It would be very wrong to deduce that it would be well to have sinned much, or to have run up a bigger debt in order that the sinner might have more forgiven. Rather the lesson is that flagrant sinners are much more likely to discover that they are sinners than those who think they are good. As in a hospital, a patient who is a mass of sores and bruises solicits more pity then one less injured, so too, admitted guilt is not an obstacle, but an argument in favour of Divine Mercy. The love of this woman grew in proportion to her gratitude for pardon. It was not the quantity of sin, but rather the consciousness of it and the mercy extended in its forgiveness, which manifested the great love of this penitent woman. Much was forgiven her; therefore she loved much.
Nothing so much brings one person in contact with another as the confession of sin. When a friend tells us of his success, he stands at a distance from our heart; when he tells of his guilt with tears, he is very near. Actually, when a person has a consciousness of sin, he does not very much distinguish between whether his sins belong in the five hundred pieces of silver category, or the fifty. What troubles him is the fact that he has hurt someone that he loves. St. Paul considered himself the chief of sinners, but he was not a great sinner except in his bigotry and persecution. He who makes light of sin will make light of forgiveness. He who makes light of really serious wounds will never appreciate the power of the physician.
Simon had something to learn; so he invited a teacher; the woman had something to be forgiven, so she poured out her contrite tears on the Divine Creditor Who proved to be her Savior. Simon had not denied the existence of guilt; but he felt himself relatively innocent when he saw the woman who was a sinner. Guilt is not just the breaking of a love; it is the wounding of someone who is loved. The seriousness of sin rises in proportion as Christ is approached. Standing close to the Cross and feeling the agonies of Him Who died for sin’s atonement, could make Paul, the Pharisee of the Pharisees, call himself the “greatest of sinners.”
The lesson was over and the woman was dismissed with the words:
Luke 7:48:
“Your sins are forgiven.”
The man whom Simon thought might be a teacher, was not formalizing a code; He was forgiving sins. But who can forgive sins except God? That was the thought running through the minds of everyone at table:
Luke 7:49:
Some other guests started saying to one another, “Who is this who dares to forgive sins?”
This was their question as they arose from their couches. Couches would come back as a symbol of a guiltless world nineteen centuries (now twenty centuries) later. Men would rise from them with their guilt explained away. But such souls would not have the inner joy of the woman, who heard One more than a prophet say to her:
Luke 7:50 said:
“Because of your faith, you are now saved. May God give you peace!”
Her faith had told her that God loves purity, goodness, and holiness. And before her stood Him Who alone could restore her to that holiness. But the price He would pay for that peace would come only after a war – the war against evil. The forgiveness the woman received was not merely that of being “let off”; it was one in which justice itself was satisfied. Peter, who was there at the dinner, later one recorded the price that was paid:
1 Peter 2:24:
Christ carried the burden of our sins. He was nailed to the cross… By his cuts and bruises you are healed.
The guests at table wondered how He could forgive sins. Right they were, who could forgive sins but God? The purpose of His coming to this earth as the Son of Man was once more revealed: He would be identified with sinners in taking their guilt; He would be separate from sinners in offering Himself for their salvation and, therefore, could forgive their sins. On the one hand, identification:
Luke 22:37:
the Scriptures say, ‘He was considered a criminal.’
On the other hand, separation:
Hebrews 7:26:
He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners.
These are complementary truths. The first referred to the price He had to pay to forgive sins, such as those of the woman; the second to His Divine life which gave His sufferings infinite value. The woman before Him had her debt of sin blotted out, but she had no idea how much it cost Him. All the tokens of tenderness the sinful woman showed Him, he would receive again in another form. A kiss would come from Judas; the washing of His feet would be reversed as He would grid Himself with a towel and wash the feet of His disciples; and for the oil on His head there would be the crown of thorns as He would pour out the perfume of His own Blood.
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