How much do we believe that we are loved? How much do we believe that God can love us?
Do we see God as the Father of the Prodigal Son or do we see God as the judge, the one who holds us down? Is God so far above us and beyond us that we see God through the eyes of Psalm 90: “You sweep men away like a dream, like grass which springs up in the morning? In the morning it springs up and flowers: by evening it withers and fades. So we are destroyed in your anger, struck with terror in your fury. Our guilt lies open before you; our secrets in the light of your face.”
In the seventh chapter of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus helps us to understand who God really is. There Simon the Pharisee, invites Jesus to dine with him. Like many of the Pharisees, Simon sees God as a judge, as one who wants His followers to keep themselves pure, and if they don’t they will be punished. Thus, when he sees the sinful woman not only dare to enter his house, but to touch Jesus, he is scandalized. He says to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is, that she is a sinner.” Jesus’ response reveals who God the Father really is. “‘Tell me, teacher,’ he said. ‘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 them both. Which of the two will love him more?’ Simon said in reply, ‘The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.’ He said to him, ‘You have judged rightly.’” (Luke 7:39-43).
Jesus then pointed out the difference between how the woman has treated him and how Simon the Pharisee treated Jesus. Though Simon had invited Jesus to dine with him, he had not provided water for Jesus to wash His sandaled feet, nor had he greeted Him with a kiss, as was common in that society, nor had he anointed Jesus’ head with oil as a sign of honor. The woman had done all of these things with her tears, her actions and with the ointment. Jesus turns to the Pharisee and says, “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 7:47-48).
Is this the God whom we know, who forgives “seventy times seven,” whenever we turn back to Him seeking His forgiveness? This is the Father whom Jesus reveals. This is our God. We are loved. Fear is a last resort, if nothing else will keep us from doing wrong. As one who spent 23 years in the classroom, I know that fear is a lousy motivator. If your students know you want the best for them because you care for them, they will learn better and behave better. God loves and wants to be loved. This is why the Son of God became one with us. Jesus loved us to the end, dying for us and rising for us. His love is everlasting.
Because he had experienced this in his own conversion, when St. Ignatius of Loyola had us consider the sin of the world and our own sins, he did so in order that we might recognize the depth of Jesus’ love for us. As St. Paul says, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. … Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life” (Romans 5:8, 10).
Once we know how loved we are, may we return love for love – loving God and one another as Jesus did. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” (I John 4:11-12).
Jesuit Father John Michalowski is parochial vicar of St. Peter Church in Charlotte.