Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

As we continue walking with the Lord in this 24th week of time, we encounter two excellent readings today. The first is from the first letter of St. Paul to Timothy, which we have been reading now for almost a week (with a few interruptions). 1 Timothy is a practical letter, and today’s excerpt contains some practical advice that is still relevant for us today. Paul instructs the readers to “set an example.” Actions are often more powerful than words, and sometimes the best persuasion of the goodness of Christianity is the example of Christian believers.

The gospel reading contains a more dramatic passage from Luke. Here we find the story of the unnamed woman who bathes Jesus’ feet with tears and anoints him with costly ointment. The theme of this passage is one of repentance, since this woman is described as a “sinner.” It is not as though this woman is part of a Jesus “fan club” and just likes to follow him around to share in his glory. Rather, she is a woman who has become aware of her sinfulness and desires to return to God with her whole heart. She is motivated by a love of Jesus. This love enables her to see how far she has been from God, and, rather than making her want to hide in shame, her love allows her to embrace her own humility, her own humanness, and reach out for the man who is also God.
 
When we read this gospel passage alongside 1 Timothy, we can expand our understanding of what it means to set an example. It is not merely about living a good and upright life; the Christian journey is not some secular virtue quest. Rather, it all begins with the recognition that we are not God, and that we constantly fall short of God’s will for our lives. But if our love for God can lead us to this first realization, it can also lead us to the more important realization, namely, that God is moved to compassion by us. If we can repent like this unnamed woman, God will forgive us our sins. If we can recognize ourselves as debtors, we will find our debt forgiven by the grace of God.

 
In the first reading, Paul uses the word “gift,” saying “do not neglect the gift you have been given” (1 Tm 4:14). Jesus’ forgiveness of the woman is a gift, as are the sacraments that we receive, including Holy Orders (for priests) and Matrimony. When we are anxious to set an example, we must not let it lead us to arrogance. Rather we recognize that we can only set an example when we receive the Christian life as a gift. When we see ourselves as sinners, we can receive forgiveness, and this is an important way of “attending to ourselves” as Paul describes it (1 Tm 4:16).
 
Today, take some time to do an examination of conscience. Attend to your own sinfulness, however painful or unpleasant that might be. If you have the opportunity sometime soon, seek out the sacrament of Confession. Let us always remember that setting an example of the Christian life begins with our own repentance and reliance on God’s grace. If we love him enough to change our lives, then God will give us the grace to make it possible. Then we will be setting an example for other believers and unbelievers as well.