Faith and Forgiveness

The book group I am part of is reading a fascinating book titled Infinite Awareness by Marjorie Woollacott.  Woollacott is a neuroscientist and professor of science at the University of Oregon.  As with most scientists she had no doubt in her early education believing that the brain was a physical entity controlled by chemicals and electrical pulses.  However, many years ago when she experimented with meditation, her journey made her question the reality upon which she built her career. As a result she was forced to ask what really is human consciousness.  

Infinite Awareness is about Professor Woolacott’s research as a neuroscientist and her self-revelation about the mind’s spiritual power.  Between the scientific and spiritual worlds, she breaks open the definition of human consciousness to investigate the existence of a non-physical and infinitely powerful mind.

I mention this because it is similar to St. Paul’s comparing his understanding of faith versus the importance of observing the law.  Each has its place.  The law, like science and the brain, is objective and can be studied and amended as new knowledge and circumstances warrant.  Faith and love, like the mind or conscience, are beyond objectivity. They are subjective, spiritual and relational.  There is for Woollacott and for people of faith, a sense in which the spiritual mind exists beyond the physical limitations of the body and the brain.  It is both a transcendent and an imminent reality.

The stories from Paul’s Letter to the Galatians and the Gospel of Luke are about faith versus the law and forgiveness. What is inferred by Paul in his letter is that justification by observing the law is not sufficient for those who follow Christ.  Paul writes, “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ…. The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.”

In commenting on this passage the Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann said, “Paul offers a classic statement about an alternative life that is lived out of God’s limitless generosity, for which we use the term ‘grace’….  These texts witness to the summons put before us by the gospel—a choice between self-securing that brings death or reliance upon God’s generosity.”

The narrative in Luke’s gospel is is also about God’s limitless generosity and in this case, forgiveness.  It is a story about a sinful woman who “crashed” a dinner party Jesus was having in a Pharisee’s house.  She brought with her an alabaster jar of ointment, stood behind Jesus, wept, and began bathing his feet with her tears and then drying them with her hair.  Then she anointed his feet with the ointment. 

This is a beautiful story.  As it develops the Pharisee host, Simon, tells Jesus that the woman is a sinner.  Jesus replies by sharing a parable about two debtors who owed different sums of money to the same creditor.  The creditor out of his generosity forgives both the larger and the smaller debts when he learns that those who owed him money could not pay.  Then Jesus asked Simon, “Now which of them will love him more?”  Simon replied that it is likely the one who owed the most.

Jesus used this parable to accuse his Pharisee host of not providing common hospitality for him when he entered his house.  “You gave me no water for my feet…. You gave me no kiss…. You did not anoint my head with oil.”  The sinful woman did all of this and more; she even “anointed my feet with ointment.”  Then, turning to the woman, Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven…. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

This story is a generous expression of grace and mercy.  The woman’s sin is never identified.  Jesus was impressed by the woman’s love and concern, and he responded by expressing his gratitude and forgiveness.

We learn from the woman’s forgiveness how we are to relate to our neighbors, and how we are to be forgiving and provide loving care to others.  Are we like the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet and offer hospitality and love for everyone?

Paul in his letter to the Galatians and the story from Luke invite us to reflect on how we think of ourselves, our faith and our relationships with others.  Marjorie Woollacott in Infinite Awareness shows that through meditation we let go of all the stresses and pressures that surround us and try to empty our minds of everything except the grace of God.  Meditation is about a spiritual reality, and properly understood it motivates us to live with greater awareness of our relationships with God and our neighbors, and to have compassion for those in need.

We pray that God will keep the Church and all of us in his steadfast faith and love, that through God’s grace we may proclaim truth with boldness, and minister God’s justice with compassion.  We are a community of loving forgiveness so that everyone who enters here will know the love of God.  Amen.