DAILY- HOMILY

JUNE 17, 2007
11TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - C

2 SAMUEL 12:7-10, 13
Then Nathan said to David: "You are the man! Thus says the Lord God
of Israel: `I anointed you king of Israel. I rescued you from the
hand of Saul. I gave you your lord's house and your lord's wives for
your own. I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this
were not enough, I could count up for you still more. Why have you
spurned the Lord and done evil in his sight? You have cut down Uriah
the Hittite with the sword; you took his wife as your own, and him
you killed with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword
shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and
have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.' Then David said to
Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan answered David: "The
Lord on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die.

GALATIANS 2:16, 19-21
We, who know that a person is not justified by 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 no one will be justified. But if,
in seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be
sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? Of course not! But if I am
building up again those things that I tore down, then I show myself
to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, that I
might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no
longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh,
I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself
up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification
comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

LUKE 7:36 - 8:3
A Pharisee invited him to dine with him, and he entered the
Pharisee's house and reclined at table. Now there was a sinful woman
in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the
Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind
him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them
with the ointment. 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." Jesus said to him in reply, "Simon, I have something to say
to you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. "Two people were in debt to a
certain creditor; one owed five hundred days' wages and the other
owed fifty. Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it
for both. Which of them will love him more?" Simon said in
reply, "The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven." He said
to him, "You have judged rightly." Then he turned to the woman and
said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you
did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her
tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but
she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did
not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown
great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." He
said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." The others at table said to
themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" But he said to the
woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." Afterward he
journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and
proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him
were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and
infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone
out, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many
others who provided for them out of their resources.

REFLECTION
All of us can identify with God in his confrontation with King
David. The prophet Nathan makes known the views of God. God had
been good and generous to David. He was an unknown shepherd who was
raised up by the Lord to do great deeds. God saved David from the
hatred of Saul, anointed him King of Israel and provided generously
for his every need. All this and more the Lord did for David because
of his love for his anointed one. Instead of showing his gratitude
to God, he sinned grievously.

David had Uriah killed. He then took Uriah's wife who was already
carrying in her womb his own child. The Lord's response to all of
this is most understandable: "Why have you done this to me? How
could you be so ungrateful? Have I not given you everything and
spared your life?" God's generosity is repaid with the ingratitude
of David's sin.

Now if we seriously examine our own lives, we will have to admit that
there is a little or a lot of David living within each of us. Not
only have we felt the sting of ingratitude of other people we also
have inflicted its pain on others. At one time or another we have
acted ungratefully to the Lord who has given us life, to our parents
who have worked so hard for us to succeed in life and to our fellow-
workers. It is so easy for us to forget all that we have received
through the goodness of God and others. We are so easily caught up
in our own projects that all else is overlooked. At times we inflict
deep hurts on those who have loved us much. We break the hearts and
dash the hopes of those who most desire our good. Because of our
sinful ways, we cause God and others to ask us: "Why have you done
such a thing?"

All three of our readings today are taken up with broken promises and
the pain which follows. But more importantly, all three are about
the need to extend and accept forgiveness.

The first and often the hardest but most important step in the
forgiveness process is the recognition of having committed a wrong.
David simply says, "I have sinned against the Lord." The simplicity
of acknowledging his wrongdoing is matched by the simplicity of God's
forgiveness. God does not demand from him a litany of requirements.
There is no bringing up the past and re-examining the sin. David's
guilt is not going to be used by God as a weapon against him. The
old relationship will continue. There will be new life and not
death.

Like God's forgiveness of David, forgiveness of our sins produces new
life, a new relationship between us and God. Forgiveness of sins re-
establishes our relationship with God and brings a true peace which
cannot be taken from us. Now, how do we face our own sinfulness and
accept forgiveness? Unless we honestly confess our sins we miss out
on the miracle of God's mercy, the way Simon the Pharisee did.

Simon the Pharisee set himself up as a self-styled saint; but in fact
he was a sinner who needed to be forgiven for pride and a sense of
superiority. In the eyes of all the townsfolk, the woman in the
gospel was one of their worst sinners. But under the gaze of the
Lord, she became one of their greatest lovers.

We can't give up certain sinful ways which keep us in our
selfishness. Only the one who has the desire to change fundamentally
can experience the lasting peace and love of Christ. To break away
from our habitual sins is a hard task because sin is rooted in our
selfishness. It must have been hard for St. Paul and Mary Magdalene
to free themselves from their past lives. But once they surrendered
themselves to Christ, they received the strength and the power to
hold on their new life in Christ.

Are we going to treat Christ only as a guest as Simon the Pharisee
did or are we going to accept Jesus as our personal savior as the
woman did? If we decide to opt for Christ, then we have to give up
our present sinful life. We cannot ask Christ to be the guest of our
hearts and at the same time continue to live in our sinfulness. It
can happen that fear and guilt feelings prevent us from experiencing
the unconditional forgiveness of God. If such is the case, then try
to draw comfort from the way Jesus treated the woman in today's
gospel. Jesus did not accuse her of her immoral life. He simply
told her, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." This is what we
must realize, that no matter how bad we may be, God will not accuse
us or condemn us if we approach him with a contrite heart. He is a
God who is ever ready to forgive us and receive us back to Himself.

Forgiveness is not simply something we receive; we must also share it
with one another. Who are those individuals in our family, office or
neighborhood with whom we are not on good terms? Perhaps they have
hurt us deeply or slightly bruised our pride. No matter. They need
to be forgiven and we need to extend forgiveness.

The Lord's Prayer which we say so often carries some very important
words: "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against
us." These are not words to be said in a mindless way. They are to
be put into practice, not just occasionally, but every time the need
arises. If we do so, then the words of St. Paul will be ours as
well: "The life I live now is not my own but Christ living in me."

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray
.. for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
.. for the personal intentions of: E.M. Santiago
.. for the enlightenment, safety and Divine guidance of Marielle C.
Ramirez, and for the prayer intentions of her family, relatives and
friends. May the Lord Almighty bless and protect her in whichever
path she chooses to take.
.. for the good health of:
- Miss Sabina Sabina
- SSP employees
- Bangko Luzon Inc Employees
- Johnny dela Cruz, Jayson Valiente, Cindy Eduardo, Jonah
Magno, Jojo Santiago, Ros Tauschek. Jeramin Martiniano, Emerson
Lyndon Santiago and family, Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Gabad
- Mr. and Mrs. Eliezer T. Santiago
- Mr. and Mrs. Restituto Constantino
- Mrs. Ciriaco Santiago
- Ronnie and Mylene Constantino
.. for the healing and speedy recovery of:
- Lourdes Soliva
- Dodo Diama
.. for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Brandon Francis A. Dano
- Prayer Intention: George & Esperanza Lee
- Thanksgiving: Lita C. Tugade
- Wedding Anniversary: Dante & Mariza Ceñido
.. for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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