11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
2 Samuel 12:7-10,13 | Psalm 31:1-2,5,7,11 | Galatians 2:16,19-21 | Luke 7:36-8:3
I tell you that her sins, her many sins, must have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such great love. It is the man who is forgiven little who shows little love. (Luke 7:47)
That last line, taken literally, is actually quite troubling. We know that Christ redeemed us from all our sins, past, present and future. How can it be that those who lead holy lives, and therefore don’t have much to be forgiven, love God less than we who are inveterate sinners?
I think it’s because there’s an erroneous assumption in the question. It’s not that “earthly saints” have committed fewer sins. They probably commit as many sins as we do; most of those sins, like ours, are generally hidden from public view, in their depths of their (and our) hearts. After all, we seek forgiveness at the start of every mass for the transgressions not just in our public words and deeds, but also in our private thoughts and our unwitnessed failure to act as Christians.
What sets them apart is that:
- they recognize more of their sins than we do,
- they frequently and actively seek and accept the forgiveness of God that has already been offered to them, and
- they rejoice in their redemption by praising God and avoiding future transgressions to the best of their ability.
Most of us just confess a few sins at most twice a year during the communal penitential services at our parishes, and often quite reluctantly at that. More importantly, most of us hold back on the really serious sins, either because we’re too afraid to seek God’s forgiveness for the likes of fornication or bodily harm, or because we don’t even recognize them as sins to begin with, just like Simon the Pharisee in today’s Gospel.
Now the context of Jesus’ parable about the two debtors becomes clearer: It’s not that the 50-denarii debtor was otherwise lily-white, it’s that he was only forgiven that specific debt. Both debtors might still have to answer to other creditors, but the 500-denarii one just had a major burden lifted off his shoulders, and would therefore be in a better position to satisfy his other creditors. No wonder he’s more grateful!
✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞
Now let’s take that parable one step further: Imagine that the 50-denarii debtor, instead of going to his other creditors to similarly seek forgiveness (or at least work out an installment plan) decides to run away and hide from them. What has he bought himself? Just the eternal agony of constantly looking over his shoulder for the debt collectors on his heels.
So it is with us and our sins. Unless we come clean and accept God’s forgiveness that He’s been offering to us since the day we were born, we’ll be saddled with the burden of our trespasses till our dying day, always fearing the oncoming spectre of death and the accounting of our lives to follow. In the words of the beloved former parish priest of Holy Spirit Church, Fr. Louis Fossion: Stupid lah!
He was never one to mince words.
✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞
In short, the likes of Blessed Mother Teresa and Pope St. John Paul II may or may not have committed fewer sins in their lifetimes, but they almost certainly confessed far more of them, and thereby gained much greater joy in accepting God’s forgiveness for the entire lot.
Lord, help us to recognize the redemption for our sins that You’ve already purchased for us, to accept it with our hearts unburdened through confession, and to rejoice in the renewal of our bond of love with You. Amen.