SAINT ROBERT BELLARMINE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little. 

The Pharisee in today’s Gospel is a curious seeker after truth. So he invites Jesus to his home to investigate who he really is. As he watches Jesus with this woman, he decides that Jesus must be a fraud. “If this man were a prophet,” he concludes, “he would know . . . that she is a sinner” (Luke 7:39). But no, Jesus must be blind.

But in fact, this Pharisee is the one who cannot see. He is blind, both to the holiness of his guest and to his own sin—and therefore he “loves little” (Luke 7:47).

We never hear what became of this Pharisee. Did his heart melt when Jesus rebuked him? Were his eyes opened? Did he turn to God in humble repentance? We just don’t know. What we do know is that every day God offers us a moment of grace similar to what he offered to this man.

So how will we respond to the holy presence of Jesus today?

It’s easy to experience the same blindness as this teacher of Israel, a blindness to the holiness of God and to the way our sins offend his holiness. We can think, Jesus understands. It doesn’t matter that I’m only going through the motions of praying. We might turn a blind eye to our sin and conclude, I’m a pretty good person. Jesus accepts me just the way I am. He’s not judging me for yelling at my spouse.

But when we think this way, we become even more blind. Worse, we miss the grace that Jesus offers us—the gift of loving and being loved by the all-holy God. As a result, our love for God can grow cold. But the converse is also true: the more we see the holiness of Jesus and the sin that lives in us, the more we will love Jesus.

This woman saw what nobody else saw: the holiness and worthiness of Jesus. Even more, she allowed his brightness to blaze into the shadows of her heart. Her tears of repentance were her gift of love back to her Lord. And she walked away from dinner made new.

What do you see when you look at Jesus? Open your eyes today.

“Jesus, help me to see how holy you are. Despite my sins, I love you, Lord.”

1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 28