. along with  Martha and the raised-from-the dead Lazarus…….  in this version Mary appears to be unaware of the full significance of what she is doing… as an act of service, devotion and foreshadowing of what must come to Jesus: his suffering and death on the cross….

It has also been noted, that the only version of these incidents that is ever featured on the weekend cycle of readings… is today’s version… lukes… which portrays the woman as a sinner……..  // 

it is a shame that these other versions of the gospel incident are not also given voice regularly in the Sunday cycle of readings…….  , to remind us of the different roles that women played in Jesus group of followers….. and that many of the women who followed jesus were more attuned to his message than some of his apostles…….. disciples and followers of Jesus too…. and not all of them were notorious public sinners….any more than the men….

In any case…..This particular gospel of Luke (today/tonight) does reflect on sinfulness and forgiveness… and the sense of enormous gratitude it brings……. 

the reaction of the Pharisee who was hosting the dinner is interesting….. ‘if he knew what kind of a woman was touching him he should know that she is a sinner.’

It raises a really challenging thought in my mind……….how easy it is to be distracted……..   to look in the wrong direction…….   Jesus didn’t want the Pharisee to be spending his time trying to work out just how much of a sinner this person was who was anointing him….. rather…… this beautiful scene….    hopefully was an opportunity for those present… and ourselves here today….  to look inside ourselves and become aware of our sinfulness….. and… in a spiritual sense… fall at the feel of jesus…..    wash him with our tears of repentance……   anointing him the oil of gladness that he himself provides………… 

there are so many opportunities in this life for us to look inside ourselves….. but at times it can feel as if we would all be better off if we spent less time defending our righteousness and justification for who we are and what we do or don’t do…. or worse…..    pointing out the weaknesses and faults of others…. whilst of course failing to see the culpability in myself……… //  to “more profitably” spend the time looking at our own weaknesses and flaws……(not with the eyes of condemnation or rejection…..…but with the eyes of love that Jesus sees us with… so that we might be healed and strengthened and given the grace to grow in love and compassion….. and go beyond our faults and weaknesses….. growing more and more into the image of Christ that Jesus invites us to become….