Daily Gospel Reflection
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September 19, 2019
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.
Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
“Teacher,” he replied, “speak.”
“A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
When I read today’s Gospel, I find myself wondering how most of us would react if we found ourselves in the place of Simon, the Pharisee who invites Jesus to his home for a meal. I think that if I had the opportunity to dine with Jesus, I would have a very specific plan for how the gathering would go. This almost certainly would not include an uninvited guest crashing the party and waiting on my guest of honor. For that reason, I think that Simon’s initial reaction to the woman’s actions is quite understandable. I too would probably mutter something to myself, frustrated that Jesus’s attention seems to have been shifted away from what I had prepared for him.
However, Jesus never loses sight of Simon, or any of us for that matter. Even if we do not intend to address him, he hears all of our thoughts and speech. In fact, he addresses us all by name, like Simon, telling us, “I have something to say to you.” We are not all as fortunate as Simon to have those words physically spoken to us by Jesus, but they are always there, whether through another human being, our conscience, the sacraments, or any other number of ways that Jesus enters into our lives. Like Simon, we are faced with how to respond. In Simon’s case, I think it would be pretty easy to react to Jesus’s invitation with annoyance or resentment, but instead he simply replies, “Teacher, speak.” This humble response is one that I know I do not embrace often enough. Jesus wants to meet us where we are, whether we are like Simon or the woman in this Gospel, but we must be willing to allow him into our lives.
Prayer
Accept the desire of our hearts, O Lord, our God, to lavish care and concern on the weary and suffering members of your body this day. May we anoint them with a compassion that wells up from hearts made joyful by the release you have gained for us from debts and trespasses. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Saint of the Day
St. Januarius was a bishop who gave his life with his friends during a Christian persecution in the Roman empire. He is a best known for a recurring miracle that involves his relics.
Two deacons and a layman were imprisoned after confessing their Christian faith. Januarius was good friends with one of the deacons, and he visited his friend in prison. Guards noticed, and he was arrested, along with another deacon and a layperson.
Januarius and his companions were all beaten, and made to wear iron chains and march in front of the governor’s chariot. They were thrown into jail with the friends Januarius had originally visited.
The group of Christians were condemned to die by being thrown into an arena with wild beasts, but when this was carried out, the beasts could not be enticed to attack. They were sentenced to beheading instead.
This account of Januarius and his companions comes down to us from tradition, and it is difficult to know if it can be trusted. Best guesses indicate he died sometime around 305; the saint seems to have been honored from the fifth century and after.
There is a unique veneration of Januarius’ relics in Naples, where he was bishop. A vial of the saint’s dried blood stands in a reliquary in a church dedicated to him. Several times a year, on dates that correspond to events in the saint’s life and death, people observe the blood in that vial to liquefy, sometimes coming to froth and increase in volume. It is a miracle that has been examined carefully and no explanation has been found. In 2015, the blood liquified when Pope Francis made a visit, which was rare because it occurred outside of one of these special feast days.
Relics of St. Januarius rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Januarius, you are the martyr with miraculous relics who died for your friends and your faith, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Januarius is in the public domain. Last accessed April 2, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
