HOPE BRINGS JOY, LIBERATION BRINGS GREATER JOY.

ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR C.
(First reading: 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13)
(Second reading: Galatians 2:16, 19-21)
(Gospel: Luke 7:36-8:3)
June 17, 2007.

HOPE BRINGS JOY; LIBERATION
BRINGS GREATER JOY.

"A sinful woman began to bathe the
Lord's feet with her tears, wiped them
with her hair, kissed them, and anointed
them with perfumed oil". (Luke 7:38)

The woman in the gospel wanted to get close to Jesus because she was fully cognizant of her burdens and her misery. Her proximity to the Lord brought her joy and forgiveness; her burdens and miseries were removed. She was granted total and unconditional salvation.

The one who fails to recognize his own miseries cannot be freed of them, he will carry them indefinitely, he will be unable to find joy, he will live in permanent misery.

Those who live in permanent misery.
The evil-doers of the world (i.e. the powerful oppressor, the warmongers, the aggressors, those who dispossess their fellow human beings) cannot get close to the Lord because they fail to recognize their sinfulness, their evil deeds; they fail to see the need for forgiveness, they have nothing to ask of the Lord, they have nothing to be grateful for, they have nothing to be joyful about. They remain entrenched in their evil deeds, they are unable to see the hurt they cause to their fellow human beings.

What prevents the evil doers from seeing their sinfulness?
They are blinded by their own earthly power (military, economic or otherwise), they rejoice in such power and are grateful for it; therefore it becomes almost impossible for them to be grateful before God; it becomes impossible for them to rejoice in a God who stands for peace and mercy for all human beings.

Thus, there will no forgiveness nor salvation for the evil-doers until they acknowledge their crimes, until they stop destroying their fellow human beings, until they stop degrading the human race.

The attitude of Simon, the Pharisee of the gospel.
His attitude is very similar to that of the evil-doers of our present world who believe in their own "righteousness" (based on the rules of earthly power) and see no need to acknowledge nor seek the Lord's power for salvation.

Both the Pharisee and the evil-doers are convinced that their rule prevails over the grace of God.

For the woman in the gospel, the hope of salvation brought her joy, the salvation she received from Jesus brought her greater joy.