Reflection for September 18 Thursday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 7:36-50

Gospel: Luke 7:36-50

A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. 

Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. 

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” 

Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “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 it for both. 

Which of them 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.” Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? 

When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. 

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.” He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

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Reflection:

What compelled the woman to wet the feet of Jesus with her tears? What moved her to wipe His feet with her hair, kiss them, and anoint them with ointment? 

It was her deep awareness of her sinfulness. She had grown weary of living in darkness, and when she heard that Jesus was in Simon’s house, her heart could no longer resist. She did everything she could to draw near to Him, offering the only thing she had—her humble, broken self—expressed in simple yet profound acts of love. 

The repentant woman never uttered a word of request. She did not verbally ask Jesus for forgiveness, yet her actions spoke more powerfully than any words. Her tears, her kisses, her gesture of anointing were silent cries of a contrite heart longing for mercy and renewal—something only Jesus could give. And by her actions, Jesus recognized her desire for forgiveness. In His boundless compassion, He granted her the gift she most longed for: pardon and new life. 

She never feared condemnation or judgment. Her gaze was fixed only on the merciful love of Jesus. This is the same Jesus who meets us today: the God who does not condemn us, no matter how heavy our sins; the God who does not judge us according to our past but who welcomes us with open arms when we humbly return. 

What matters most to Jesus is not the weight of our past but the choice we make today—to walk away from sin and live in the freedom of His grace. The past is no longer important once we bring it before His mercy. What He looks for is the humility of a repentant heart and the courage to begin anew. 

The woman’s humble act was her prayer, her plea for forgiveness, her surrender of her past. She spoke to Jesus not with her lips but with her heart, and Jesus heard the cry of her soul 

And so, we are invited to ask ourselves: When was the last time we poured out our hearts before Jesus in true humility? Will we, like the repentant woman, come before Him—not with excuses, but with tears of repentance and the courage to leave behind our sins—so that He may heal us and make us new? —Marino J. Dasmarinas