Wednesday in the 25th Week of Ordinary Time, September 23, 2026

Proverbs 30, 5-9

Every word of God is tried by fire; he is a shield to those who hope in him. Add not anything to his words, lest you be reproved and found a liar. Two things I have asked of thee; deny them not to me before I die. Remove far from me vanity and lying words. Give me neither beggary nor riches; give me only the things necessary for my sustenance, lest perhaps being filled, I should be tempted to deny, and say: Who is the Lord? or being compelled by poverty, I should steal, and forswear the name of my God.

I became confused and on Tuesday September 21 posted a reflection on the Gospel Reading for the following day and not for that day. Instead of posting a second reflection on that Gospel Reading, here is a reflection on the First Reading, from the Book of Proverbs. To add to the interest, the following is a translation from the commentary on Proverbs by Rabanus Maurus (780-856), a brilliant Frankish Benedictine monk who wrote many commentaries on the Scriptures, and whose feast day is celebrated on February 4. The translation of the Reading follows the text Rabanus used and so differs from the one used in the lectionary.

From the Commentary on The Book of Proverbs by Rabanus Maurus:

“Every word of God is tried by fire; he is a shield to those who hope in him.” The whole Church of Christ knows this, and those especially perceive it who, with God dwelling within them, despise the pride of earthly wisdom. For indeed every word of divine authority both kindles the hearts of the elect with the fire of charity, enlightens them with the knowledge of truth, consumes whatever stains of vice it finds in them, and defends those who hope in it from the snares of enemies and from every adversity.

But it must be considered more carefully that the particular force of the Greek expression πεπυρωμένον cannot be expressed in Latin by a single word. Hence it is sometimes translated “kindled,” and sometimes “tried by fire,” as in: “Your word is exceedingly kindled,” (Psalm 118:140) and: “Silver tried by fire” (Psalm 11:7). In Greek, however, both meanings are expressed by the single word πεπυρωμένον. There is also a verse of the Psalmist which closely resembles this saying of Solomon: “Every word of God is tried by fire; he is a shield to those who hope in him.” (πεπυρωμένα): “He is the protector of all who hope in him” (Psalm 17:31).

Πεπυρωμένον, therefore, signifies something that has been, as it were, purified by being melted in fire. For just as metals which have been melted in fire contain no foreign or useless impurity within themselves, but whatever remains in them is true, perfect, and cleansed of every stain, so too the word of the Lord, containing within itself the good things of eternity, remains pure.

Hence that saying of the Lord: “One jot, or one tittle, shall not pass from the law till all be fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:18). For all these things in the Scriptures are true, and, beyond every ambiguity, are refined by fire from the superfluity of emptiness.

“Add not anything to his words, lest you be reproved and found a liar.” Do not corrupt the words of the Holy Scriptures, as certain heretics are known to have done, lest they should be convicted by them.

“Two things I have asked of thee; deny them not to me before I die. Remove far from me vanity and lying words. Give me neither beggary nor riches; give me only the things necessary for my sustenance, etc.” These words the man with whom God is, still radiant with the fire of his word, now utters with his voice turned toward the Lord himself, beseeching that he may never prefer the vanity of this world or lying words to the truth of the heavenly Scriptures, nor again, through either abundance or want of passing things, fall into forgetfulness of eternal things.

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Key to understanding Rabanus’s point is that the Scriptures are both purified and purifying by the fiery love of God. The lectionary translation says merely that God’s word is “tested”, an inadequate rendering of either the Hebrew or the Greek. However, purified by the love of God the Scriptures do not simply sit inertly and perhaps inspire a soul here and there to live with greater zeal for God’s cause. Rather, “the word of God is living and effectual and more piercing than any two edged sword; and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow: and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). That is, as Rabanus points out, the word of God the word kindles, illumines, cleanses, and defends those who come to it with faith.

Wednesday in the 25th Week in Ordinary Time, September 23, 2026

Luke 9, 1-6

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.” Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

“Jesus summoned the Twelve.”  Luke phrases this very formally, as though a king or a general were summoning his emissaries for a mission.  Luke says “the Twelve” as though he were naming an official body of men.  The number seems important to him, and he is the Evangelist who informs us of how the Apostles added one to their membership after Judas hanged himself, thus preserving the number.  The Greeks to whom Luke was writing considered the number twelve a sign or even component of the cosmic order.  They recognized twelve constellations in the zodiac, counted twelve months in the lunar year, and worshipped the twelve gods of Olympus, who had overthrown their predecessors, the twelve Titans.  The number of the Apostles thus reflected for them the new cosmic order of the Gospel.

“And gave them power and authority.”  That is, the Lord shared his power with them; they did not possess power on their own, and the sharing lasted only for the duration of their mission.  He gave them both the power and the authority to use this power — he left its use to their discretion.  “Over all demons and to cure diseases.”  The demons possess varying levels of their own power according to their hierarchy.  The power and authority Jesus lends the Apostles takes in all of them.  These actions, exorcism and curing the sick, act as signs that God walks among men, that the kingdom of the devil is shattered, and for the forgiveness of sins.

“Take nothing for the journey.”  The Apostles are to go abroad as though they were fleeing from something, or fleeing to something.  They were hurrying without impediments just as a person drops everything he is holding in order to run and greet a long-lost loved one.  Nothing matters except seeing them again.  Their entering a town or village as travelers but without a staff, a second tunic, or sack would certainly have drawn people’s attention.  This kind of arrival would also contrast with the arrival of Pharisees or scribes, or any traveling preachers, who would attempt to impress the locals with their wealth, which would imply approbation.  The Apostles come as simple messengers.  “Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.”  The better off denizens of the place would vie with one another to house the Apostles when they saw them perform miracles, but the Apostles had come not for their own benefit but to announce Christ.  They were not to accept honors of any kind.

“And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.”  To shake the dust off from one’s feet amounted to declaring that one would never return to that place, or to write off the place.  The Apostles were to show this sign to a town where they were not welcomed, that is, if they came to a town and began to preach and they were told to leave.  There will always be people who will reject the Gospel no matter how well it is preached or how many miracles support it.

“Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.”  We see here the commitment of the Apostles.  They did not think of themselves merely as students of Jesus but as his messengers as well.  We should try to imagine how this looked, the Apostles tired and hungry from walking, arriving unannounced into a strange town with no money.  They might have begun to preach in the marketplace, announcing the coming of the kingdom of God and calling people to repent.  They probably lacked charisma and were not used to speaking in public, and they came without credentials — they were neither scribes nor Pharisees from Jerusalem.  They probably spoke of Jesus as the Messiah.  If they gained little hearing, they might have spotted a lame man lying in the shadows, or a child with a deformity, and then laid hands on them to cure them.  The man or child would have stood up healed instantly, and this would have caused a commotion, with a crowd surging around the Apostle to find out who he was.  Then the Apostle would have his audience.

You and I may not possess the power to cure, but we all have the power to perform charitable works.  These are the signs that will draw others to us.  May they see us and our good deeds and find Christ.

The Feast of St. Matthew, September 21, 2026

Matthew 9, 9-13

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

The Jews in the time of Jesus paid several different taxes: the Temple tax, which went to Jerusalem; the head tax, which the Roman authorities charged and which did not cost a lot, but which had to be paid in a coin bearing the likeness of the emperor.  Using a coin of this type reminded the people that they lived under a foreign thumb and it also smacked of idolatry.  Then there were the customs or toll taxes, paid on merchandise on its way to its destination.  The toll stations were set up in cities and at crossroads on the trade routes.  Wealthy men would bid for the appointment to these tolls stations.  Once appointed, they paid Rome the expected tax in advance and then recouped their costs through what they charged the merchants who had to pay it.  There might be several toll stations along any given trade route.  Of course, the opportunities for gouging and extortion abounded.  These tax collectors were despised by the population for their exorbitant wealth, their power, and the abuse of their responsibilities.  In addition, the people considered them unclean because of their familiar dealings with the Gentiles.  St. Matthew would have been one of these.  Zacchaeus would have acted as a regional supervisor who received kickbacks from them.

Despite their status and the feelings of the people against them, some tax collectors were attracted to John the Baptist, who stood against all that they stood for.  The tax collectors, in their rich clothing, would have made an odd sight among the followers of John and the mostly ordinary people drawn to him.  Yet they braved the comments and whatever unease they felt to stand by the Jordan River to hear him preach.  We do not know of any who became more or less regular disciples.  Like most folks, they would have gone to hear John preach on the coming Messiah and how they should live their lives in anticipation of his arrival.  Matthew might have been one of these.  Though swathed in wealth and luxury, he felt an urgency in his heart that he could not explain.  John’s words would have provided a little soothing, but the urging did not go away.  Instead, it increased.

Capernaum was not such a large town that Jesus could have gone unnoticed even if he had wanted to.  But all in the town had seen him, heard him, and many would have been healed by him.  Matthew would have known about him and probably had heard him.  But if he had any hope of speaking or following Jesus, he knew that a greater gulf existed between them than between he and John the Baptist.  John performed no miracles, but Jesus seemed to be alive with the power to heal.  At the same time, the urging he felt within himself grew ever more persistent every moment that Jesus was near.  

It was Jesus who came across the gulf.  “As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.”  Probably the customs post was set up near the gate of the town or just outside it, on the road.  The Lord would have had to deliberately come there.  “Follow me!”  Jesus did not call to him in the act of walking, as though casually, but looked deep into his eyes, right into his soul, and called out to him.  A large number of people would have heard him.  And just as Peter and Andrew were in the midst of their work when the Lord called, so was Matthew, perhaps at that very moment making an assessment or issuing a receipt.  The Lord always seems to call when it is least convenient for us.  And then Matthew stopped and felt unable to bear the urgency any longer and got up and went to the Lord, to the shock of everyone standing by.

“While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.”  Matthew, shaking with excitement and a little dazed, led the Lord to his house, not knowing or caring what anyone else would think.  He had a substantial household whether he was married or not, though it is safe to say he was: slaves and servants and possibly relatives and unmarried family members.  The house was large enough to provide room for the Lord and such close followers as he had at the time, as well as his family and friends — “tax collectors and sinners” — scoundrels of various sorts, the sort of friends only a tax collector would have.  The talk would have gotten loud in the house, for these were not refined people, but those who lived on the edges of society.  Jesus would have felt right at home here, however, and acted and spoke freely with all who wanted a word with him or sought his attention.

The Pharisees came along to see the spectacle of the righteous man cavorting with the wicked.  They sought to sow dissension among the disciples by pointing out his behavior to them.  But the Lord heard them and had a sharp answer for them: “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.”  For the Pharisees, there were the righteous of the world and the unrighteous.  For the Lord, there were the righteous and there were those who could become righteous — and there were the wicked who sought to prevent them.  “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”  The Lord quotes from Hosea 6, 6: “Hosea: “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice: and the knowledge of God more than holocausts.”  Significantly, the next verse: “But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant, there have they dealt treacherously against me.”

St. Matthew devoted himself to the Lord Jesus the rest of his life and traveled far in preaching the Gospel, traditionally including to the land of Ethiopia.  His Gospel, written in Hebrew or Aramaic for the Galilean Christians of 35-50 A.D. suffering persecution by the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem, focuses on the need for perseverance in the Faith and on the great Judgment to come.  The great collection of the Lord’s moral teachings he hands on to us provides us the means to live our lives so as to be set on the Lord’s right hand in that Judgment.

We pray to St. Matthew for help in our perseverance and in living the righteous life made possible by Jesus Christ.

The 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, September 20, 2026

Matthew 20, 1-16

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.”  The Lord’s keen insistence on comparing the Kingdom of heaven to everyday places and situations disconcerted the Jews of the time because, led by the Pharisees, they interpreted very literally the word of the Prophets concerning the Kingdom such as, “But in the days of those kingdoms, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never by destroyed, and his kingdom shall not be delivered up to another people: and it shall break in pieces, and shall consume all these kingdoms: and itself shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2, 44).  And who would be the Ruler of this Kingdom? “The Lord has said to me: You are my son, this day have I begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the Gentiles for your inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for your possession.  You shall rule them with a rod of iron, and shall break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Psalm 2, 7-9).   Passages from the Scriptures that talked of a suffering Redeemer were simply not discussed.  We see this, for instance, in the case of the Ethiopian official who came to Jerusalem to adore God in the Temple (cf. Acts of the Apostles 8, 26-39).  Because of the thorough misconception of what the Kingdom of Heaven really was, the Lord spent much time teaching about it.  

In this parable, the landowner, that is, Almighty God, goes out at the beginning of the day to hire laborers.  Here we should reflect that before him, we are all laborers.  Now, the situation in the parable is a very common one in human history and remains so today: day laborers lined up at a central location, hiring themselves out for a day’s wage.  These are not necessarily skilled workers.  They do not know a trade, such as blacksmithing or carpentry.  They will work out in the sun from dawn until dusk and make just enough to eat for that day and maybe to afford a place to sleep that night.  “You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.”  Perhaps not many laborers were to be found at dawn and so the landowner goes out at a later hour, though still early, and hired those whom he now finds.  He will give them what is “just”, presumably meaning the usual daily wage adjusted for the later start.  “And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise.”  Now, either the landowner has underestimated the amount of work that needed to be done that day or he returned to town hoping that more laborers would turn up, since he had known all along that he did not have a sufficient number.  “Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around.”  This late hiring suggests a further possibility: that the landowner was determined to hire everyone who wanted a job.  His purpose was less about the work than about hiring workers.  This seems absurd, and the people hearing the parable for the first time must have felt this, particularly in light of what else the landowner does.

“When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage.”  The landowner stands custom on its head in paying first the last-hired.  The only possible reason for this action would be to show forth his extensive wealth and his wide generosity.  This ought to remind us that, ultimately, all that God does is for the sake of his glory.  This is not an easy idea to understand because we humans tend to think that everything he does is for our sake.  We do this because our wounded human nature causes us to think that everything is always all about us.  But it is not.  God created the universe in order to glorify himself and he sent his Son into the world in order to glorify him.  As Jesus taught the crowds about his coming Passion and Death in obedience to the Father, he cried out, “ ‘Father, glorify your name.’ A voice therefore came from heaven: ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again’ ” (John 12, 28).  He is infinitely perfect and is infinitely worthy of all glory.

“What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?”  Here those who have worked the full day object to the perceived lack of what is “right” and expect more, but they have received everything they lawfully agreed upon, regardless of what anyone else received.  In spiritual terms, we can see this as the Gentiles who are converted “late in the day” whereas the Jewish Christians believed from the beginning.  Since St. Matthew is writing to Jewish Christians, he may have meant for them to take the Lord’s words as a counsel not to nurse jealousy towards these “later” arrivals to the Kingdom.  We may also see this as an exhortation that it is never too late to convert, even up to the moment before death.  This does not diminish the long day’s work of those who went to work at dawn, for we who truly love God do not work in his vineyard solely for heaven, but also for the sheer joy of pleasing him.  Along with this there is the undeniable fact that the one who works the longest and hardest for something enjoys it more than the one who does not.

“Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”  These words also concluded yesterday’s Gospel Reading, when the Lord Jesus explained how those who put earthly wealth before their spiritual welfare would be “last”, that is, condemned, while those who gave up everything to follow Jesus, making themselves the “least” of men on earth by holding in contempt what earthly people prized (and so meriting their enmity) would be “first”, that is, judged worthy of the eternal joys of heaven.  Let us be God’s good servants, rejoicing in the rewards he gives to us, which are greater than we could hope for.

Saturday in the 24th Week of Ordinary Time, September 19, 2026

Luke 8, 4-15

When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable. “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”  Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.  This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”

The Fathers interpret the reasons for the lack of fruit in various ways.  In the main, they teach that the “path” that the seed of Christ’s teaching falls on is an unteachable heart, one so set on sin and wickedness that it does not even consider a different way to live.  The seed is “trampled” in contempt.  The “rocky ground” the seed falls on allows the plant from the seed to begin growing, but in a short time it withers due to “lack of moisture”: the carelessness and sloth of the one who receives it withholds the nourishment which the Gospel, sown in the mind through hearing, requires for growth.  The seed that falls “among thorns” is choked by covetousness and lust.  On the other hand, the seed that falls on “rich soil” signifies the teaching of the Lord that has been embraced and treasured, and is shared with zeal, so that others fall in love with it as well so as to be likewise “fruitful”.  

It is possible for those of us who are firm believers at the present moment to grow cold in our faith and even for it to die.  We see this all the time in all sorts of people.  Often young adults who move on to college stop going to Mass and then stop believing all together.  Adults may stop believing when they are shaken by the scandals in the Church.  Others simply fall into disbelief because belief and faith require work that they are not interested in doing.  How can we prevent this from happening to us?

First of all, we must pray.  In order to pray, we need to make this a regular practice that nothing keeps us from.  We can schedule prayer in our day as monks, nuns, and priests do who pray at set times of the day.  Prayer is necessary because it leads us to the love of God: we cannot love someone we do not talk to.  Lack of prayer eventually results in the loss of faith, and may lead us, step by step, to become the hardened ground of the “path”, holding religion on contempt. 

Second, we must fortify our faith with a deeper understanding of the Lord’s teachings.  We can do this through reading the Scriptures, especially the Gospels, by studying the doctrines of the Church, and by learning about the saints.  We can also get to know the writings of the Church Fathers and to become familiar with Church history.  These things provide the “moisture” our faith needs in order to grow and flourish.

Third, we need to worship God at Holy Mass on Sundays and holy days —and during the week, if possible.  Learning about the Mass enables us to worship God more fully, so that we may become more open to his gifts.  We ought to avail ourselves of the Sacraments, the chief conduits of grace in our world.  Making a monthly confession, for instance, is a good practice.  In this way, we put down strong roots which will keep us from destruction in any storm.

Fourth, performing good works is necessary.  We should perform good works for ourselves and for others.  Good works for ourselves would be restraining our desire to buy things we do not need and to avoid anything that could be a near occasion of sin.  Good works for others may be as simple as a smile or a greeting, or in some way caring for the sick, the poor, and the troubled.  It could be teaching CCD or ushering at Mass.  Through works such as these we become “fruitful” for others in bringing the Faith to them.  We also combat the vices of covetousness, lust, and sloth in these actions.  By continuously working for the good, we do not give temptation any attention.  Thus, we become “the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”

Friday in the 24th Week of Ordinary Time, September 18, 2026

Luke 8, 1-3

Jesus 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.  

During the three years of his public life, the Lord Jesus primarily preached the repentance of sins and the coming of the kingdom of heaven “from one town and village to another” within an area of less than forty miles long by less than thirty miles wide.  Between one and two hundred towns of any size existed there in Galilee at that time, with many more villages and hamlets, some inhabited by as few as fifty people.  Possibly one hundred thousand people lived in the region.  It is moving to think of the Lord limiting himself to this tiny corner of the world, away from the big cities such as Rome and Alexandria, going to the little out-of-the-way places to hunt for his lost sheep, if only to find one of them in any given village.  He does this methodically and thoroughly, as is clear from his sending his seventy-two disciples in pairs to all the towns and villages he would visit, teaching the Apostles how they are to work when they receive the Holy Spirit.

We catch some of the day-to-day routine of the Lord’s work in the verses from today’s Gospel reading.  The writers of the Gospels tell us of the most significant encounters, words, and miracles, but much of the work the Lord did could be summed up just as St. Luke puts it: “Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.”  He would have preached the same message in the various places where he stopped, healed the people who came to him for healing, and then moved on to the next town.  Jesus and his Apostles and the women who assisted them would have spent a lot of time walking in the countryside, on roads when there were roads.  Jesus would have led the way with Peter, James, and John close by, then the other Apostles and maybe some followers who had gravitated to him, and then the women.  Luke gives us the names of a few of the women, and mentions that Jesus had healed them in some way: “Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, [and] Susanna.”  He also tells us that there were “many others” who “provided for them out of their resources.”  The Greek word translated here as “resources” means, more specifically, their “goods”, “property”, and “possessions”.  We know from the other Gospels that the mother of the sons of Zebedee was one of these, as well as the mother of the Apostle James the Lesser.  Not all would have had the “resources” of the steward of Herod Antipas at their disposal, but each did or gave what she could.  Their quiet dedication would prove more resilient than that even of the Apostles, for some of them were on Cavalry with the Lord and his Mother, marked where the Body of the Lord was buried, and came early on Easter Sunday to provide the anointing which they could not do as the sun set on Good Friday evening.  According to the Gospels, to these humble servants Jesus appeared before he appeared to anyone else. 

The tenacity of the faith of these holy women gives the good example that whoever we are, we do the work of the Lord wherever he goes, offering what we can for him out of our talents, abilities, and wealth, through each day.

Personal Note: I’m still recovering. It goes very slowly. I’m starting to eat solid food again, a little. Please continue to pray for me.

Thursday in the 24th Week of Ordinary Time, September 17, 2026

Luke 7:, 36-50

A certain Pharisee invited Jesus 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.”

The anointing of Jesus which is recalled in today’s Gospel reading bears a similarity to the anointing of Jesus by Mary, the sister of Lazarus, of which St. John tells us in his Gospel (12, 1-8), but various details tell us that these are two separate events.  The woman in St. Luke’s account, for instance, is known as a “sinner”, while the woman in St. John’s Gospel is Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus.  Again, here, Luke tells us specifically that the woman anointed the feet of Jesus, and John tells us that it was his head.  

Jesus also uses each anointing to make very different points.  In John, the Lord says that Mary has anointed him in preparation for his coming Death and burial.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus takes the occasion to teach about the forgiveness of sins.

Luke says that, “There was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.”  Luke does not tell us which city this occurs in.  Since Luke locates Jesus in Galilee during this part of his ministry, this may have occurred in Capernaum, the city Jesus moved to after leaving Nazareth.  The “sinful woman” of whom Luke speaks would not have come to the synagogue to hear the Lord preach but could have heard him when he taught on the shore, as he did on at least one occasion.  She could very well have known some of those whom he had healed from their diseases or whom he had released from the devil.  As a prostitute, though. she would have kept her distance.  From her subsequent actions, we know that she possessed a certain humility, a recognition of her own lowliness.  Perhaps she had thought of going before Jesus on previous occasions, but she had shrunk from this out of her shame.  Here, a strong urge, a prodding by the Holy Spirit, moved her from within and she determined that come what may, she must humble herself before the One who had touched her heart, however remotely.  We can wonder if she had heard the story of how the Lord had forgiven the sins of the man carried on the mat by his friends, and desired with all her heart to be forgiven too.

She brought with her “an alabaster flask of ointment”.  Alabaster is a soft stone that is easily carved.  In ancient times the highest quality alabaster was mined in a particular place in Egypt.  A bright white stone, in those days it was often carved into vials for perfumes and ointments.  “She stood behind him at his feet” must mean that she positioned herself behind him, since she could hardly have kissed his feet from a standing position.  She “began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.”  Why does she cry?  Perhaps she was overpowered by the Lord’s powerful presence.  She may have looked into his eyes briefly and seen the love for her in them, a love which she had never felt before in her life from anyone.  At the feet of this holy man, she would certainly have wept over her sins.  She completely abases herself here, her hair disheveled, sitting on the floor where only the lowest servant would have gone, subject to shameful rejection.  But she would rather be there at the feet of Christ than anywhere she had ever been.

The Pharisee, who had most likely invited Jesus to his house to learn from him who he claimed to be, reasons: “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.”  This is a fair question.  If the woman is unclean, then she makes Jesus unclean by her touch.  Would not a prophet know the clean from the unclean?  Jesus, without making any claims, shows himself to be something more than a prophet by taking up the man’s unspoken question.  In so doing, he brings up the Pharisee’s shocking lack of courtesy: he had provided no water for Jesus’s feet, had given him no kiss, and had not anointed his head, all expected ways of welcoming guests.  This behavior on the part of the Pharisee came through no accidental oversight but was purposeful and calculated to make clear that Jesus was not honoring him by his visit; he was honoring Jesus by inviting him to his house.  The omissions flew in the face of eastern culture which prized the guest, and represented a jarring breach of etiquette.  It is, in fact, a sign of contempt.  Jesus contrasts this with the behavior of the woman who has washed his feet with her tears and hair, kissed his feet, and anointed them with her perfume.  

“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.”  A better translation might read: “Her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much.”  There is no justification for “she has shown great love.”  For one thing, this would have the verb in the perfect tense, whereas it is in the aorist.  The aorist tense is used to show that a single action happened in recent past, and so Jesus is referring to her washing, kissing, and anointing his feet, rather than some action completed before this one, as indicated by the use of the perfect tense.  This woman did not love in the past, but now she did.  The word translated here as “hence” (that is, “therefore”) actually means “because”.  The lectionary translation makes it sound like the woman loved because she was forgiven, rather than that she was forgiven because she loved.  Jesus then implicitly compares to the Pharisee the woman’s state with his own: “Her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much.  But he who has not loved much is not forgiven much.”  We note here that Jesus is referring to love for himself, as well as claiming to be able to forgive sins, which only God can do: “He said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven . . . Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’ ”  He makes an unequivocal statement here regarding his divinity, and the people at table with him know it: “Who is this who even forgives sins?”  

Jesus shows here how love and faith lead to forgiveness and salvation.  Love of Jesus leads to faith in him, which leads us to seek his forgiveness knowing that he is himself the source of forgiveness, and this leads us to peace with him, and salvation.  It all begins with the spark of love, which induces humility in us, allowing us to truly love.

Let us look deep into the eyes of the love of God in prayer and fall deeply in love with him so that we might also rejoice in hearing the words, “Your sins are forgiven.”