11th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Originally delivered on June 17, 1989
Readings: Sm 12:7-10, 13, Gal 2:16, 19-21, Lk 7:36—8:3
We are sinners, but God is love. His love is the air we breathe. His forgiveness is the atmosphere in which we exist. That is what we learn from today’s scriptures. In the first reading, David, the king, is a sinner for having stolen another man’s wife. Additionally, he sent the woman’s husband, Uriah, off to battle so that the husband would be sure to be killed. And yet, we hear that the Lord forgave David after he admits his sin. From the Gospel, we hear that God forgives regardless of the greatness of the sin itself. It is through our very weakness that God’s mercy becomes even more obvious. Our task is, as sinners, is to welcome others with forgiveness and then to be agents of compassion and forgiveness of others, rather than their judges. As Paul reminds us, Jesus shows us that our faith in the power of His forgiveness will save us.
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