NO one is ever late for God’s mercy and forgiveness. This contention is what Pope Francis has always reflected on in all his actions and words, especially in promulgating 2016 as a Year of Mercy.
This Sunday’s Gospel powerfully illustrates God’s mercy in the story of a woman who came to wipe Jesus’ feet with her tears and hair. When the Pharisee criticized Jesus for letting the sinful woman washed his feet, Jesus responded by telling and explaining to those around him a parable: “Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred day’s wages and the other fifty. Since they are unable to repay the debt, he forgave it both. Which of them will love him more? Simon replied, “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven. He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Then referring to how the sinful woman bathed and kissed his feet, Jesus said, “So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven because she has shown great love.”
Indeed, no matter how big or small our sins are, and however late we are in asking for God’s forgiveness and showing him our love, God’s love will always be the same—it surpasses all our sins.
Fr. Ron Rolheiser explains this theology of God’s mercy. He says:
“We need a theology that teaches us that God does not just give us one chance, but that every time we close a door, God opens another one for us. We need a theology that challenges us not to make mistakes, that takes sin seriously, but which tells us that when we do sin, when we do make mistakes, we are given the chance to take our place among the broken, among those whose lives are not perfect, the loved sinners, those for whom Christ came…We need a theology which tells us that a second, third, fourth, and fifth chance are just as valid as the first one. We need a theology that tells us that mistakes are not forever, that they are not even for a lifetime, that time and grace wash clean, that nothing is irrevocable.”
Bishops, priests, and seminarians in the past and the present may have a tendency to give more value to strict moral doctrines and rules, but the theology of God’s mercy has always been evident in the Gospel as in this Sunday’s Scriptures.
St. Paul conveys this theology of mercy in his Letters to the Galatians: “We know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law now one will be justified. (Gal 2:16)”
This theology of God’s love is mysterious. It does not mean that we don’t follow the rules of our faith. Rather, we see following the commandments of God as a manifestation of our faith and love for him. In other words, all our actions should reflect a genuine Christian faith and a configuration to the image of Jesus Christ, the Sacrament of God’s Mercy, par excellence!
* * *
From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1999-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of ImmAaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.
