A Love Like Lightning!

Story: “Who is closer to God,” the seeker asked, “the saint or the sinner?” “Why the sinner, of course,” the elder said. “But how can that be?” the seeker asked. “Because,” the elder said, “every time a person sins they break the cord that binds them to God. But every time God forgives them, the cord is knotted again. And so, thanks to the mercy of God, the cord gets shorter and the sinner gets closer to God”

Liturgically speaking, this Sunday we celebrate the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Gospel for this Sunday is from Luke 7:36-50.  The woman in this story has often been confused with Mary of Bethany (John 12:1-8) and also with Mary Magdalene. The woman in the story has no name; she is called a sinner and there is no reference to substantiate this.  I share with you a beautiful reflection by Macrina Wiederkehr.  Let us step into this gospel and try to imagine ourselves as Simon, the Pharisee and then the woman washing Jesus’ feet.  Ponder what it was like to take on the person of each one as you heard Jesus speak to you.

Reflection:

Too Small a Love

Like lightning at dawn, the All-Powerful One came, electrifying, energizing, frightening, shattering, crashing into my morning prayer!  Totally unprepared for this kind of interruption, I froze on my knees both in wonder and terror. There was no morning silence left, no comforting darkness to enfold me, only those flashes of light that make hiding impossible.

It wasn't exactly a surprise. I was expecting God this morning but not like this. I was waiting for peace. I was looking for that quiet reassurance that silence sometimes brings. I was listening for a sound of wings hovering over me surrounding me with care, convincing me of presence and protection.

But this? Oh, this was awful! God stood there with terrible, penetrating, loving eyes, saying only: “Your love is too small!” Standing that close to truth felt uncomfortable, unbearable and I tried to hide my face the way I often do when truth gets too close. I tried to hide the pieces of my terribly divided heart. But then the lightning came again. And God was standing there even closer than before holding the pieces of my heart with such tenderness still saying, “Your love is too small.”

With that last bolt of lightning, a great calm came over me and I felt free the way I always feel, when I’m finally able to own the truth. God gave me back the pieces of my heart without trying to fix them up or mend them. The Holy One looked at me with trust, with total confidence as if to say, “I’ll be here when you’re ready to begin the transformation of your heart, for we both know, your love is too small.  That’s why your heart is so divided.  That’s why the pieces never seem to fit.”

I took the pieces back with reverence. My tears proclaiming the truth of all I felt. There was no pressure, no force just the God of morning asking for my love. And now, every time I see those flashes in the northern sky, I hear again, a voice saying simply, “Your love is too small.” And I weep; I weep at the possibility of who I could be.