11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C, Year I)
Community Word: Sharing God’s word and His love brings newness of life.
Theme: Forgiving others and ourselves brings newness of life.
Promise: “… the Lord on his part has forgiven your sin, you shall not die.” (2 Sam 12:13)
Reflection:
As members of Bukas Loob sa Diyos Covenant Community, we have had the opportunity to take part in a Life in the Spirit Seminar (LSS). The LSS is a gathering of seekers who undergo spiritual transformation, sometimes with dramatic experiences, through a mighty anointing of the Hoy Spirit. This empowers them to leave behind a life of darkness and begin a new life in Jesus Christ.
A major component of this Life in the Spirit Seminar is to come to terms with the hurts and painful memories of the past by forgiving those who may have been the cause, including ourselves. Forgiveness washes clean the bitterness, resentment and anger we harbor in our hearts. It sets us free from the burdens of the past; releasing us to make a fresh start. This is our theme for the week: Forgiving others and ourselves brings newness of life.
We are all sinners, lambs and shepherds alike. But out of His infinite love for us, the Lord sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our redemption. Jesus forgives readily and unconditionally, as He did the woman of ill repute in the gospel. “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” (Rom 5:20)
In this Sunday’s gospel, a woman comes uninvited to the house of a Pharisee and begins to wash Jesus’s feet with her tears and dry them with her hair. On seeing this, Simon, the host, thinks to himself that if Jesus were a prophet, He would know who it was that was touching Him. No words come from the woman’s lips, but her actions speak for her. And Jesus, using a parable, demonstrates her deep repentance and love.
Our Lord forgives the woman quickly and unconditionally. He does not judge her by her past but looks simply at her present. He sees in her action, a deep remorse and the desire to change. For Him, it is sufficient. “Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed,” (CCC 1431). Seeing this radical reorientation in her heart, He says to her, “Your faith has saved you; go now in peace,” (Luke 7:50). The woman is reborn with a new lease on life. When we live in the freedom of forgiveness, we no longer live for ourselves but Jesus who lives in us.
Forgiveness and love always go together. We cannot forgive unless we love and we cannot love unless we forgive. “So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven because she has shown great love,” (Luke 7:47). Jesus’ death on the cross is the ultimate example, dying as He did for sins He did not commit and giving His unqualified forgiveness to us who committed and continue to commit sin. Without love, forgiveness stops flowing. It is almost humanly impossible to forgive, let alone love those who have hurt us. Our human instinct tells us to retaliate with vengeance. “…eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,” (Exodus 21:24).
But Jesus changed all the rules. By dying on the cross for us, He showed us how to love with forgiveness and how to forgive with love. The Lord has forgiven our sins, so it is our turn to forgive others. In the only prayer that Jesus taught us, this message was loud and clear, “…forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” By the grace we have received, forgiveness is to be given freely with joy and sincerity. It should not be given reluctantly, or resentfully. This is the norm we should follow as followers of Jesus and as members of the BLD Community.
Practice makes perfect. The more we love each day, the more open we are to forgive. The more we forgive, the easier it is for us to love. In the case of the sinful woman, much was forgiven because she had loved much. Conversely, she loved much because much had been forgiven her. As we mature in Community, let us practice more of forgiveness and love, then we can claim the Lord’s promise “… the Lord on his part has forgiven your sin, you shall not die,” (2 Sam 12:13).
Prayer
Lord, forgiving the person/s who have hurt me is extremely difficult for me to do. But by Your grace, You make it possible for me to release forgiveness. You make it possible for me to love. Help me to forgive and love others more and more each day. I want to be released from the bondage of unforgiveness. Take away the bitterness, resentment and anger that lie buried in my heart and replace them with Your love and grace. I want to be free to be a new person once again so I will no longer live for myself but for You who lives in me. In Jesus mighty name I pray, Amen.
Reflection Questions:
Think of that one person whom you haven’t forgiven after so many years you’ve been in the BLD Community.
• Are you ready to release forgiveness upon that person now, as the Lord wants you to? Pray about it and allow the Holy Spirit to pour forth the grace into your heart.
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
June 16, 2013 (Sun) 2Sm 12:7-10,13/Ps 32:1,2,5,7,11/Gal 2:16,19-21/Lk 7:36-8:3
or Lk 7:36-50
June 17, 2013 (Mon) 2Cor 6:1-10/Ps 98:1-4/Mt 5:38-42
June 18, 2013 (Tues) 2Cor 8:1-9/Ps 146:2,5-9/Mt 5:43-48
June 19, 2013 (Wed) 2Cor 9:6-11/Ps 112:1-4,98/Mt 6:1-6,16-18
June 20, 2013 (Thur) 2Cor 11:1-11/Ps 111:1-4,7,8/Mt 6:7-15
June 21, 2013 (Fri) 2Cor 11:15,21-30/Ps 34:2-7/Mt 6:19-23
June 22, 2013 (Sat) 2Cor 12:1-10/Ps 34:8-13/Mt 6:24-34
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
