Luke 7:39
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner."
If you go on social media accounts like Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter, you will often find posts where people are judging things that they know little about. We all have opinions but are they informed opinions? Are the criticisms fair or do they leak into personal attacks? I believe many of us have either read these commentaries or have even posted some ourselves.
Today we find Jesus dining with a Pharisee and many others, including a woman who is deemed a sinner in the eyes of the Pharisee. Jesus, in his divinity, picks up on the thoughts of the Pharisee named Simon, and confronts him about his judging her. She doesn't have much, she humbles herself by washing Jesus's feet with ointment, her hair and her tears. Simon, the host, didn't offer any comforts to Jesus. While Jesus doesn't want or need any of this affection, he does point out to Simon that this girl, the sinner, went out of her way to show him love and belief. Meanwhile, there's Simon, questioning in his heart who Jesus really is and why he lets this sinner even touch him. We all would love to be like the woman, who shows undying love and faith. There are times in our lives when we do that. But more often, we are more like Simon, who questions Jesus and judges those around us. Pray today for the grace to be nonjudgmental, and instead love and respect everyone, no matter what their occupation, family situation, race, political stance or any other station in life.
