Welcome Home, “Recovering Catholics”!: Redemptive Journey from False Fee Will - A Lenten Note of Pastoral Psychologist

Practicing pastoral counseling and psychotherapy, I see estranged self-claiming “recovering Catholics” quite often.  

Who are these “recovering Catholics”?  Are they like “recovering alcoholics”?

They are those who received the Sacrament of Baptism in the Catholic Church but  left the Church. In fact, many of them even received the Sacrament of Confirmation.  They grew up in the Church and were supposed to be spiritually nurtured there.  Apparently, the Church has not performing as she should in regard to her nurturing roles to all the Catholics.

What led to their departure from the Church was their boredom with the worship, frustration with the way the catechism was given, anger at the clerical authorities, confusion in terms of how the Church’s teaching in its practical application to the reality, and so forth.  They felt that the Church was not what they could call “home” and took on their “free will” to venture out of her. So, they went on their own journeys in search of “new home” or “greener pastures”.  They embarked on their own “exodus”, so to speak.  That is what I see in all of the “recovering Catholic” clients I have met in my pastoral and clinical practice.

As I come to know each of these “recovering Catholic” clients, I have come to realized that not all the them are the same in terms of their understanding of what it means to be “recovering Catholic”. Some self-claiming “recovering Catholics” consider themselves  as recovering from the hurts inflicted by the Catholic Church, while they continue to journey away from the Church.  Here, “hurt” does not necessarily means blatant sexual abuses committed by some psychopathic priests. It refers to a wide range of emotional pains and sufferings inflicted by the Church, in their perceptions.  Because of this, they think that being Catholic was harmful as drinking alcohol was so. So, by having left such a harmful object, the Church, to recover from the hurt, they consider themselves as “recovering  Catholic”.   On the other hand, other “recovering Catholics” consider themselves as they are on their recovery back to the Catholic Church, as they are becoming healed from the past hurt that they had experienced in the Church. They went away from the Church as they were hurt. But, they came to a point of return on their journey away from the Church.  I usually meet this kind of “recovering Catholics”, who are recovering to their new self identity as being Catholic, with their memories of deep hurts from the past.

The “Recovering Catholics” left the Catholic Church as they felt the Church’s teaching to be “oppressive” and “meaningless”.  They exited  the Church to seek “freedom”. Many of them thought some new age spirituality movements to affirm and justify their desire for “freedom”.  So, they live as their free will dictated for a while.  However, after some years of such “free life”, they recognize that the emptiness within themselves is never filled.  Some of them felt that the emptiness is becoming worse as it generates nagging pain – a spiritual pain. So, they ran to food, drug, alcohol, sex….you name it – only to numb the increasing pain. Then, it became a vicious cycle. The new age teaching they sought upon leaving the Church gave them no help – besides telling them “do this”, “do that”, only to make them pay more to feed their missions of new age spirituality. They became alarmed as they began to feel they were in destructive cults. They also became aware that they have been “stuck” in the vicious cycles of self-numbing addictions.

Namely, they have come to realize an inherent danger of free will in very painful ways.

Problem with Free Will is well illustrated with Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).

The prodigal son could have died in the feces of swains if he did not wake up to the inherent problem of free will, as well as unconditional love of his father, and return to his father – abandoning his ego, which misleads about free will.

The parable tells that the son was happier to be with his father rather than being “free” – happier to be back being in his father’s commands than being as “free” as his free will would dictates.

In fact, Lent is a journey to return to the Father, upon opening our eyes to how our own misunderstanding of free will can be misleading and have led us astray in the spiritual wilderness.

It is not to say that we should shun free will. But, rather, it is to call our utmost caution with free will.

Perhaps, the best way to handle free will is to put it in the context of the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola – the Ignatian spirituality. St. Ignatius of Loyola teaches us not to abandon our own heart’s desire, as it can do be used for greater glory of God (Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam), though it can be also abused for self-glorification, especially if you are narcissistic.  Through the Spiritual Exercises he wrote, based on his own struggles with his desires, Ignatius guides us to gradually align our own heart’s desire to the will of God for us through dialogues. In this set of dialectic spiritual journey of alignment and realignment of our heart and the heart of God, we may experience some painful tensions. But, these are like “growing pain” that we are to endure meaningfully, rather than avoiding or escaping from. Consider these are like the Stations of the Cross that we walk with Jesus, carrying our own cross. This mode can be reflected in the desolation phase of the spiritual exercises.

If you persevere with faith, the desolation phase will give its way to the phase of consolation. Once you experience this, even though you encounter another phase of desolation, you can endure through it more confidently and victoriously to grow further.

Dealing with free will is like dealing with our own heart’s desire in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

As a pastoral psychologist, I walk with those who desire to return to the Father until they can walk with their own free will as they can put it in harmonious alignment with the Father’s will. I am their companion for the journey home. 

When they meet me, it was out in wilderness, where they wonder aimlessly with the vicious cycles they got stuck in.  At first, they were so distressed. In meeting me, they were nervous. Acknowledging this, I do my best to offer a tent of comfort. Of course, the tent of a metaphor for temporary comfort.

Reflecting  the Judeo-Christian scripture tradition teaches us, especially  the Jewish festival of the Tabernacles, I set up a “tabernacle”(tent) , as a pastoral psychologist, for these “recovering Catholics”, where they feel safe and comforted. They are tired after wondering aimlessly so long in dismay – through vicious cycles.  In this “tabernacle”, where we get to know to form rapport – namely, initial therapeutic sessions – they recoup and become strong enough to journey forward home – the permanent place to belong. “Tabernacle” is transitional.

So, we begin journey together toward the permanent home, and it is where God the Father is.  Here on earth, it is the community of the faithful, called the Church.

The Church, as we know so well, still has many problems, which continues to turn some people off, unfortunately. But, those who journey back , through desolations and consolations, have gained meaning, upon coming out of the vicious cycles they once were stuck. Therefore, the problems at home – the problems in the Church today, no longer turn them off. Rather, they are spiritually mature and strong enough to work toward solving these problems at home, because it is now their home.  Their new heart’s desire is to clean their home so that it become worthy for God to dwell among us.  They become more like St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and St. Teresa of Avila, who remained in the problematic Church and plied their efforts to reform this broken home.  The Church really need such reform-minded members.  For this reason, these “recovering Catholics” are getting ready to make the Church a better home, drawing upon their experience.

On their way home to the Church, they come to realize that true free will is not what they think their own will but the will of God found in their heart’s desire.  It gives me meaningful joy to witness this, as I accompany these “recovering Catholics” on their way home – on their recovery to their fresh Catholic identity.

Indeed, this is how our redemptive suffering may entail. 

Father’s Day – Trinity Sunday

This year, the Father’s Day is also the Sunday of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. I do not think it is a mere coincidence. Rather, it is God’s providence to reminds us of His love and mercy. In fact, these are the theme for the Trinity Sunday scripture readings – Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9; 2 Corinthians 13;11-13; John 3:16-18. The Gospel reading (John 3:16-18) is quite powerful in expressing the immeasurable love of the Father in heaven, who gave His only begotten Son, out of His love – to save us. And, the Son asked the Father to send us the Holy Spirit (John 14:16).

In celebrating the Most Holy Trinity on this Father’s day, it is meaningful to see how the ineffable mystery of Trinity can be related to fathers of our own in our respective families on earth. This way, we can honor our fathers, alive or deceased, physically present or present in spirit, in light of  honoring  our Father in heaven through the most holy Trinity.

So, what is your image of a typical father?

My image for this, in fact, remembering my father as a hard working provider. When he was alive, he worked many hours for his family.

I grew up rather in a traditional Japanese family, where a father goes out for work as a bread winner to provide for the family, and a mother works in and around the home as a producer to turn what the father provided for the family into something that meets the needs of my sister and me at a time.

My father worked as a journalist. He knew how to take a scoop and write for the front page cover article. And, he was good. So, I am very proud of him. And, he earned good form his dedicated work in journalism. But, he did not know how to turn what he earned into something we can eat. So, that was taken care by my mother in the kitchen, after she went grocery shopping.

There is a difference between the way the father shows his love and the mother shows her love.

So, in my family, the father was always a provider, while the mother was a producer.

To put my family’s reality in a more general context to connect to the concept of Trinity, I can say that the father in the family is the bread winner. It does not necessarily mean that he always buys bread for his family. But, he is the primary provider for his family to keep bread on the table. Without my father’s role as the primary bread winner, it would be difficult for my mother to produce enough bread to feed the family.

It is the mother who bakes bread for the family, using the ingredients she purchased with what the father has earned.

Now, as the Gospel reading for the next Sunday, the Corpus Christi Sunday (John 6:51-58), tells, Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:51).

So, just like the Father in Trinity provides  with the Son, the first parakletos, the parakletos in sarx, who is the living bread of life (John 6:51), the father in an earthly family also provides bread for his family. As the Son, the bread of life, came to us through Theotokos, Mary, the Mother of God, the mother of Jesus, the bread that the father earned comes to the family table through the hands of the mother of the family.

In Trinity, the Holy Spirit, the second parakletos, the parakletos in pneuma, is also what the Father provides. So, what is the equivalent to the Holy Spirit in the ordinary earthly family context?

Because the Holy Spirit is something that has no shape but present everywhere, it is like a peculiar atmosphere of the family that the father casts.

To me, that’s the air of my family, which my father radiates. In the Japanese culture, which Edward Hall regarded as “high context culture”, which means relying more on the context rather than verbal means, the authentic air that father in the family radiates is something you just don’t want to mess with. If you did, you sure would be sorry.

The air the father cast in the family is what keeps the family in unity and in order. This is like the air of the authority that presence of the military commander brings to his unit.

My father did not speak to send his message to my sister and me, when we were growing up.  We had to be smart enough to read the air and behave.

In a way, the air the father cast in my family was like the Ten Commandments.  But, it was not take fun out of my sister’s life and mine but to keep us safe from troubles. It was out of my father’s love for my sister and me to keep us on the right path, when we were growing up. So, the air sent out of my father, filling my family, was like the Holy Spirit that touches and guides us, sent from the Father in heaven, as promised by Jesus when he was talking about his Ascension during the Last Supper.

Now, my father is gone.  His physical presence has been gone. His physical remains have been reduced to just enough cremated bone fragments to fill a small urn. But, the father’s air continues to be with my mother, my sister, and me. Sometimes I feel the smoke in the air, the very smoke my father used to enjoy while he was present in his flesh.

Likewise, the Holy Spirit is always with us, transcending all physical and temporal boundaries,  just like the air we breathe and the air that touches us as winds.

We need to breathe the air and to eat bread to sustain our life on earth. Likewise, we do need the Holy Spirit- God in pneuma and ruah, and the Son, who is the living bread, God in sarx, to maintain our eternal life. And, all of these necessities for life are provided by the Father in heaven, whom we see at the end of ages, through the Son’s return.  In the meantime, while living on earth, we continue to breathe the air and eat bread that our fathers provide.

After all, the love and mercy of the Father, sent to us as the Son, and as the Holy Spirit, are to sustain our eternal life – just as we need bread to eat and air to breathe to maintain our earthly life.  And, just as the airs that fathers in our families cast, making our family atmospheres, are to guide the children in the families in the right directions, the Holy Spirit that our Father in heaven provides is to shepherd us as  to heaven, just as Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

We are so grateful to the Father in heaven and fathers of our families on earth for what they provide for us.

Of course, not everyone is blessed to have idealistic fathers, who provide. Some of us had to grow up without fathers’ love. But, if they believe, then, they are still blessed by the Father in heaven.  As said in Psalm 27:10, even our earthly parents have forsaken, the Father in heaven will not. And, Jesus also assured his constant presence with us in the Holy Spirit even after his Ascension (John 14:26; Matthew 28:20), reflecting this love and mercy of the Father. It’s up to our belief to recognize this love and mercy of the Father.

To those who have been hurt because of the absence of their fathers’ love, may His unconditional love and mercy heal them through the parakletos, which literally means comforter called to be with you, in  sarx, the Son, and in pneuma, the Holy Spirit, as parakletos is always with us until the end of ages, as Jesus assured (Matthew 28;20). 

Mercy of God, Conversion, Pilgrimage Home, Salvation - An Integrated Contextualization with Buddhism and Tagalog, 24th Sunday Scripture Readings (Year C)

The scripture readings for the 24^th Sunday of the Year C are characterized with God’s mercy, which also reflects God’s sense of justice. 

The first reading  (Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14)tells that God rescinded His intent to punish sinful Israelites as Moses appealed to God’s mercy for his fellow Israelites.  The second reading (1 Timothy 12-17) is about Paul’s statement of his conversion with gratitude for God’s mercy. The Gospel reading (Luke 15:1-32) comes with a trio of Jesus’ parables on “lost and found”. But, the last of these three parables, the parable of the prodigal son, addresses mercy, forgiveness, and a problem of pride. 

In this blog entry, I also draw a parallel between God’s mercy and Amitabha Buddha’s mercy to see Christianity and Buddhism teaching the same truth. 

Additionally, I address the 24^th Sunday scripture readings’ relevance to Catechetical Sunday. Finally, hinted by Paul’s description of his conversion, I further explain how God’s mercy leads us “home” , where God is (the Kingdom of God), through a journey of conversion, in Filipino and Buddhism integrated contextualization. 

Adelante!

Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son

Suppose you have a younger spoiled brother. He is selfish and arrogant. He gets on your nerve all the time. On the other hand, you work hard, obedient to your parents, faithfully practicing the virtue of filial piety. One day, your younger brother demanded your parents his share of inheritance money. He took the money and left home. He wasted all the money for debauching pleasures – alcohol, drug, prostitutes, you name it.  He got broke and homeless, trying to eat out of street garbage. He began to miss home and made his way home. As he got near home, your father, who had been patiently waiting for his return, ran up to your younger brother and embraced him warmly. No, your father did not scold him at all but just welcomed with open arms. Then, your father hosted an extravagant banquet to celebrate your younger brother’s return.  Your father also calls you to join him in rejoicing over your brother’s return. But, neither your father nor mother had never treated you to such a banquet, not even special dinner, during all these years of your hard work for them. 

Now, how would you feel about this? How would you respond to your younger brother’s return, having treated to a lavish welcome banquet?  Although you had been so loyal to your parents, neither your father nor mother had ever treated you like this. 

If you find it difficult to rejoice over your brother’s return, then, what is making it so hard for you to celebrate? Jealousy? 

Is the way the father treats the younger brother unfair to you, given how faithful you have been to your parents, while how your younger brother had been disrespectful to and disgraced your parents?

This is the kind of question that the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) in the 24^th Sunday Year C Gospel reading (Luke 15:1-32) challenge us. 

This parable is two-fold as it addresses the extraordinary mercy of God, illustrated with the mercy of the father, while it also challenges the attitudes of the older brother, who was unable to join his father in rejoicing over his younger brother’s return. 

Moral Problem of the Older Brother, characterizing our hypocrisy

In the parable, the older brother, unlike the younger brother, was always faithful to his father, while the younger brother, the prodigal son, extorted his inheritance money from his father, while he was still alive, and went away with the money. The younger son wasted the money only to find himself at the bottom rock of life, while the older brother continued to work hard to support his father. What a contrast! 

The younger brother decided to come home to his father. But, it is not to be welcomed as his son but to be accepted as his father’s slave, acknowledging that he was no longer worthy to be his son for the sin he had committed against his father. But, to his older brother, he could be seen as bold enough to come back to his father, assuming that he would further take advantage of his father. Such a critical thought against the younger brother must be due to the older brother’s self-righteousness and pride.  Otherwise, the older brother would not have difficulty in welcoming his younger brother as his father did. 

Through the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus warns us that we should not let our pride gets in the way of forgiving and being merciful to others. The parable also reminds us that God’s care is not distributed equally as it sure goes more toward those in greater needs, such as sinners like the younger son.  Jesus’ parable of the vineyard workers (Matthew 20:1-16) also makes this point. In this parable, the workers from early morning complained to the vineyard owner because he paid the same amount of wage also to the workers who came late and worked less. 

In the eyes of merciful and compassionate God, the Kantian concept of fairness in the distributive justice concept never works.  Martha Nussbaum, in her “Frontiers of Justice”(2007),  challenges this type of concept of justice, to which she attempts to compensate with compassion and mercy, based on capabilities and needs, rather than a mathematically calculated equity. In this argument, Nussbaum not only challenges the Kantian view of distributive justice but also John Rawl’s theory of justice.  Nussbaum’s challenge to the Kantian view of distributive justice, which the Western social contract theory is based upon, also reminds Shakespeare’s moral plot in the “Merchant of Venice”, resolving Antonio’s debt problem with Shyrock, who adamantly demands Antonio to pay his debt regardless of his situation. 

“The Merchant of Venice” shows that the concept of the Kantian concept of distributive justice is not helpful in dealing with a debt problem like Antonio’s. What was needed in Antonio’s situation is some mercy and compassion. Of course, it is not fair to Shyrock to change the nature of the contract. But, religiously enforcing the contract does not solve the problem. And, this is what Nussbaum points out. 

In fact, Friedrich Nietzsche also pointed that many modern ethical philosophies insufficiently address compassion (Michael L. Frazer, “The Compassion of Zarathustra: Nietzsche on Sympathy and Strengths”, The Review of Politics, 68(2006), 49-78). Such Nietzsche’s view is certainly echoed in Nussbaum’s new proposal for justice with a sense of compassion and mercy. 

The view of the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son and the view of the vineyard worker who complained about their wages is rather close to the Kantian concept of distributive justice. As these Jesus’ parables tell, God’s sense of justice rejects such an equity-based sense of distributive justice. Rather, God’s sense of justice is characterized with mercy, compassion, and love, and is distributed not equally but according to the needs and capability of the people. In this regard, Nussbaum’s concept of justice is rather closer to God’s sense of justice, in reflecting on the problem of the older brother in the Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. 

It is better not to be obsessed with “equality” to appreciate God’s mercy. If we are attached to “equality”, we would be as self-righteous as the older brother in the parable. And, as the parable shows, our obsession with or attachment to “equality” or “equity” can make it difficult to be merciful to others, making us unable to forgive, as in the case of Shyrock in Shakespeare’s the Merchant of Venice.

The “prodigal” mercy of the prodigal son’s father, characterize God’s mercy

The father of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 sure is prodigally merciful! Although the younger son (the prodigal son) had really insulted him, this father did not scold him upon his return. The father simply embraced the son with unconditional love and rejoiced over the reunion with him – as the shepherd who has found his lost sheep (Luke 15:3-6) and the woman who has found her lost coin (Luke 15:8-9) rejoice. 

The way the father in this Gospel parable treats the sinful son is a metaphor that Jesus must be applying in order to help us understand and appreciate how God love us, the sinners, how God pour His mercy on us.  Mercy is God’s desire as God want all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, as Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:4. No wonder, Jesus tells this parable of the prodigal son and the prodigally merciful father in Luke 15:11-32. The two preceding parables (the parable of the lost sheep, and the parable of the lost coin) are to build up the point of the third parable – the parable of the prodigal son: merciful God’s love sometimes reaches out to find the lost souls and bring back, while it also patiently waits for the return of the lost soul and rejoices over the reunion with those who was lost but now found. 

Paul said that love is patient (1 Corinthians 13:4). Indeed, the love of God, the mercy of God, is really patient, as illustrated by the patience of the father in the parable, who waited for his son’s return for very long time. And, he must have never lost his hope, believing his son’s return. 

Our common sense tends to tell that a person who insults and leaves his or her father as the prodigal son did is not likely to return.  But, our faith, which is closely associated with love and hope, in triad (1 Corinthians 13:13, 1 Thessalonians 1:3), enables us to be as patient, hopeful, and loving, as the father of the prodigal son was, reflecting the quality of God’s love and mercy. 

The way the father of the prodigal son demonstrate his patient and hopeful love, as a man of faith with a heart of unconditional acceptance, it also reflects the way Jesus loves. 

Prodigal Son, Adulterous Woman, Peter – Beneficiaries of God’s Mercy through “Here and Now and From Now On” Unconditional Acceptance

Remember when Jesus met a woman, who committed adultery, as she was about to be stoned to death (John 7:53-8:11)? Although he confronted her sin, he did not condemn her. He did not dig up her past, asking her why she committed adultery.  Jesus was not interested in why she did. He was not interested in digging up her past. What matters to him is “here and now” and “from now on”, not the “past”.  So, Jesus accepted her as she was, though those who were self-righteous attempted to condemn her. 

Another good example of this Jesus’ character of not getting into sinners’ past is found in his interaction with Peter, as he reinstated him (John 21:10-25). Although Peter betrayed Jesus three times, Jesus did not mention Peter about his betrayal in the past.  Jesus simply asked Peter if he loves him, making sure that Peter still and really loves him.  So, Jesus’ focus is “here and now”. And, as he commanded Peter to take care of his sheep, Jesus’ interest was also in “from now on”. 

This aspect of Jesus’ mercy to the adulterous woman and sinful Peter is certainly found in the father of the prodigal son, as he never asked his younger son why he insulted him by asking his inheritance money while he was still alive and what he did with the money he ran away with. What mattered to the father was the fact that his lost son is found and has returned to be with him again. And, he accepted the son as he was.

Like  the lost sheep and the lost coin, God’s mercy can reach out to find the lost soul wherever they may. The mercy of God also patiently waits for the lost soul to make its way back like the father of the prodigal son.

Jesus reaching out to the adulterous woman (John 7:53-8:11) and to Peter (John 21:10-25) shows God’s mercy, described in the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7) and the parable of the lost coin (Luke 15:8-10). God’s mercy can diligently seek out to redeem those who have gotten lost – wherever they may be. 

Conversion of Paul, a Lost Sheep, Redeemed by God’s Mercy, Accepted by God’s Unconditional Love

The way the mercy of God had reached out to Paul in the second reading (1 Timothy 12-17) is another good example of God’s mercy’s reaching-out aspect. 

In his epistle to his disciple, Timothy, with joyful gratitude, Paul shares his conversion journey – from a sinful arrogant man of ignorance to a man of strong faith.  He was lost before because he was ignorant of God, in particular, God’s grace, which includes mercy.  But, His mercy reached out to Paul and found him, gracing him with love.  Being touched by God’s mercy, Paul’s conversion began. His life made a critical turn from the world of sin and ignorance to the world of God’s grace, including His mercy and love.

The word, “conversion” came from the Latin word, “convertere”, which is composed of its prefix, “con”(com), meaning “together” and “vertere”, meaning “to turn”.  So, there is a turn in the process of conversion, and the turn is prompted by grace of God, which comes as mercy. 

Paul was reached out by God’s mercy through Christ to turn to God, while he was in the world of sin.  Jesus also reached out to Peter to make a turn back to him, while he was still living with unresolved betrayal.  Paul’s conversion was rather began with a violent lightening from the sky, knocking him off the horse, before Jesus appeared to him through a mysterious voice to turn him toward him (Acts 9:1-9), though the resurrected Jesus directly approached Peter, inviting him to dine with him, and asked him if he loved him and commanded to take care of his sheep, before asking him to follow him (John 21:10-19). While God’s mercy found Paul in a traumatizing way, it came to Peter with an inviting way. It suggests that God’s mercy can reach out to us, the sinners, in many different ways. 

Conversion of Paul, Conversion of John Newton Through God’s Mercy as Amazing Grace

Paul’s recalling on his conversion in the second reading (1 Timothy 1: 12-17) invokes John Newton’s famous 18^th century hymn, “Amazing Grace”.

Like Paul, as well as Augustine of Hippo, Francis of Assisi, and Ignatius of Loyola, John Newton’s early life was plagued with sinfulness.  He was recalcitrant and drunk at times.  It was when he was engaged in Atlantic slave trade as a British Royal Navy sailor that grace of merciful God reached out to him to save him, amidst the stormy sea. Though Newton’s conversion did not begin immediately after being touched by God’s mercy in the stormy sea, as he continued to be involved in slave trade for another 6 or 7 years, he eventually left the sinful business of slave trade and began to study theology. And, he was ordained in the Anglican Church.

It is believe that Newton wrote Amazing Grace first as a sermon, recalling the stormy sea experience, in which he felt being touched by God. 

It is no coincidence to draw similarities between Paul’s conversion experience narrated in 1 Timothy 1:12-17 and John Newton’s “Amazing Grace”.

 Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, as blind but now I see.  ‘T was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!  

Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come; ‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures;  He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.  When we’ve been there ten-thousand years , bright shining  as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise then when we first begun. 

Now compare this to Paul’s testimony:

I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief. Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost. But for that reason I was mercifully treated , so that in me, as the foremost,  Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life”(1 Timothy 1:13-16). 

The mercy of God reaches out to those who are lost in ignorance. Ignorance means being severed from Christ the light. Thus, being ignorant means being in darkness.  As Paul said in Galatians 5:4, being ignorant, being cut off from Christ means fallen from grace.  Original Sin, committed by Adam and Eve, is the very first case of a fall from grace.  Though the humans, represented by Adam and Eve, have fallen from grace, and repeatedly fallen subsequently throughout the history, God never give up on us, as He continues to redeem us with His mercy in his grace.  And, Paul, John Newton, and many others who have been converted (having made turns from darkness of sin to Christ the light) are witnesses of this God’s ongoing salvific plan and actions.  

Such God’s continuing saving plan and actions are, indeed, characterized by Jesus’ parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son.  As Paul puts it in 1 Timothy 1:12-17, this outreaching mercy of God shines upon sinners in darkness, guides them in their turning and on their journey back to God. 

Analogy Between God’s Outreaching Light of Mercy and Amitabha Buddha’s Immeasurable Light of Mercy

The way God’s mercy is characterized in Jesus’ parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son, and the way Paul describes how God’s mercy reached out to him and guided his conversion journey in the 24^th Sunday scripture readings (Luke 15:1-32, 1 Timothy 12-17), invokes the way the Amitabha Buddha’s immeasurable light of mercy reaches out.  Whether it is God’s mercy or Amitabha Buddha’s mercy,  its purpose is to save the souls of those who have been lost, fallen from grace. 

As Japanese Shin Buddhist master, Shinran (親鸞), said in his “Hymn of True Faith”(Shoshin nembutsu ge/正信念仏偈),  Amitabha (Amida) Buddha’s boundless light reaches out to save sinners.  This is analogous to how God through Christ extends His mercy to save lost sinners, wherever they may be, and to bring them back to Him.  In regard to mercy and salvation, there is a parallel between Buddhism and Christianity.  

I take refuge in the Buddha of Infinite Life, the Tathagata of inconceivable Light. Bodhisattva Dharmakara sat with Buddha Lokeshvararaja…..Why did the World-honored One come into this world?  To expound the ocean of Amida’s Primal Vow; In this evil world of five defilements ,we should believe the Buddha’s true words. We, by a single thought of Joy in the Vow, passions though unsevered, will attain Nirvana. Whether wicked, good or in-between, all are the same, as of one taste are all rivers entering the sea.  Light of compassion ever shining protects us, darkest ignorance it has already overcome; still, the clouds and mist of greed, delusion and rage always cover the sky of shinjin; Yet, as the clouds and mist obscure the sun’s light, under them is Light and no darkness at all; when receiving faith with greatest joy and reverence, we at once transcend the five evil realms. Whether good or evil, if ordinary folk hear and trust the Buddha’s Universal Vow, great and highest is their understanding, He said: White Lotus Flowers they are called.  (Shinran, Shoshin Nembutsu Ge – The Hymn of True Faith in Nembutsu)

Paul before being touched by mercy of God was ignorant, as he confesses in his letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:13). It suggests that Paul’s sinful behaviors were due to his ignorance.  This echoes one of the Buddhist cardinal teachings:  ignorance (moha), which is one of the Three Poisons (trivisa), along with aversion (dvesa) and attachment (raga).  Thus, in Buddhism, ignorance can lead us to sinful acts, resulting in sufferings.  Ignorance, in Buddhism, means a separation from everything else in the universe, and a false perception about self and everything else because of this separation.  The truth in Buddhism – the Dharma – teaches that we are all connected not only with each other but also with everything in the universe, as we, along with everything else in the universe, exists only contingent upon the intricacy of interdependent causes and conditions (pratityasamutpada) . 

What the connection with everything else in the universe is to Buddhism parallels what the connection with God to Christianity. Being ignorant about this truth means being severed from everything else in the universe to Buddhist is analogous to being ignorant about this truth means being cut-off from God and being fallen from grace. 

With delight and gratitude, Master Shinran, in his “Shoshin Nembutsu Ge – The Hymn of True Faith in Nembutsu”  sees that it is Amitabha Buddha’s desire to extend its immeasurable light of mercy to save those are in the darkness of ignorance – just as Paul expresses his joy and gratitude for God’s mercy, the saving grace, in 1 Timothy 12-17. 

According to the Heart Sutra and the Avalokitesvara Sutra, an embodiment of Amitabha Buddha’s salvific desire, mercy, is Avalokitasvara Bodhisattva (観音菩薩/ Guanyin Bodhisattva  ).  The Sanskrit word, “avalokitasvara” means “to look down to the world and listen”.  Thus, Avalokitasvara Bodhisattva is, indeed, an embodiment of the immeasurable light of Amitabha Buddha’s mercy to save sinners in the world. 

As with Christianity, what sinners need to fully benefit from the mercy of Amitabha Buddha is to repent.  As merciful God have incarnated in Christ to save us, reaching out in the Holy Spirit, Amitabha Buddha, whose desire is to save, has been embodied in Avalokitasvara Bodhisattva, shining Amitabha’s immeasurable salvific light of mercy on us. 

Whether it is the saving light of God through Christ or of Amitabha Buddha through Avalokitasvara Bodhisattva, this immeasurable light works on our ignorance, which is a root of our sins, attributed to the Original Sin. 

Spiritual Works of Mercy  - Catechetical Sunday

The 24^th Sunday of Year C falls upon Catechetical Sunday in 2013.  Whether it is a mere coincidence or rather God’s providence – though I believe the latter, the scripture readings of the 24^th Sunday have much to offer in signifying the meaning of Catechetical Sunday. 

Based on St. Thomas Aquinas’ “Summa Theologica”, Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) describes works of mercy that we are to practice.  There are the corporal works of mercy (To feed the hungry; To give drink to the thirsty; To clothe the naked; To shelter the homeless; To visit the sick; To ransom the captive; To bury the dead) and the spiritual works of mercy (To instruct the ignorant; To counsel the doubtful; To admonish sinners; To bear wrongs patiently; To forgive offences willingly; To comfort the afflicted; To pray for the living and the dead). 

One of the spiritual works of mercy is to instruct the ignorant. It means to help those who are in the darkness of ignorance become enlightened as they come to know God, to appreciate grace of God, benefitted by God’s mercy. And, this is what catechesis aims for. 

Catechists in the Catholic Church throughout the world are committed to make their efforts in religious education to bring salvific effects to their students.  “Ignorant” in this context does not mean “ignorant” in colloquial sense or psychological sense, but it means “not really knowing God and His grace”.   

For us to be saved, we need to have our eyes opened to God, as Paul became able to see after three days of blindness, in his conversion (Acts 9:1-19), or as John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” sings, “I once was lost, but now am found, as blind but now I see.”  Catechesis is a way to help our eyes open so that we appreciate the light of God – His mercy fully.  Thus, catechesis is a path to enlightenment. 

In this effort to help us become enlightened, catechesis must address the rest of the works of mercy.  Not to mention, forgiveness, which is another spiritual work of mercy is addressed in the 24^th Sunday’s Gospel reading through Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. 

Effects of God’s Mercy – Returning Home – Pagbabalik-Loob

As Paul has testified in 1 Timothy 12-17, God’s mercy prompts us to turn from the darkness of sin to the light of God.  As I explained, this is what conversion literally means - con “together” and “vertere”, to turn.  So, when God’s mercy touches upon us, who do we turn with? Of course, it is the mercy.  Upon mercy’s contact upon us, we turn with mercy to where it guides into. Namely, it is where God is that mercy leads us to.  

To the believers, the ultimate home is where God is.  The mercy of God is like the shepherd who goes out far to find a lost sheep to bring it home, as described in the parable of the lost sheep. And, God wait patiently until all lost souls make their ways home to God, as the father of the prodigal son, in the parable of the prodigal son, waited.  Thus, the ultimate aim of God’s mercy is homecoming of all to the Kingdom of God.  A life on earth is, indeed, a pilgrimage home to the Kingdom of God, where God reside and lead us to through His mercy. 

A Filipino Catholic theologian, Jose DeMesa, explains that a Tagalog equivalent to the word, “conversion” is “pagbabalik-loob”.   The Tagalog word, “pagbabalik” means “returning home”, while the world, “loob” means “inner self”, “substantial self”.   In this Filipino contextualization of “conversion”, there is this image that conversion is a journey or pilgrimage to who we really are and are to become.  It also suggests that who are in the state of “out of grace”, “ignorance”, “darkness of sin” is not who we really are or being our own “loob”.  

Buddhist teaching on moha, which means ignorance, is rather close to understanding that who we are in the state of sinfulness is not our real self, because moha suggests living with a false sense of self, a delusional sense of self.  And, living a delusional sense of self means a life of kleshas, a life of afflictions, the kind of life that St. Augustine of Hippo defined as “restless heart”. 

St. Augustine puts it,  our hearts are restless until they find rest in God (Confession, Chapter 1). It means that we live a life of kleshas in the state of “fallen from grace”, “ignorance”, “moha”.  It is a life of delusion, in Buddhist teaching.  In such a delusion,  we, the sinners, are not living with “loob”, our substance.  It is where we are far from “home” – the Kingdom of God. 

The souls in such a state needs to be touched by the mercy of God – the Divine Mercy, so that they will be saved upon conversion, so that they turn (vertere) and make their way home (pagbabalik) , where God reside, where the Kingdom of God is, and where we find our true self, “loob”.

As we are touched by mercy of God and open our eyes to the truth, the Dharma, we come to realize that we cannot save ourselves.  We need the Divine Mercy to be saved, as Jesus spoke to St. Faustina.  Mahayana Buddhism, especially Japanese Shin Buddhism, teaches that we need the mercy of Amitabha Buddha, to be saved.  And,  in our salvation, we find our true self, no longer in kleshas, no longer a restless heart,  no longer a delusional self, but now living the true self, “loob”,  found in God in the Kingdom.  This is the state of Nirvana in Buddhism.  All we need to find our way to “loob” found in God (secure heart rest in God) is the Divine Mercy. And, this journey upon making our turn with the Divine Mercy is a journey of conversion (turning with), heading to “loob”, true self, in God.  This journey is far more than a process of what Abraham Maslow calls “self transcendence through self actualization” or Carl Jung views as “individuation”.  This is, indeed, a pilgrimage toward the fullness in the mystery of Christ. 

For our meaningful journey of “pagbabalik-loob”, let the Divine Mercy guide us, as it is our salvific pilgrimage, which Paul, the foremost among the sinners” made. 

As Pure Land Mahayana Buddhists images Amitabha Buddha’s mercy with a large vessel  (mahayana) that carry saved sinners home to the Pure Land, Christians can see the Divine Mercy as “Christian Mahayana”(Christian large vessel) that carry saved souls home to the Kingdom of God.  

Indeed, Jesus spoke to St. Faustina:  

"I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: 'Jesus, I trust in You'" (Diary, 327)

For Christians, our full trust in Christ is the anchor of the saving vessel that Christ offers, while Japanese Shin Buddhist express their full trust in Amitabha Buddha’s care through “nembuts”(念仏):  Namuamidabutsu (南無阿弥陀仏) to sail home to the Pure Land with Amitabha’s mahayana (large vessel).

Agan/ ἄγαν is the Character of the Love of God in His Mercy, Forgiveness – Exegesis of the Scripture Readings of the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C

Overview

If I ask my religious education students, “What is the Sacrament most relevant to this Sunday’s scripture readings?”, they shall answer, “The Sacrament of Reconciliation”, as a common theme for this Sunday’s scripture readings ( 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13; Galatians 2:16, 19-21; Luke 7:36-8:3) is forgiveness.  

In the Second Reading (Galatians 2:16, 19-21), Paul addresses justification by faith in Christ.   Justification means removing sins by the works of God’s grace, leading to salvation. Therefore, justification involves in forgiveness, because there is no justification for sinners unless their sins are forgiven by God. In Catholicism, the Sacrament of Reconciliation helps us obtain justification. 

In the Gospel Reading, Jesus indicates mutual association between love and forgiveness (Luke 7:41-42; 47).  The word used for “love” in the original Greek text of the Gospel is agapao/ ἀγαπάω both for verse 42 to indicate the kind of love enables forgiveness and for verse 47 the kind of love that can lead to forgiveness. The Greek word agapao/ ἀγαπάω is derived from agape/ ἀγάπη, which is known for selfless and sacrificial love. The root word of these words is agan/ ἄγαν, which implies abounding abundance.

Agan/ἄγαν characterizes how God pours His love (agape/ ἀγάπη) in way of  agapao/ ἀγαπάω , and this is what is important to be appreciated through this Sunday’s readings.

That being said, this Sunday’s First Reading (2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13) and the Gospel Reading (Luke 7:36-8:3) challenge us more than what Paul teaches in Galatians 2:16. Perhaps, these are to supplement Paul’s teaching on justification by faith. 

The First Reading (2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13) is about merciful God forgiving King David though his sin was so grave, while the Gospel Reading (Luke 7:36-8:3) is about Jesus forgiving a sinful woman, whose sins are many but who showed her care for Jesus.    

The first reading teaches not only that God is gracious and compassionate, as said in Psalm 145:8,  but also that it takes our humility to have our sins forgiven.  The Gospel Reading teaches that we must act on faith and show our work of faith with love in order to be forgiven. 

Exegesis of the First Reading 

- Ontogeny of David's Sin -

Though David came from a humble origin, a son of Jesse, a shepherd, he gave his humility to his ever-growing appetite for power, as he rose in political and military power, taking over Saul.

In the David’s army, there was a soldier, Uriah the Hittite, whose wife was Bathsheba.  

David’s trouble with God began when he saw Bathsheba bathing while he was walking on the roof of his palace. Upon seeing her body, with growing carnal temptation, he asked his servant to find out what she was and called her to his chamber upon learning that she was Bathsheba, the Uriah’s wife.  And, David had a sexual contact with him in his private space.

The escalation of David’s sin grew further from forcing Bathsheba into adultery. This is how sin begets sins. 

Upon having sex with David in his chamber, Bathsheba became pregnant. David knew how Uriah would react. So, David responded to his adulterous scandal with Bathsheba and her pregnancy with another grave sin – another violation of the Ten Commandments: murdering.

If this scandal had taken place in today’s American social context, an abortion could be considered as an option to cover-up the scandal. But, David decided to “get rid of” the husband of the woman he violated.

David instructed the commander of his army, Joab, Uriah’s direct boss, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die”(2 Samuel 11:15). And, Uriah was killed in the battle field. So, this is David’s anther violation of the Ten Commandments – besides, in addition to adultery.  

What was unbeknownst to Bathsheba was that her husband died due to plot of the man she slept with and who made her pregnant  – David. Thus, upon her mourning, she married to David. 

Because marrying to a widow could be seen as an act of compassion in the cultural context of that time, David sure looked good on the surface, as long as the adultery and his plot of killing Uriah were kept in secret.  But, as Adam and Eve had experienced, David sure could not hide his grave sin from God. In fact, God was quite displeased with David.

- Nathan as an Effective Psychotherapist - 
 

Annoyed by David’s sin, God sent Prophet Nathan to David to confront his sin.  But, the way Nathan handled David was quite tactful. As a psychotherapist, I can confidently say that the way Nathan confronted David’s sin is clinically effective in treating clients and patients with significant ego defense. 

Usually, if someone told another person about what is wrong with him or her, the person who was told would become irritated and even angry. As a result, this person would grow even more defensive about his or her problem.  It was as if Nathan had mastered  great psychotherapeutic skills to treat a person in denial. 

Instead of first telling David what his problem was, Nathan applied a narrative, to which David could see himself. 

So, Nathan began the “therapy” session for David with this narrative:

There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.
“The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.
“But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb
Which he bought and nourished;

 
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,
And was like a daughter to him.

“Now a traveler came to the rich man,
And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd,
To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him;

 
Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” (2 Samuel 12:1-4). 

In response to this narrative, David grew angry at a rich man who committed extortion upon a poor man, saying , “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves death!  He shall make fourfold restitution,  for the lamb because he has done this and was unsparing “(2 Samuel 12:5-6).   

David sure judged right.  But, Nathan indicated that David is the man he was judging harshly for his offense.  In response to this Nathan's powerful psychotherapetutic confrontation, David must have been stunned. And, this is where this Sunday’s First Reading takes it off. 

As David was the King of Israel (the United Kingdom of Israel before splitting between Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom)), he could have killed Nathan to further cover up his sin. But, this time, David woke up to who he really was – a humble man. 

Because David humbled himself and acknowledged his sin, God, out of His mercy, forgave him – though David judged himself deserving a death penalty.  God, indeed, forgives a person who has violated more than one commandment in the Decalogue, as David violated two of them – adultery and murder.

As Nathan further reminded David of what God had done for him, David must have been ashamed of what he had done.  This is not to accuse him as a prosecutor does to a defendant in the court of the law, but it is rather to help him recognize how disappointed and hurt God is because of his sin, for God care him so much. 

Upon recognizing God’s disappointment over him, David humbly repented and was able to reconcile with God through God’s forgiveness.

-God's Merciful Response to David's Humble Admission to Sin -

God is not punitive to sinners, who wake up to the fact of God’s disappointment over sins and repent. Because of this God’s character, God do not dig into sinners’ past offenses. God prefer reconciliation to a punishment.  So, we must not only repent but also demonstrate a contrite heart through works of faith.

It is also important to note here that God did not let David off the hock of his sin’s consequences.  For this, God, through Nathan’s mouth, prophesized hardships upon David’s life and his offspring.  In fact, the first child that David had with Bathsheba, a product of his sin, died. To this, David grieved gravely.  Even after this, David’s life continued with myriad of sufferings – and many of his successors became corrupt kings, contributing to the loss of the kingdom down in the history.  However, David himself demonstrated his steadfast faith in God, no matter how difficult his challenges were. 

In repenting, as in the David’s case, we can experience a sense of shame. But, it is important that we do not dwell upon the shame.  We must move on with a contrite heart and demonstrate our willingness to be forgiven by our action.  This lesson leads to this Sunday’s Gospel reading.

Exegesis of the Gospel Reading

Problem with Sinful Woman? Problem with Righteous Simon?

The Gospel reading, in a way, describes an act of restitution as a demonstration of a sinner’s remorse for offending God.

Though the scripture did not say if the sinful woman had known of Jesus’ divinity, it is likely that she was aware of Jesus’ divine quality, because he has performed a significant number of miracles by the time he came to the house of Simon, a Pharisee. Thus, it is possible to think that this sinful woman bathed Jesus’ feet with her tears of remorse, dried his feet with her hair, kissed them and anointed him with expensive oil  as her gesture of penance and desire to live a new life through reconciliation.

This event took place after the last Sunday’s Gospel Reading scene, Jesus raising a widow’s only son in Nain, near Nazareth, a Jesus’ home town, where he was once rejected (Luke 7:11-17).  That miracle of Jesus on the widow’s son made Jesus quite well-known for his power (Luke 7:17).  

This growing reputation of Jesus also reached John the Baptist, making him ask if Jesus is the one who is to come as the Messiah or someone else to further wait for (Luke 7:19). Therefore, the reputation about Jesus must have reached to the sinful woman, as well.

Obviously, Simon, a Pharisee, who is pious and righteous, did not understand this, as he thought that the Messiah saves sinners like this women.  Simon must know that Jesus is not one of those ordinary men because the news of his miracle in Nain must have reached him, as well.  In fact, he thought Jesus was a prophet like Elijah, who also raised the son of a poor widow.  But, it was his mentality – obsession with piety and purity that blinded him from who Jesus is and what his teaching  is about, though the sinful woman seemed to understand better. 

The problem of Simon, a Pharisee, was his pride, which makes him think he is better than others for his strict observance of the Mosaic law. But, Jesus teaches quite differently from the belief of the Pharisees. This problem of the Pharisees, including Simon, is clearly pointed by Paul in the Second Reading (Galatians 2:16, 19-21).  Paul, a teacher of the Jesus’ teaching, emphasizes that the works of the law will neither will save us nor will make us holy. The Pharisees work very hard to perfect the works of the law by their strict observance of the law to a point of obsession, thinking that such a pious attitude would lead them to justification (salvation).

Just as Simon, a Pharisee, thought that Jesus should not be associated with a sinful woman (Luke 7:37). But, is it because it is forbidden by the law to have a contact with a sinner or because of his prejudicial mentality?  The Pharisees were not comfortable with the fact that Jesus often made personal contacts with sinners.  As a Pharisee, Simon was sure disturbed by Jesus’ contact with the sinful woman, by telling, if Jesus were a prophet, he should know the woman, who is touching him is a sinner (Luke 7:39), because such Jesus’ behavior with the woman does not bode well with his understanding of  the works of the law. 

Jesus Plays a Psychotherapist, as Nathan did to David, to Simon

Sensing what is inside Simon’s prejudicial mind, Jesus challenges him – in a methodologically similar way as Nathan confronted David’s sin. So, Jesus asked Simon: 

“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?”(Luke 7:41-42)

In the First Reading, in order to awake David to his need to repent, Nathan told him about two men, one rich, and the other poor.  In the Gospel narrative, Jesus also told a story about two people, to guide Simon to realize his needs to realize the importance of love (agapao/ ἀγαπάω), which is derived from agape (ἀγάπη). 

Agan/ ἄγαν  - the way of  God’s Love, Mercy and Compassion – God’s Sense of Justice

So, Simon rightfully answered that the one whose debt is greater received a greater proportion of love.  But, it is not sure if Simon really understood why Jesus asked him this question.

As Luke 7:47 says, the woman’s sins are many, the person with greater debt is considered to be a metaphor to the sinful woman, in the Jesus’ question to Simon. 

God’s justice is not about “equality”.  It is not based on equity, as John Rawl’s “Theory of Justice” argues.  Rather, God’s justice is heavily involved in mercy and compassion - because God is love (1 John 4:8). God is not about “fairness” but his love is distributed in proportion to our needs.  In fact, God’s justice is more similar to Martha Nussbaum’s view of justice, which is need-based and capability-based, rather than John Rawl’s theory of justice, which is about equity.  If God were all about “fairness) and God’s justice were more like Rawl’s view, then, the creditor in Jesus’ question to Simon could give both debtors the same amount of money.  This might out the person with smaller debt out of obligation but not the one with greater debt.    

Though the woman’s sins are many, God, through Jesus, forgave her.  This is similar to the fact that God forgave David – though his sin was so grave and two-fold.   Agapao/ ἀγαπάω characterize God’s justice.  In fact, the root word of  agapo (agaphesei )and agape, agan/ ἄγαν  means “much” with an image of overflowing.   Thus, there is no mathematical calculation on how much “love” is given.  Because it is about agan/ ἄγαν  , God’s love, agape/ ἀγάπη always overflows so abundantly to those who are in need. And, this is how God’s grace for our justification flows, as well.  But, the mentality of the Pharisees seems to think of justice more like Rawl’s view on justice. 

Simon’s obsession to the law itself made him lost in his sight to the spirit of the law. The spirit of the law reflects agan/ ἄγαν  of whatever God offer us – love (agape /ἀγάπη) and grace (charis/χαρις ) . And the spirit of the law has no mathematical calculation for the sake of fairness but flows and effects abundantly without a limit – as long as we need.  As a matter of fact, God proclaimed His character to Moses, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;  who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations”(Exodus 34: 6-7).  Indeed, this statement of God about Himself captures agan/ ἄγαν  - abounding nature of love. 

Now, upon teaching Simon that God’s mercy and compassion are abundantly given without calculation to those who are in need, as long as there is a need, by his question, Jesus forgives the sinful woman – though her sins are many and teaches Simon about his problem. 

“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” (Luke 7:44-47).

Again, the way Jesus handled Simon echoes the way Nathan handled David as Jesus first told a story with a metaphor for what Simon needed to understand before he directly explains what Simon’s problem is. So, Jesus first helped Simon better realize (Luke 7:41-42) why Jesus has to criticize him in Luke 4:44-47) – mirroring that Nathan first gave a metaphorical story to help David realize (2 Samuel 12:1-4) to prepare him better receive Nathan’s criticism on him (2 Samuel 12:7-12).

Just as the creditor in Jesus’ story to Simon also cancelled a person with greater debt without any string attached, God through Jesus, the Son, forgave the sinful woman, though her sins are many. This also reflects that God forgave David despite the fact that his sin was two-fold grave sin to deserve death. 

As Buddhists say that Amitabha’s mercy is infinite, this Sunday’s First Reading and The Gospel Reading remind that God’s love through His mercy and compassion is abounding,  the meaning of the root word of agape/ ἀγάπη and  agapao/ ἀγαπάω : agan/ ἄγαν, which means limitless abundance. 

It must be also noted that Jesus regards what the sinful woman did to him (bathing his feet with her tears, drying them with her hair, kissing them and anointing him) is an act of love. And Jesus indicates that love and forgiveness are in positive correlation, as greater love leads to greater forgiveness and vice versa in Luke 7:47.

So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; because, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little”.

Justification - Forgiveness:  Sola Fide ? or Fide et Opus?

Jesus further declares that the woman’s faith has saved her (Luke 7:50), suggesting that it was her faith that led to her forgiveness. Interpretation of Luke 7:50 and 7:47 is different between Catholic and Protestant, because Catholic view is that it was the woman’s act of love demonstrated to Jesus, as a form of her faith, led to her forgiveness (being saved – being justified), while Protestant view is that it was, indeed, her faith, which led to her forgiveness, and her love was not the basis for her forgiveness but simply evidence of her forgiveness.

Being a Catholic, my view is that faith is definitely a necessary condition  but not a sufficient one by itself for justification (to be forgiven and saved).  For faith to be sufficient to lead to forgiveness and justification, it must be fortified with an act of love. This my view reflects James 2:14-26 and 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. Thus, in order for faith to be worthy of justification, it must be demonstrated through an act (work) of love, as love is the greatest among faith, hope and love. 

Another important factor to be noted here is that agapao/ ἀγαπάω is used in the original Greek text of Luke 7:47, in describe Jesus’ use of the word, “love”, in characterizing the sinful woman’s act to Jesus and a factor in positive correlation to forgiveness. Because agapao/ ἀγαπάω was also used to describe Jesus’ use of the word, “love”, in his words to Simon in Luke 7:42, God’s act of love (agapao/ ἀγαπάω) to forgive sinners, however great their sins maybe, corresponds to sinners’ acts of love (agapao/ ἀγαπάω).

 Love of Agan/ ἄγαν  - the Spirit of the Law – "Here and Now" : Therapeutic (Healing) Effects in light of Morita Therapy and Logo Therapy

With this obsession-driven blindness to the spirit of the law, all the hard works of the law (dutiful observation of the law) will turn vain and lead to the fulfillment of the law – or as Paul puts it in the Second Reading, it cannot lead to justification. 

The spirit of the law is not about us judging who is more pious and who is not – who is better and who is not but to live our faith in the spirit of the law – what the law is intended, rather than the letters of the law, for salvation. To teach this, Jesus came to us and demonstrated what he meant by fulfilling the law. Therefore, along with raising the only son of a widow in the last Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 7:11-17), as well as many other ministry works of him, Jesus was demonstrating what it means to fulfill the law by allowing the sinful woman to care for him as she did and forgave her. Because the spirit of the law is to bring and keep everyone in communion with each other and with God – not to isolate because of sins or sickness. Though purity is important aspect of living in faith, purity itself is not the objective of faith.  What matters more than purity is love.

Perhaps, her act of offering foot washing  service, kissing, and anointing to Jesus could be thought as her way of sin and guilt offerings – though it is quite different from what was prescribed in the law (Leviticus 4 – 7). 

There is a mutual exchange of love between Jesus and the sinful woman.  First, the woman demonstrated her love for Jesus by washing his feet  with tears, drying them with her hair, kissing them and anointing him with special oil. In response, Jesus demonstrated his love by forgiving her and bring her back to the community.  And, this is what the Christians are called to emulate, reflecting his new commandment: love one another as he has (John 13:34-35).

Another important element of this Sunday’s Gospel story is that God through Jesus do not keep us in the matter of our past sins. That is why Jesus never asks this woman and other sinners what types of sins they have committed and why, while those who are accusatory often “dig” deep into the problems of the past at the expense of the opportunity to work on what is needs to be done for metanoia and to construct a better life. To God, an inquiry of our past sins is not as much important as inspiring to strive for what we do now to become a better persons with the contrite heart.  Though the woman’s sins in the past were many, Jesus did not ask what sins she had committed and how she got into a sinful life in the past.  This Jesus’ approach to sinners echoes important clinical wisdom in effective psychotherapy.

While some psychotherapies, such as traditional psychoanalysis, expend a large amount of time and energy in exploring the past life of the client/patient,  Morita Therapy and Logo Therapy focus on the client’s current life in a way to lead to a better future.  The  “here and now” focus in their clinical orientation of Morita Therapy and Logo Therapy are, therefore, very applicable into pastoral counseling and pastoral care, reflecting the way Jesus healed many.  Exploration of the life in the past can be conducted as necessary only to enhance the effect of the “here-and-now”-focused treatment. 

Just as the “here-and-now” clinical orientation of Morita Therapy and Logo Therapy does not necessarily means giving no attention to the past, Jesus’ focus on the present behaviors and attitude (the state of the heart) does not necessarily mean that Jesus pays no attention to sinners’ past.  In fact, Jesus already knew that the woman had committed many sins – even though he did not ask her, as a psychotherapist of the past life orientation would do, because of his divine power.  And, Jesus touched upon the past life in the healing process he offered to a Samaritan woman by the Jacob’s Well ( John 4:1-26 ). It was not to judge her or accuse her because of her sinful past but to call her attention to what she needs to do now to break free from the sinful bondage of her past. 

Just imagine if Simon, a Pharisee, would  be disturbed upon seeing  the exchange between Jesus and the sinful woman had he really understood the meaning of this Sunday’s First Reading and the Second Reading.  But, fortunately, we are given these readings to better understand this Gospel narrative.

Let our love flows abundantly without limit as God’s abounding love is always poured and showed on us – so that we forgive one another as we are forgiven by God. For this, we shall not lose our sight in the letters of the law.