No Excuses ~ A Reflection on the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Sm 12:7-10, 13

Ps 32:1-2, 5, 7, 11 (5c)

Gal 2:16, 19-21

Lk 7:36-8:3

Fr. Dan provided us with a great homily this morning, as well as a special Fathers' Day blessing for the fathers and father-figures in our congregation.

Have you ever noticed how often we admit our guilt about something and at the same time try to minimize the guilt by giving excuses?  Remember when you gave somebody a hard time and excused your behavior because "I was having a bad day"?  How about the time you apologized to somebody whose reputation you had trashed but said it was someone else's fault for gossiping lies to you...  Yes, giving excuses is so easy to do...  I think one reason we do this is because we cannot face the fact that we do wrong purposefully.

As we look at the first reading from 2 Samuel, we see a great example of how to take full responsibility for our sins without giving God any excuses.  We all know the story of King David who decided he wanted for his own, the wife of his faithful soldier, Uriah the Hittite.  He planned Uriah's murder on the field of battle and then married his widow who was already pregnant with David's child.

God, through the prophet Nathan, accused David of adultery and murder, reminding David of all God had done for him; and that because of these sins, the "sword shall never depart from your house."

How could David minimize his sins before God when he knew he had done the things he was accused of?  David expected to die but instead, David was forgiven by God for assuming responsibility for his sins and repenting.  "I have sinned against the Lord." said David.  No excuses!

We have a similar story in the Luke's Gospel.  The sinful woman who wept at the feet of Jesus and anointed them with ointment.  She never said a word but Jesus knew what her actions meant and told her that her sins were forgiven.

God's forgiveness is always there...  we simply have to acknowledge our sins and repent and accept the forgiveness He holds out to us.



Image Source:  "The Repentance of the Sinful Woman" by Lina