Scripture Reflection, June 13: About Saints and Sinners

Scripture Readings:
2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13
Psalm 32
Galather 2:16, 19-21
Lk 7:36—8:3

Over the past month, I’ve been utilizing my newly acquired English degree working in food service and retail. The part-time jobs are rather repetitive and low key, often leaving me exhausted after being on my feet all day and eager to find ways to spice up the daily grind. After reading through this week’s Gospel, however, I’ve been reinvigorated to see the multiple opportunities I have to serve. To really serve. Not just from natural motives of wanting to please the boss or do a good job at work, but rather from supernatural motives which force me to view each customer or fellow employee or manager as another Christ…

The Gospel reading recounts the moment in which Mary Magdalene anointed Jesus’ feet at the Pharisee’s house. Unwilling to acknowledge Mary’s compassion, the Pharisee judicially condemns her to Jesus, asking if he is unaware of her status as a major sinner. Jesus, in all his gentleness and goodness, defends Mary Magdalene by saying that she has shown greater love in her seemingly extravagant act of anointing his feet with a fancy perfume than the Pharisee has throughout Jesus’ entire visit. Clearly, Jesus isn’t merely valuing social etiquette but rather the deep affection and love Mary Magdalene’s humble gesture reveals. Her unabashed proclamation of faith and trust in the Lord outweighs the gravity of her past sins and Jesus forgives her entirely. Rejecting any possible temptations to despair and grieve excessively over her transgressions, she rests at the feet of Christ and honors him.

In our daily lives, we fall and make mistakes. We’re all sinners. But the difference between saints and sinners seems to lie in the way these two groups of people handle the failures in their relationship with God: if they run to our Lord’s feet to ask for mercy and strength to continue the good fight, or if they stand back self-righteously on the sidelines and tear down others, instead of building them up. Repeatedly through Scripture Christ reminds us that love covers a multitude of sins and that we must express our love for God through our care for others. While all of us may not be called to outwardly radical lives of service, we are all called to treat each person as we would Christ. Just as Mary Magdalene gave of herself generously to Christ, so must we also give of ourselves to the people God has put in our lives. In my own life, I can embrace the call to love more fully by seizing every opportunity in my everyday work to spread peace, anticipate others’ needs and wishes, preserve the good name of others, and suffer silently through daily disappointments or setbacks while maintaining a certain cheerful tranquility. A truly kind heart motivated by a deep love for God is almost unmistakable. It sees life through the lens of faith, where struggles are actually gifts we can present to the Lord, and self-sacrifice is a painful but liberating path to closer intimacy with Christ. On those days where I struggle to muster up enthusiasm to wash yet another round of dishes or wade through piles of clothing to find the perfect size for a customer or when I don’t think I can walk anymore because my feet are aching for a deep-tissue massage, I must remind myself that these simple tasks can be transformed into acts of great love if done obligingly with a smile.

Patty Kaczmarek

(Patty is a 2008 CoC alumna and a recent graduate from University of Richmond, VA)

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