Today’s Gospel reminds me of an incident I once had at the Dulles-Washington International Airport.  I was on one of my many trips and after checking in at the gate, I realized that I had about an hour before my flight was to board, so I bought myself a bag of cookies, settled in a chair in the waiting area and began to work on my lap top.  Suddenly, I noticed the beautiful young lady sitting beside me, helping herself to the cookies from the cookie bag between us.  Not wanting to make a scene, I kept on working, ate cookies, and watched the clock.  With each cookie I took, she took one too.

As the daring “cookie thief” kept on eating the cookies, I got more frustrated and irritated and said to myself, “Boy, if I wasn’t so nice, I’d say something to her!” When we were down to the last cookie, I wondered what she would do. Then, to my amazement, she took the last cookie and broke it in half and, with a smile on her face, she offered me half, as she ate the other. Fuming, I snatched my half from her and thought, “My God, this gal has some nerve, and she’s also so rude. Why, she didn’t even show any gratitude!”

I sighed with relief when my flight was called.  I hastily grabbed my backpack and did not even bother to put my laptop back in my backpack, headed for the gate, refusing to look at the ungrateful “cookie thief.”  I boarded the plane and settled in my seat, then reached for my backpack to put away my laptop. What I saw made me gasp with surprise, embarrassment and humiliation.  For there, in my backpack, was my bag of cookies!  Then it dawned on me that the cookies I was eating in the waiting area was the girl’s and not mine…that the girl was not a thief but a friend who was willing to share…that I was the rude one, the ungrateful one.  I was the one pointing the accusing finger when I was the cookie thief!

This incident reminds us, as we see in today’s Gospel, that it often happens that the one pointing the accusing finger turns out to be the guilty one; that the accuser sometimes turns out to be the offending party.  In the cookie incident, I thought myself to be a wonderful person to put up with the rudeness and ingratitude of the girl sitting beside me.  In the end, I discovered that I was the rude and ungrateful one and the young lady was wonderfully friendly.  In the Gospel, Simon the Pharisee thinks he is the righteous one who is worthy to be in the company of Jesus and that the woman was the sinful one, unworthy to be seen with Jesus.  In the end, however, Jesus showed each of them where they really belonged; the woman was seen as the one who was righteous and more deserving of the company of Jesus than the self-righteous Simon the Pharisee.

Why do things like this happen?  …Because it is easier to hear the other person than it is to hear yourself snoring. It is easy to notice the fault of other people while being blind to our own faults. It is easier to see the speck in someone else’s eye than to see the beam in our own. Great men and women of God have been, all without exception, people who are so aware of their own failures that they are hardly surprised at other people’s shortcomings. People who delight in criticizing others betray their lack of self-awareness. In the end, they discover that they themselves are indeed the cookie thieves that they accuse others to be.

But what was the mistake of Simon the Pharisee?  If the woman was indeed a prostitute, where then did he get it wrong?  After all, what he said about the woman was true, wasn’t it?  Of course the woman was a sinner.  Jesus did not say that the woman was not a sinner.  Jesus only said that the man was a sinner too, and in fact, a worse sinner than the woman.

“I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.  You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet.  You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love.”
 

The problem of Simon the Pharisee was his notion of sin and holiness.  For him, the woman was an “occasion of sin”, to be avoided by godly people. Jesus corrects him: it is not what you avoid that counts, it is what you do.  The Pharisee might indeed have avoided occasions of sin, but he did nothing for Jesus in need.  The woman, on the other hand, attended to the practical needs of Jesus. Jesus accepted the woman’s external show of love as a clear manifestation of inner faith: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  This practical engagement is the crucial difference between her and the Pharisee.

How do we employ our faith in practical service of the needy? Yes, we may come to church weekly or even daily. Some of us receive the Eucharist weekly, or even daily. We may say the rosary and our morning, noon and night prayers daily, but if we do not stretch out our hands to those in need, then what good is our faith? If we hear of women and children and the elderly being abused and neglected and do nothing about it, then what good is our faith? We can pray for our sick or for those who live alone and hear of those who are lonely, but if we do not visit them or even send them a card, then what good is our faith?

In a few moments we will be welcoming and baptizing two infants into our Catholic Faith. We as parents and godparents – we as a Christian community – must accept the responsibility and ensure children such as these with a future that is rich and seeped in the culture, values and traditions of our faith. If we do not set the example by proudly and boldly living out our Catholic faith tradition, if we do not witness to the Gospel of our Lord, then what good is our faith? If we stand in this holy place and profess our faith but do not take it with us when we go out these doors into the streets of Jonesboro and beyond, to live it – to profess it – to proclaim it – then what good is our faith? With all the technology available, we can keep track and update ourselves with events that are happening around the world in an instant, but if we do not use our eyes and our hearts and notice those who are less fortunate than us in our very own community… in our own neighborhood…in our own backyard…and do nothing about it, then what good is our faith?

Two weeks ago, our Saint Vincent DePaul Food Pantry had to keep their doors closed because the shelves were bare and dozens and dozens of families were turned away hungry and empty-handed.  When you see and hear of such things and do nothing about it, then what good is our faith?

In our Gospel story, Luke draws a sharp contrast between the smug and self-righteous Pharisee (who keeps all the rules but does not have the sensitivity to perform the basic acts of kindness toward a guest) and the woman who has a reputation for sinfulness but who receives Jesus with loving service.  It is indeed praiseworthy to attend Mass and to observe all the rules of Christian conduct, but all of this careful observance is of no value if it is not accompanied by a genuine spirit of love and forgiveness and service to the Lord.  We receive Jesus with loving service when we receive and provide for the less fortunate; Christ himself has told us that what we do for the least of his people – that is what we do unto him.

In a few moments, we will be approaching this table to receive Christ in the Eucharist.  Let us pause for a while and ask our Lord to give us the wisdom to always recognize our sins and the humility to always ask for forgiveness.  Let us ask him for the courage to always receive Christ and his people with great loving service and, as always, let us ask him to guide our every thought and action.

Today’s Gospel is Good News indeed to all who have ever been humiliated by the “good people” of this world; humiliated by a false concern to maintain the standard of holiness in the household of God.  Jesus assures them that they are indeed closer to the heart of God than their accusers have made them to believe.  And to those who, like the Pharisee, feel that Jesus is their exclusive birthright, the Good News for them today is simple: Watch it…lest in the end you discover, like I did at Dulles-Washington International Airport, that after all, it is you who is the cookie thief.

May God Bless each and every one of you…

and for all of you Fathers and Daddies out there, “Happy Fathers’ Day.”