Sunday Scribes Blog – St. Mary's Maine

21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

August 22nd, 2010

August 22, 2010

Luke 13:22-30

Today’s gospel reading focuses on the Kingdom of God and how to access it through the narrow door. We need to know, however, that the narrow door version is only one of several parables used to speak about the Kingdom. Here are a few more.

- Your riches are in heaven and your heart is where your riches are.
- Be watchful and always be ready because the Son of Man will come when you least expect him.
- A man gives a great feast but the invited guests are finding excuses not to come. So the host of this feast invites everyone available and the feast is a success.
- If you notice that you have a sheep missing from your flock, you go and look for it until you finally find it. Then you rejoice at having found it.
- A woman has lost some coins and will sweep the entire house until she finds the coins. Only then will there be rejoicing.
- Finally, there is the parable of the Prodigal Son . . . who leaves home to party and have a good time. When his money is all gone he realizes that he was much better off with his dad. So, he swallows his pride and comes back
   home . . . limping. When his Abba sees him limping it’s the Abba who runs to great him. “It is you! I thought you were dead! But you’re alive and limping. Limping can be fixed but you’re alive and here!” The dad is so happy to
   see him that he throws a 3-day welcome home party. Notice the details here. It’s the father who does the running to greet his son and he never asks questions about where he’s been or what he’s done!

All these parables on the Kingdom show that the Kingdom happens when the son who was lost is found…and the Abba’s joy is high.

Somewhere, sometime in the past, we were taught that when we sin God turns His back on us until we repent. It’s as if we’re not good enough for God’s love. God’s love does not depend on us; it depends on God. God loves us, warts and sins and all! God’s sorrow lies in our refusal to approach Him when we have sinned or failed. Henri Nouwen said: “The greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or too much money. But the greatest trap is self-rejection. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us “Beloved!” Did you ever think of yourself as Abba’s delight? When will we ever believe that when we are forgiven we are well forgiven and all is forgotten?

Think of our own children. Do we love them less when they get in trouble? Or do we get upset that they didn’t come to us in the first place for help? Where do you think we got this model of parenting? Straight from God, our Abba!

God not only forgives and forgets our sins but turns their darkness into light. In love’s service, only wounded soldiers can serve. We tend to deny the reality of our sins; in a futile attempt to erase our past, we cling to our bad feelings and beat ourselves with the past when what we should do is to “let go!” Guilt is an “idol” that we seem to cherish. But when we dare to live as forgiven men and women, we join the wounded healers and draw close to our Abba!

The whole life of Jesus is focused on His Abba and doing the will of His Abba. It was not always easy but He did it! Jesus’ strength was that He never doubted that He was beloved of His Abba. Man! What a formula! It is now our turn to dare to be loved and to claim to be Abba’s beloved, not because we are pure and perfect, but because we are frail and weak and we need to be someone’s beloved! We need to believe in God but let’s not forget that God believes in us! He claims us as His beloved!

So whether we are healthy or sick or when we are in the hospital, it is important that we think of ourselves as “Beloved.” Even beloveds get sick and go to the hospital and die. But being beloved of God makes me feel alive in God’s heart, and if I die feeling this way I will be dying alive instead of dying dead. Given the choice, I want to die alive!

Kenn Rancourt
Pastoral Care

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Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 16th, 2010

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Hebrews 11: 1-2 Luke 12: 32-48

Sisters and brothers: faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.* Heb.11:1

The letter to the Hebrews actually comes after the Gospel of Luke in the Bible. It is amazing how it can bring a smile to our faces, when we hear Jesus as he makes the connection between the two passages and says to his followers, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.”

This is Jesus’ assurance that if we go the path he has laid out, if we give of ourselves and our goods in order to give to the marginalized, the lonely, the heart broken, we will be storing up for ourselves treasures that do not wear out, do not deplete. We will experience inexhaustible blessings in this life and in the next. Jesus reminds us that where we place our values, that is where our hearts are.

“Gird your loins and light your lamps.” To contemporary listeners that may sound odd. In the time of Jesus, girding one’s loins meant tucking up the long loose robes worn by men and tying them in a knot between the legs in order to prepare for hard work, running, or fighting. Jesus, the teacher, was warning for then and for now that following in his path would not be easy.

Lighting a lamp was always wise as of course there was no electricity and we know from other parables like that of the of the wise virgins and the widow who swept her house looking for the lost coin, how necessary it was to keep the lamps filled with oil. Jesus wants us to be spiritually, physically, and mentally alert in order to ward off the forces of evil, but also to be ready to welcome the God who called us to service when we are called home.

Whenever I truly am stumped by any of the teachings of Jesus, I look further into the gospels to see if the lesson is brought up again for the purpose of further clarification. I usually find it referenced by Peter. I relate to Peter; we both find it difficult to just accept the order of things without understanding. However, once we “get it,” we are on board.

Peter takes the girding concept even further in his first letter to new Christians in parts of Asia Minor. “Therefore,” he says to them, “gird up your minds, be sober [as in serious]. Set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you from Jesus Christ. Do not be conformed to the habits of your former ignorance. He who called you is holy. Be holy as well in all your conduct.” Peter 1:13-15

As we take these admonitions to, “gird our loins” and “gird our minds” to heart, we can bring them into our own everyday lives, especially into the life of our work.

There is some physical girding going on as support partners and therapists don their Gait belts to assist residents or patients to stand or walk. We are so easily made aware of our own mortality when serving the sick and elderly.

“Truly, truly I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go.” John 21:18.

According to the writers, Jesus used this metaphor to show by what death Peter would die; for us it may serve to remind us of our own journeys forward and provide us with the graces of patience, compassion, and friendship toward our fellow travelers.

In closing, I refer back to Peter 1:15. Each and every person who ministers at St. Mary’s Health Care System was called by a holy God, (a wholly good, wholly trustworthy, wholly loving, and kind God). Be wholly as well in all things.

Go gently, go well, and whole.

Elizabeth Lowe, Chaplain
St. Mary’s D’Youville Pavilion and Rehab Center

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Feast of the Assumption

August 15th, 2010

August 15, 2010

This weekend the Church honored Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the feast of the Assumption. The Gospel passage in Luke is from when the angel Gabriel has announced to Mary that she will give birth to a Son. Mary goes to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth and sings this song of praise to God (the Magnificat):

My soul proclaims the greatness of our God, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;

who has looked with favor on this lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

You O God have done great things for me, and holy is your Name.

You have mercy on those who fear you in every generation.

You have shown the strength of your arm, and have scattered the proud in their conceit.

You have cast down the mighty from their thrones, and have lifted up the lowly.

You have filled the hungry with good things, and the rich you have sent away empty.

You have come to the help of your servant Israel, for you have remembered your promise of mercy, the promise you made to our ancestors, to Abraham and Sarah and their children for ever.

Luke 1:46-55

The Magnificat begins with words of consolation but then offers words that challenge us — the proud are scattered, the rich are sent away empty, the mighty are cast down as God remembers the promise of mercy. This passage though is not about retribution or vengeance. It is a recognition of how God comes to us, enters into our lives, and offers us hope: in vulnerable love. God comes to us through a single, young, poor, pregnant woman, turning expectations about the awaited Savior upside down. That is good news for us; we don’t have to be perfect for God to work through us. In fact, as songwriter Leonard Cohen writes, “There is a crack in everything–that’s how the light gets in.” It is in these vulnerable places of our lives that God can enter. Nadia Bolz-Weber notes, “We’ve got plenty of daily bread and seem to be able to handle most stuff that comes our way. But the truly hungry carry none of these illusions of self-sufficiency. It is our hunger which God feeds, not our fullness.” Patients and residents and those who seek healing from us are forced into knowing this–they are dependent on us for compassion, care, respect, and love.

Mary bore the light of God to the whole world in giving birth to Jesus. She said “yes” to God’s call to allow God to work through her, though she wasn’t the most powerful, famous, or wealthy person. We don’t know much more about her life. Besides the song of praise in the Magnificat, the only other words Scripture records her as saying are, “Do whatever he tells you,” when Jesus is at the wedding reception in Cana (actually good advice for us today as well). We too can bear light to the world through the cracks of our own pain, loneliness, sorrow, and vulnerability.

Would you be willing to tell us about one of your colleagues whose work here allows the light of Christ into the lives and hearts of our patients and residents? Nominate someone for the St. Marguerite d’Youville Awards for employees who best represent one of our four core values of respect, excellence, compassion, or stewardship. Forms are available on e-bits and nominations are due August 27.

Elizabeth Keene
Mission Effectiveness

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Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 9th, 2010

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Ecclesiastes 1:2 2:21-23 Col. 3:1-5 9-11 Luke 13:13-21

The theme of these readings seems to be asking us to consider what is lasting and really important in life. The first reading warns us about putting too much stock in appearances, status, and property. “Vanity of vanities… All things are vanity.” When we consider these seriously, we have to admit that they are fleeting. We lose our looks and often our status, appearances are only skin deep, and property does not follow us into the next world.

St. Paul says it clearly in his letter, “If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above.” The word above may be ambiguous or too narrow. Let us seek what really matters in life. Sometimes we find that deep in our heart, for instance, truth, kindness, generosity, love, gentleness, patience. Sometimes we look around us and find that what is important and “of God” is service to others, loving relationships, and compassion for the poor, the sick, the disabled, and the lonely. We might try to think on these things and live accordingly, as this reading suggests.

The Gospel passage is one in which Jesus tells a parable about what some would call “The Rich Fool.” This man has an abundance of land and crops. He builds bigger barns to store all his crops and then says to himself: “Take your rest, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” Jesus considers him a fool because, that very night, his life will be demanded of him and of what use will all his stored goods be to him?

There are two points to notice about this “Rich Fool.” He never saw beyond himself and he never saw beyond this world. He seems to live in his own world, bounded on the north, south, east and west by his own ego. He is self-centered. He has a superfluity of goods and yet the one thing that never enters his mind is to share and to give some away. His whole attitude is the reverse of Jesus’ message, of what we believe to be Christianity. Instead of finding his happiness in giving, he tries to conserve it by keeping and hoarding. The second point is that this man never looks beyond this world. He makes all his plans on the basis of this life. We are all going to die. As Christians we believe in an afterlife and the only things we will take with us are our love and our good works.

As healthcare workers of every capacity here at St. Mary’s Health System, we try to share our compassion, our skills, and our time with those who need our services. In our private lives, may we also aim at living simply, being aware of the less fortunate around us and sharing whatever we can with those in need. When we meet our Creator face to face, we will be judged on our love and our good works; those things are what really matter and those are what follow us into eternity.

Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin, SSCh
Director of Pastoral Care

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Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 2nd, 2010

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Luke 11:1-13

For years, Israel was taught to view God as the “All Holy,” “The Omnipotent,” “The One and Only” whose name was so sacred that out of respect and reverence, God’s name was never completely written. YAHWEH was written as YAH… as in Allelu-jah. Even when our own Rabbi in Lewiston/Auburn writes in our newspapers, he refers to God as G— out of respect and reverence for His name.

Now try to imagine the shock value of Jesus’ words when He was asked: “Teach us how to pray!” He answered: “When you pray say: Father (Abba), hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us when we need it.” Calling God “Abba” was so radical and close to outrageous. How can Jesus be so familiar and so intimate with God? How can He refer to the Almighty as Abba? Who is this guy?

God as Abba was completely opposite of what Israel had been taught for centuries. And to make sure that those who heard him got it straight, Jesus adds: “What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?” (Luke 11:1-13) Jesus goes on to explain what human fathers do and how they relate to their children.

I am a father myself and when my son and daughter were little, there was no joy more intense than to go for a ride and go for custard. The kids got excited and anticipated their treat. They were even happier to know that the dog would get a custard too. As a father, seeing my kids happy made me happy too.

We might be religious and faithful churchgoers, but do we ever think of God as being excited and happy about us? We muster serious energy to face difficult challenges…to remain virtuous and good. But when God is presented as our Abba, then this changes all our inner relationships. Abba is clearly on our side. He roots for us! He rejoices in having us as his children. If we belong to our Abba, then He belongs to us. We are not called to be shy with our Abba. Jesus goes on to say: “Ask and you will receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. If then, you, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Abba in heaven give you the gifts you ask for?” The referral to God as Abba was so radical, it is no wonder that many of Jesus’ contemporaries could not swallow his beliefs.

Children who are loved and cared for by their moms and dads have no problem believing that God is our Abba. It is the most natural feeling in the world. The Kingdom of God always belongs to little children.

When will we get it?

We must love God the way children do, with total abandon and total trust…complete playfulness and spontaneity. When kids love someone a lot, they stretch out their arms as wide as they can and say: “I love you this much — as much as the whole world!”

Wait until you’re alone and make sure that no one sees you, then extend your arms as wide as you can and say to God – Abba “I love you as much as the whole world!” You’ll never want to say it differently…ever!

P.S. I’ve been working in this hospital for 33 years as a chaplain. When patients face difficult times, I like to remind them that Jesus taught us just one prayer. He stuck to that one prayer because He couldn’t improve on “Our Abba”. I think of it often…when it is my turn to face God as I die, what a comfort to anticipate God as Abba! My Abba will receive me with open arms, forgive what needs to be forgiven and lead me to His Kingdom where I will be received as Abba’s child or probably as Abba’s spoiled child. We’re all going to giggle and laugh for eternity.

Kenn Rancourt
Pastoral Care

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Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 21st, 2010

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Luke 10:38-42 July 18, 2010

In this week’s Gospel, we hear the story of Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary. In typical hospitable style, Martha is busy preparing a meal to welcome Jesus. Mary, on the other hand, is sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to him. Martha becomes annoyed that Mary is not helping her prepare the meal and asks Jesus to demand that Mary assist. Instead Jesus replies, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part.”* Often this Gospel passage is discussed in terms of the tension between the active and contemplative life and that Jesus is holding up the contemplative life as the better part. Yet in last week’s Gospel we heard the story of the Good Samaritan (it is the passage immediately before this story of Martha and Mary in Luke’s Gospel) which honors the importance of compassionate action (reaching out to a stranger in need) from the commandment, “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus often breaks down the tension between either/or with a both/and approach. In the next chapter of Luke’s Gospel, he encourages the disciples to hear God’s Word and keep it (translate it into action.) Perhaps that is what he is doing in this passage because without first hearing (listening) to the Word, our actions might not be sustainable. Without connection to the life-giving Word, without a vision of what God is calling us to do, even the most compassionate acts could wear us down or burn us out. In other words, without a sense of mission, the work of caring for patients and families might lead to annoyance or exhaustion like Martha in today’s passage.

Why? What happens when we hear that life-giving Word that helps us to sustain our ability to provide distinguished patient, resident and family-centered care? Dr. Tom Long from Emory University writes that we realize “our lives are gathered into God’s life, that God is out there in the world healing and feeding and restoring, and therefore what we do for others counts, really counts and we can trust God and hope for God’s new creation.”

For us that translates into healing ministry. It means the work our CNAs do at d’Youville Pavilion really counts, the efforts our patient billing representatives make for patients and families really matter, the food assistance provided at the Nutrition Center really makes a difference. One way we can sustain these actions is through a connection to St. Mary’s mission whether we connect to it through the church, the spirit of St. Marguerite d’Youville or own sense of calling.

That way even in difficult times we can echo St. Marguerite d’Youville’s words, “We shall continue to love and to serve.”

*{Interestingly, Mary’s posture of sitting at the feet of Jesus was the posture of a disciple (usually a man.) In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus repeatedly turns expectations about the role of women upside down and here he welcomes her in the role of disciple. Later this week on July 22 we also celebrate another woman who was very important in the life and ministry of Jesus-Mary of Magdala.}

Elizabeth Keene
Mission Effectiveness

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Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 19th, 2010

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Deuteronomy 30:10-14 Colossians 1:15-20 Luke 10:25-37

We have a mindset today that keeping or breaking a law doesn’t really make any difference as long as we don’t get caught. Avoiding punishment is the name of the game and choosing to break laws is about getting what we want–whether it involves shoplifting, running a red light or cheating on our income tax. All too many of us live lives that revolve around personal gain–looking after “number one.”

At first glance the Gospel this Sunday is about keeping the two great commandments. By answering the lawyer’s question with a parable, Jesus shows us a broader issue-that of giving up personal gain for the good of another.

In the Gospel the lawyer approaches Jesus to “test” him with the question about eternal life. The issue here isn’t whether we have life or not–Jesus wishes us to have life–but on how we gain that life. The lawyer knows that the two great commandments of love of God and love of neighbor sum up the whole law and prophets. One only needs to live that love. The lawyer focuses on himself and refuses to see the broader issue.

Jesus doesn’t directly answer the question about “who is my neighbor” because he knows the scholar has the law written within him (see first reading: “For this command I enjoin…already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.”) Instead Jesus responds to the lawyer’s question with a parable that illustrates how keeping the law isn’t a matter of focusing on details and right and wrong or personal gain but is a matter of right relationship with one’s neighbors as exhibited by acting with compassion and mercy. The lawyer’s first question about inheriting eternal life has to do with his own gain. The episode and parable unfold not in terms of personal gain but in terms of compassion and mercy toward others.

Ironically, the way we inherit eternal life is by dying to self for the sake of another. The Samaritan in the parable isn’t moved to help the stricken traveler because of the external law but because he was a person of compassion and mercy. This is the law written within our hearts–not details about keeping specific laws but a general regard for the other that arises out of genuine care for the other. Moreover, this way of keeping the law is yet another manifestation of God’s reign being realized. It is an in breaking of a new order, a new way of relating to each other; personal gain is set aside in favor of the good of another.

What do you understand treating another “with mercy” to mean?
The Samaritan was “moved” not by the Law but by compassion. In your work at St. Mary’s, by what are you moved?
What is the difference in your service to others when you embody compassion?

Fr. Joseph Manship
Pastoral Care

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Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 27th, 2010

Sunday, June 27, 2010

1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21 Galatians 5:1, 13-18 Luke 9:51-62

The theme of the Old Testament reading and the Gospel have to do with answering God’s call. In the Old Testament, Elisha is called to follow the Prophet Elijah and to be his successor. There is some hesitation at first but then he answers the call and follows.

In the Gospel reading we see Jesus passing through “enemy territory” of Samaria on his way to Jerusalem instead of going around the long way as most Jews would do. He was hoping to find hospitality and probably extending a hand of friendship to people who were considered enemies. Both hospitality and the offer of friendship were refused. But when the disciples want to call divine intervention to blot out the town, Jesus seems to call them to the duty of tolerance. In many ways it may be a lost virtue in our society. Jesus may be asking us to allow other people to think differently than we do and to do so with respect. We might say that we can disagree without being disagreeable.

In the next part of the Gospel, the words of Jesus could seem harsh, but if properly understood, there is a meaning for us. Jesus is extending three different invitations to several people to follow him. The first has an immediate and generous response: “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus offers a serious reminder that He has no home, not even a place to rest his head. Following Jesus is not easy. There can be difficult times if we want to live and love as Jesus loved. Being Christian is not an easy, selfish way of life. Love, kindness and service can be very demanding of us. They require selflessness. We might ask ourselves: “Are we ready?”

The response to the second call to follow Jesus incurs some other apparently harsh words from Jesus. Actually, the man who says he’ll follow after he buries his father, most probably meant “after his father dies.” Jesus is saying that there are crucial moments in life and we can’t procrastinate. We have to act and seize the moment or we may never answer God’s call, whatever it might be.

The third call finds a person with another excuse. Jesus makes a statement about putting one’s hand to the plow and not looking back. Maybe Jesus is telling us not to live in the past, whether we think of the past as “the good old days” or as some very painful times. We are invited to live in the moment and to move forward…not backward. Life is now and in the future. I once read a saying that says: The past is history, the future is mystery and the present is gift. That’s why we call it the present!

The second reading from Galatians is almost a summary of the call of Jesus to every one of us here at St. Mary’s: to live in love and in service with compassion and kindness as St. Marguerite d’Youville did before us. It is possible if we allow the Holy Spirit of Love in our hearts to guide us.

Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin, SSCh
Director of Pastoral Care

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12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 20th, 2010

Sunday, June 20

Luke 9:18-24

In the Gospel this week, Jesus asks his closest friends “Who do you say I am?” Everyone’s identity is important, even sacred. It might be helpful to ponder this question in prayer.

Because today is Father’s Day, I wish to share with you one of the most personal reflections I have ever done regarding my own father . . . who died when he was only 54 years old, but who remains to this day the most important man in my life.

Happy Father’s Day!

When I was a child my father was my god.

He knew all the answers to my questions.
He could solve problems and fix toys.
He was strong and could hold me up over his head with one hand.
He tickled well too and knew when to stop.
When I was a child my father was my god.

When I was a growing boy my father was my god.

He taught me how to ride a bike,
Pitch a baseball and swing my bat evenly.
He asked me to help him around the house
And even let me use his tools.

He even sneaked me up some food once when I was sent to bed without supper.
When I was a growing boy my father was my god.

When I was twelve my father was my god.

He taught me how to pitch horseshoes and play cribbage . . .
And he never let me win on purpose.
We climbed a mountain together and mowed the lawn.
We helped neighbors and old uncle Babe with his home fixing chores.
He watched me play hockey and baseball
And cheered my mediocre abilities.
When I was twelve my father was my god.

When I was a teenager my father was my god.

I discovered his faults for he wore them on his outer surface,
Like everything else he ever wore.
He was short on temper,
Loud on voice
And long on sermons.
We went to church as naturally as we visited grandparents and relatives.
More than once we waited in line together for confession.
Once I overheard him brag about me with pride.
When I was a teenager my father was my god.

When I was a young man, my father was still my god.

I saw him hide his tender feelings
When he was moved with joy.
His efforts to hide his tears
Were more visible to me than his tears would have been.
He loved mom gently and could not hide from us
How pleasing and beautiful he thought she was.
The greatest gift he ever gave us
Was the way he loved her . . . and showed it.
When I was a young man, my father was still my god.

When I was an adult my father was still my god.

There was never a doubt that he loved us all.
Cut and dry…black and white.
You love or you don’t love.
There was no wishy-washy fidgeting with him on anything.
When I was an adult my father was still my god.

He died…45 years ago.

Now that I’m a father myself, my father is no longer my god.
But how easy it’s been to believe that God is my Father.

Kenn Rancourt

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Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 13th, 2010

June 13, 2010

Luke 7:36-8:3

In the Gospel of Luke this Sunday, we hear a powerful story of hospitality, forgiveness, and the extravagance of God’s love. Jesus has been invited to the home of Simon the Pharisee. Jesus and the Pharisees often clash because of Jesus’ teaching and Jesus’ tendency to include those considered outcast in society. In this case Simon has extended an invitation for hospitality but does not follow the normal customs of welcoming someone into his home (such as having a servant wash the feet of the guest.) Then a woman enters, someone known to be a sinner in the community, and she not only washes Jesus’ feet but she kisses them and dries them with her hair. Simon and the other guests are shocked that Jesus would allow a “known sinner” to touch him.

Jesus then asks what some homilists consider to be the most important phrase of this gospel passage: “Simon, do you see this woman?” He then goes on to compare the hospitality the woman extended to the lack of hospitality Simon offered. And he makes the connection that because the woman has known forgiveness and mercy, she is able to extend great love.

Simon really didn’t see the person before him; he only saw a “certain kind of woman”–someone known to be a sinner. He is so caught up in the law and propriety that he does not even recognize who Jesus truly is. As Christian writer Kate Huey notes,

            Simon, unfortunately wasn’t in tune with God’s presence in the
            midst of his party…in the wisdom and tender love of Jesus, who
            accepted her gratitude, and in his own need for God’s mercy and
            understanding…Instead, his eyes were clouded by judgment and
            he missed a golden opportunity for grace. So where do we stand
            in this story? And with whom do we stand? What about our hospitality?

It’s an interesting passage for us to consider. Are there times when we see only the labels we assign against people who disagree with our views politically or religiously, those we consider our enemies? Can we widen our vision enough to see them as children of God? Many of us find it difficult to understand the hospitality God extends–senseless mercy and extravagant love for everyone.

Rooted in the spirituality of St. Marguerite d’Youville, foundress of the Sisters of Charity, we have received a call to love and serve in health care ministry. But before we can love and serve, we have to see our patients, residents, and colleagues and, as Frederick Buechner notes, not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces. Seeing them in this way makes it easy to recognize each other as children of God. Then we too can be extravagant in love and mercy.

Elizabeth Keene, Mission Effectiveness