My indebtedness to Louis-Marie Parent...
(see Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke 7:36-50)
Here we see two mentalities, that of the Pharisee, and that of Jesus. Both are good in terms of the natural order, but only that of Our Lord opens into the supernatural. The question is a simple enough one at first glance,
"What should we do when a person living out what we may wish to label an "immoral" or perhaps even going so far in our pride an "evil" life seeks out our friendship? We may think this person could have a bad influence on us, causing us to stumble or even err, or by association with them cause us to lose our reputation that we may value highly? What should our attitude be???..."
Bear with me, I'm going to take a little creative license here...
Let's imagine the Pharisee in this Gospel story lives in Bethany, a couple of kilometres outside of Jerusalem. He works at the Temple during the day, and returns home in the evenings. (The Pharisees were an aristocratic class who had dedicated themselves to the defense of the Jewish Law. They exercised a certain hegemony among the Jewish people and considered themselves among the elite of the elite. They were remarkably pious and their zeal was their principal glory.) The Pharisee in our story had no doubt heard people discussing and talking about Jesus, and he was obviously interested in him. Nicodemus tells us remember, that he was not alone in his curiosity about Jesus. (see Holy Gospel According to Saint John 3:1-2). Opinions seem divided though. Some say he is a prophet, his teaching is novel, and he even performs miracles! Others are aggressive and condemn Jesus, his words, his gestures, his very being. They desire his disappearance, even his death...
Our Pharisee is curious, curious to form his own opinion of Jesus, and so he invites the Teacher to his house to dine with him, and the stage is set.
An educated Pharisee would be sure to follow a careful protocol of courtesy and welcome that would enable others to easily recognize the appreciation that they have for a visitor. Large vases of clean water and towels are kept near the entrance for the purpose of washing the feet of said visitor! The Master of the house would attend to this duty himself if the visitor were an important one! Jesus is alert, and awaits the moment of truth. Our pharisee is embarrassed though... What kind of welcome should he extend to Jesus? He wants to do things well, but at the same time doesn't want to alienate his friends and family. If he washes the feet of Jesus himself, he could be seen as being sympathetic to Jesus, and admitting publicly that the teachings of Jesus hold some merit. The decision is made! He avoids compromising himself with his family and friends, the others in his class, and the authorities of the Temple, and allows Jesus, as if he were a simple servant, simply to take care of himself.
As dinner is being served, an uninvited guest enters the house. She is beautiful, attractive, and all eyes are on her. The Pharisee is embarrassed. He is afraid of having his reputation sullied in front of Jesus. He knows this woman, she is a prostitute. She moves towards Jesus and in a show of shocking familiarity kneels down before Jesus. The Pharisee's mind runs rampant!
"If Jesus is as good as he would have us all believe, he would not tolerate the conduct of this woman! If he were truly a prophet, he would recognize her for what she is, and not subject himself or his reputation to her advances! Can all that I have heard about him, that he can read hearts, that he knows the very consciences of others, that he performs miracles, could it all be false?"
Doubts form is his heart, and his opinion of Jesus is a decidedly negative one. However, Jesus has been following the evolution of this Pharisees mind as is ready to unveil his game. Here we see two distinct mentalities about to clash! Both can be defended, and both are found in society. The Pharisee thinks to himself,
"If Jesus is who some say he is, he would tell this woman in no uncertain terms,
"Madam, I am sorry, but you do not belong here. Would you please be good enough to leave. I am not interested in your advances, and you are wasting your time..."
Our pharisee probably would applaud such a rebuke. In all likelihood he wanted her to leave.
"No good can come from such promiscuity! A bad apple (such as her), can never regain it's quality, and placing it in a barrel of good apples will only contaminate them all. Everyone agrees on this principal...we must protect ourselves... There is only one remedy, to establish distance between this prostitute, and myself and my family."
Here then is the philosophy of our pharisee,...Look, Judge, Act, all with a view to our personal protection. This philosophy is spread by honest and well meaning people. It is based on a kind of natural prudence.
But now, it is Jesus who will speak, and the moment of truth has come. Gently, he says to the pharisee,
"When I entered your house today, you did not treat me like a visitor or a friend. You left me, and my friends with me to take care of ourselves as though we were servants. You are afraid to compromise yourself. When you saw this woman enter, you were even more afraid that I would judge you badly. This fear of passing for someone other than the person you really are would even cause you to send her away. Your whole psychology is a defense mechanism, solely to enable you to save face and protect your reputation. Your whole mentality is centered in yourself, and you allow others to pass second."
While Our Lord is speaking, the woman takes the feet of Jesus in her hands and suddenly bursts into tears... One wonders, in touching him, what were her intentions? Were they advances, or was she seeking conversion? It doesn't really matter. A virtue comes forth from Jesus and immediately provokes a radical, and transforming conversion.
The psychology of Jesus is different. It is again Look, Judge, and Act, but not with a view to ourselves, but rather to help others. In Christian psychology, instead of letting oneself be guided by fear, one is guided by the good of the other.
In his heart, the Pharisee thinks,
"Get out of here you prostitute! You are a home wrecker and a public menace!"
But Jesus says openly,
"Come and follow me, you are a daughter of my Father and I welcome you today! Tomorrow, we will eat with Zachaeus! The day after that I will call Mathew the tax collector! We mustn't forget to go to Samaria, I must meet the woman at the well! And then to Jerusalem, and my date with the thief on the cross! For those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, and I have come to seek and to save that which is lost!!!"
I Passed the Written Exam
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Just got the news today. The culmination of a full summer of study, I landed
in the room we affectionately call the dungeon and there I sat for four
hours ...
3 days ago
