11th Sunday, June 13 2010
Have the mind and heart of God!
Father’s day Celebration!
Once a father was trying to teach his young son the evils of alcohol!
He put one worm in a glass of water and another worm in a glass of whiskey. The worm in the water lived, while the one in the whiskey curled up and died.
"All right, son," asked the father, "what does that show you?"
"Well, Dad, it shows that if you drink alcohol, you will not have worms in your stomach."
Interesting answer! Father was trying to teach the child a good lesson but the child took a wrong message.
The child fails to understand the mind and heart of father.
We have the stories of people in today’s first and the gospel passages who fail to comprehend the mind and heart of God.
Let us look at the first reading; here we have King David chosen by God to be the King of Israel and his representative before the people. However, David sins against God by committing adultery and to cover up this sin he commits murder. God sees all the sin and weakness and send the Prophet who tells David of the divine anger for the sin he has committed. He refers to the many favors God had done to him and yet the king had failed to understand the mind and heart of God. He tells him that he will be punished for the sins committed by him. At this juncture David realizes his fault and confesses that he has sinned against God. Even though he shows his weakness he also shows his faith and God forgives him. The prophet informs him that his life will be spared and God will not punish him and we learn about the infinite mercy of God and the weakness of human nature even of a person who has a high status in society and God has placed him over his people. At the same time we learn that if an individual sincerely repents of his sins, God can and will forgive him of all his sins. God always seeks to call us back to faithfulness and fidelity to Him. Such is manifested by the grace of God. Without it, we could never repent and reconcile with God when we sin. By seeking forgiveness of and confessing sins led him to take on the mind and hear of god. One thing very striking in the Gospel of today is that Jesus neither judged, nor rebuked the woman as the Pharisee expected. Instead, He welcomed her. This approach goes against the ways of the world; we are asked to model love instead of judging, to welcome instead of rejecting. Those who come in contact with Jesus, they manifest one of two behaviors; they are either attracted to Him or repelled by Him. If they are like Simon, they appear to be doing good deeds in order to gain respect, honor, fame or wealth. These persons shun the company of sinners like prisoners, beggars, prostitutes, etc… By doing so, they neglect to give sinners the help that they need to find healing and wholeness. We see the opposing attitudes of Simon and the woman clearly shows that we can either accept or reject the mercy of God. Simon viewed himself as an upright Pharisee, displaying an attitude of having no need for love or mercy. His self-sufficiency prevented him from acknowledging his need for the grace of God.
Simon the host of the meal is shocked by all this and concludes that certainly Jesus could not be a prophet to allow such behavior to go unchecked. While Simon silently condemns Jesus the Master proves Himself to be a prophet by reading the secret thoughts of Simon. Jesus cleverly tells a riddle that actually describes what had just happened at the meal but no one catches on. He presents the parable of the two unequal debtors to Simon before the entire audience, asking him, who is master’s beloved when both are forgiven. Simon answers correctly indicating the higher value of the exemption. Then Jesus turns the table by pointing out how Simon had failed in the common gesture of hospitality while the woman carried them out perfectly. There comes the greatest shock of all. Jesus proclaims that the woman’s sins are already forgiven even before she had come in. Jesus says: “Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven as she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” The verse “She has shown great love” has been a classic text for showing that perfect charity has the power of forgiving sins. Jesus shows that in our life, love and forgiveness is closely associated. The woman loved Jesus because her sins were forgiven, not that “she was forgiven because she loved Jesus.” Jesus makes it clear that great love springs from a heart that is forgiven and cleansed. The woman took on the mind and heart of God but the Pharisees and Simon who hosted the meal for Jesus fail to appreciate and understand mind of God.
Three reflections! 1. Be an example for others, never cause a scandal, you actions speak louder than words.
2. Be a person of having the mind and heart of God
3. Seek forgiveness from God for our sins for this is a hindrance for God’s grace.
During this mass let us continue to pray for the mind and heart of God. Amen
