Today’s question is a very old one. It’s this: which came first, the chicken or the egg? I suppose if you’re a strict creationist, you’d say the chicken. God created chickens who then laid eggs. If you’re an evolutionist, perhaps you’d opt for a mutated egg, one which was laid by some prehistoric lizard; an egg which then developed into the first chicken. But today’s homily will not be about creationism or evolution; nor about chickens and eggs.
Instead I have another question which is more related to today’s readings. It’s this: which comes first … “love” or “forgiveness?” Must we love someone before we can forgive them? Do we love because we are forgiven by someone and willing to do what we know should be done? All three of today’s readings deal with love and forgiveness. They also involve something called “sin,” a rupture of relationships. And of course, sinners.
The first reading from Second Samuel tells us about a very great sinner: King David, the first king of the twelve united tribes of Israel and of Judah. We usually don’t think of David as a sinner. Usually, we see him as the great leader of the Israelites and as the founder of the royal house which culminates in Jesus. Yet King David was a great sinner. He was reminded of this fact by Nathan, the Lord’s prophet, in today’s reading. Nathan, on behalf of the Lord God, took David to task for the adultery he committed with Bathsheba and the role David had in the murder of her husband, Uriah. We heard how David then fully admitted: “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan’s reply: “The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin.”
Yes, the Lord God is willing to forgive both adultery and murder when the sinner truly repents, truly changes his ways and becomes what he was destined to be: the founder of the linage which would lead to the Messiah, the Savior of everyone.
Saint Paul tells us about another great sinner: himself. We sometimes put aside the facts we first heard about Paul, who at the time was called Saul of Tarsus. Saul who was present at the assassination of Stephen, one of the first deacons of the Church. Saul who persecuted the Christian followers of Christ, until he too, repented — he too, radically changed his ways and followed the path of the disciples he once put to death.
In today’s letter to the Galatians, we hear Paul state: “I have been crucified with Christ, yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.”
Our third sinner is a woman found in a story told by Luke. We heard how she entered the home of Simon, a pharisee, to encounter Jesus. Simon had invited Jesus to dine with him. No doubt to question him. To determine if this man called Jesus was what others claimed him to be: a prophet of God, one who preached about the coming Kingdom of God.
Simon certainly had not treated Jesus like a prophet. He had not anointed his head with oil. He had not offered the hospitality of water to bathe his feet. Simon had not even given his guest a welcoming kiss. Yet an unnamed woman, who was, however, widely known as a sinner — although we, ourselves, do not know the nature of her sins — this woman entered, unannounced, and washed the feet of Jesus with her own tears; dried them with her hair; and covered them with perfumed ointment. She, not the host, had given him the honor due to a prophet.
In the meantime, as was so often his custom, Jesus told a story to the pharisee and asked him a question. Jesus spoke about two men who owed varying amounts to a creditor who forgave the loans. Jesus then asked the pharisee which man would love the creditor more. Simon replied that the one with the larger debt would have the greater love. It was then that Jesus forgave the women sitting at his feet. He forgave her of her sins, saying: “Your faith has saved you, go in peace.”
Which brings me back to my questions about love and forgiveness.
● Did the Lord God forgive David of his sins because he loved David? Did David love the Lord God more, because his sins were forgiven?
● Did Christ forgive Paul of his sins because he loved Paul? Did Paul love Jesus the Christ more, because his sins were forgiven?
● Did the creditor forgive the debtors because he loved them? Did they love the creditor more, because their debts were forgiven?
● Did Jesus forgive the weeping woman because he loved her? Did she love him more, because he forgave her of her sins?
These questions arising from our scriptural readings from the past also bring up certain questions relevant to our lives in the present. Questions such as:
● Does love come before forgiveness?
● Is it because we love first, that we are able to forgive?
● Can you forgive someone you do not love?
● Can we forgive someone without loving the person?
● Must I learn how to love in order to forgive?
These are questions I cannot answer for you. They are questions each of us needs to answer from our own, individual hearts. In the meantime we may also need to consider two other matters. The matter of trust. And the matter of faith: a belief held without measurable proof.
Do we trust that a person is truly repentant and willing to change and, therefore, should be forgiven? Or is there a condition demanded before forgiveness is given? Then again, perhaps forgiveness is a foundation for the changes to come.
Once forgiven, are King David and Saint Paul able to radically change their ways to fulfill their destinies? Will the weeping woman now be able to set aside her former life, her previous behaviors, in order to follow Jesus? Do we trust that a person can change and so offer our forgiveness even before the change is evident? Or must a person earn our trust before forgiveness is given? Do groups of people need to demonstrate a change in behavior before forgiveness is granted; before amnesty is granted? Must a nation of people demonstrate a willingness to change before peace can be found?
Today we celebrate a national event called “Father’s Day.” It is a day dedicated to love and honor the men in our lives who have guided and protected us. Those men who love us and whom we love. Those men who forgive us and whom we, too, are to forgive.
Yes, today is a day for both love and forgiveness. Perhaps, it is also a day not to ask which comes first, love or forgiveness, but rather a day to realize that both are absolutely necessary if there is to be peace in our individual lives and in our community lives. Perhaps it is a day to bind together love and forgiveness, forgiveness and love. Perhaps it is a day to link trust and faith together with love and forgiveness. Perhaps it is a day to ponder the meaning of unconditional love and conditional love. Perhaps it is also a day to recall the words spoken by Jesus to a repentant woman so long ago: “Your faith has saved you, go in peace.”
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time; June 17, 2007
2 Sam12:7-10, 13; Gal 2:16, 19-21; Lk 7:36-8:3