The gospel writers tell the story of the woman who washed the feet of Jesus. (In Luke she is simply unnamed as “a sinful woman.”) It is important to see the direction of cause and effect. Jesus informs the Pharisee that “she has shown great love” because “her many sins have been forgiven.” The forgiveness Jesus extends to her is not due to her love; her love manifests her identity as an already forgiven person. Jesus loves and forgives, the forgiven woman loves. How important to remember that we don’t need to earn God’s love and forgiveness. God gives it freely. All of which tells us that wherever there is love, we are seeing a manifestation of God’s merciful presence in the world.
