September 17, 2026
Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 446
Reading 1
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once,
most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
For I am the least of the Apostles,
not fit to be called an Apostle,
because I persecuted the Church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
so we preach and so you believed.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
“The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord has struck with power.”
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
You are my God, and I give thanks to you;
O my God, I extol you.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091726.cfm
Commentary on 1
Corinthians 15:1-11
In these three final readings from the first letter to the
Corinthians, we begin today the 15th chapter, which discusses resurrection from
the dead and its relationship to the resurrection of Christ as a core belief of
our Christian faith. In today’s reading, Paul introduces the subject by
reminding the Corinthians of the gospel tradition which had been given to them
and their need to be faithful to it.
The gospel will be an instrument of their salvation only if
they hold closely to what they had been taught by Paul, the one who first
brought the Christian faith to them. To believe anything else would be to go
down a road that leads to nowhere; it would mean they were believing “in vain”.
Their fidelity will be manifested in the way they lead their lives and, as we
have seen, the behaviour of some of them had left much to be desired.
Paul summarises under two headings the core of Christian
teaching he taught them. He emphasises that what he taught them was exactly the
tradition which he had himself received and nothing else. Paul links himself
directly with early Christian tradition. He was not its originator, nor did he
receive it directly from the Lord. His source was other Christians. The verbs
he uses are technical terms for receiving and transmitting tradition.
He first describes the core of that tradition in the
following words:
- “Christ
died for our sins” in accordance with the Scripture (see the disciples’
experience on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24:13-35);
- “He
was buried” (proof that he had really died);
- “He
was raised on the third day”, also in accordance with the Scripture.
Secondly, he lists six times when the Risen Christ was seen
by people—too many people for deception to be involved:
- First
to be mentioned is Cephas or Peter, an appearance mentioned by Luke
(24:34) as happening on Easter Sunday itself.
- Then
there is an appearance to the “Twelve” recorded by Luke (24:36-53) and
John (20:19-29) in their Gospels. They are still called the “Twelve” even
though Judas is no longer with them; however, Judas would be replaced by
Matthias (Acts 1:15-26).
- Paul
next mentions a simultaneous appearance to more than 500 disciples, most
of whom are still alive as he writes and so can witness to the truth of
what he is saying. We are not sure when this apparition took place,
although it could possibly be that mentioned by Matthew just before his
description of the Ascension (Matt 28:10,16-20). The appearance to this
large group may be mentioned to help bolster the faith of those
Corinthians who evidently had some doubts about the resurrection of Christ
(see 1 Cor 15:12-24).
- Then
he appeared to James. As this James is listed in addition to “all the
apostles”, it would seem to exclude James, the son of Zebedee, or James,
son of Alphaeus, and indicate James, a “brother” of Jesus mentioned by
Matthew (13:55). This James, like the other “brothers” of Jesus, does not
seem to have believed in Jesus before the resurrection (John 7:5), but
afterwards is numbered among those disciples in the Upper Room after the
resurrection (Acts 1:14). He later became the leader of the church in
Jerusalem (Acts 15:13). There is no mention of this appearance in the four
Synoptic Gospels.
- The
appearance to “all the apostles” could be that mentioned at the beginning
of Acts and before the Ascension and includes more than the Twelve already
mentioned.
- Last
of all, the Risen Jesus appeared to Paul. The event is recorded no less
than three times in Acts when Paul (then Saul) was on his way to arrest
the Christians in Damascus. Paul describes this experience, maybe three
years after the resurrection, in terms of an abnormal and totally
unexpected birth.
Paul was not part of the original group of Apostles. He had
not lived with Christ as the others had. His entry into the apostolic office
was not ‘normal’. Furthermore, at his conversion he was abruptly snatched from
his former way of life (Acts 9:3-6). He makes no distinction between the sort
of apparition that took place on the Damascus road and the sort of apparitions
of Jesus that took place between the resurrection and the ascension.
He is almost embarrassed to carry the title of ‘apostle’.
After all, he had at one time used all his efforts to wipe the disciples of
Christ from the face of the earth. In doing so he was persecuting Christ
himself (Acts 9:5). Paul says:
I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an
apostle… But by the grace of God I am what I am…
He can say with truth that:
…his grace toward me has not been in vain.
That “grace” is the unmerited love of God offered and
accepted by him.
The outcome is that Paul can say, without any boasting or
exaggeration, that, with God’s grace working through him, he has worked harder
than any other evangeliser. The record of his achievements in the Acts of the
Apostles, as well as in his Letters, gives ample testimony to that claim. In
spite of that, he again emphasises that what he preaches is totally in harmony
with what he had received from his own teachers (the other Apostles), and that
is also what the Corinthians believe. Paul thus puts the resurrection of Jesus
as the central fact on which our whole faith in Jesus is based. Without that,
all the rest falls apart. This he will show in tomorrow’s reading.
Let us today renew our faith in the resurrection of Jesus.
He who died on the cross is now our living Lord who, through his Spirit, is
really present in every baptised member of our communities and remains a
powerful factor in our lives.
Commentary on Luke
7:36-50
Today’s passage is one of the most striking scenes in the
whole of the Gospels. It is a story only found in Luke and, in a way it is
strange that it is not otherwise recorded. It is not the same as the anointing
of Jesus at Bethany, described by Matthew (26:6-13). Perhaps to some,
especially Jewish readers, it was a little too daring and close to the edge
because it is a highly intimate story in which Jesus is deeply involved.
We are told that a Pharisee—his name is Simon—was keen to
have Jesus eat at his house. The word ‘Pharisee’ means ‘separated one’ and they
numbered about 6,000 throughout Palestine. They taught in synagogues and, as
their name implies, they saw themselves on a higher level of religious
observance than their fellow Jews. They believed that interpretations and rules
handed down by tradition had virtually the same authority as Scripture (see
Mark 7:8-13). As a result, they were constantly bothered by Jesus’ behaviour.
Jesus accepted the invitation and he joined Simon and others
at the table. We should notice that Jesus accepted invitations from both
Pharisees and tax collectors. Both were equally deserving of his love and
service. The diners would be reclining on couches, rather than sitting, as was
the fashion of the day. This helps to explain what is going to happen.
It is not clear whether what happened next was totally
spontaneous or whether it was part of a conspiracy to put Jesus in a
compromising position where he could be denounced (not unlike his being
presented with an adulterous woman in John 8:1-11). In one sense, it was
strange that a woman such as this could burst into a Pharisee’s house
unchallenged (there must have been servants); on the other hand, houses were
not bolted and barred as they are in our more civilised (?) times.
What is clear is that the woman’s own intentions were
sincere. We are told she was “a sinner”. ‘Sinner’ here can only refer to some
public immorality, and very likely she was a ‘woman of the street’, perhaps a
prostitute, or at least a woman known for her promiscuous behaviour.
She was eager to meet with Jesus and heard that he was
dining at Simon’s house. So she burst in, bringing an alabaster box of ointment
(probably quite expensive) and came up to Jesus from behind. She immediately
began crying and her abundant tears bathed Jesus’ feet. She then began to dry
his feet with her long hair. The fact that she wore her hair down or let it
down in public itself indicates that she was a ‘loose woman’. She kissed the
feet of Jesus and poured the ointment over them.
Simon, whether he had planned the intrusion or not, was
deeply shocked at the extraordinary scene that was playing out before his eyes
and in his house. If Jesus was really a prophet, he thought to himself, he
would know what kind of a woman this was who was touching him. She was a
sinner, and no good person (least of all a rabbi!) should allow anything
remotely like that to take place.
Jesus, fully aware of what was going on in Simon’s mind,
tells him a story about two debtors. One owed a large amount and the other a
smaller amount. However, the creditor wrote off both debts. Which of the two,
Jesus asked, would be more grateful and appreciative? Obviously the one who had
been remitted the larger debt, said Simon.
“You have judged rightly”, replied Jesus and then went on to
apply the parable to the present situation. In the process he indicates
something that Simon had probably not thought of—that he, too, was a sinner,
even though to a lesser degree. This was true because Simon had been guilty of
not extending even the ordinary courtesies of hospitality to his guest. He said
to Simon:
I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet,
but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You
gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my
feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with
ointment.
And now comes the point of the story. Jesus says:
Therefore, 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.
And turning to the woman at his feet, Jesus says:
Your sins are forgiven.
The guests at table begin to ask each other:
Who is this who even forgives sins?
But Jesus says to the woman:
Your faith has saved you; go in peace.
This is a really extraordinary story. To appreciate this,
one has to enter into it visually and be really present with all one’s senses
active. What comes across is the amazing composure and inner security and
freedom of Jesus during the whole episode. He shows absolutely no signs of
being uncomfortable or embarrassed. He does not pull away or tell the woman to
stop what she is doing.
Here is this woman, known to be a public sinner, who comes
in and weeps over him, wipes his feet with her hair and keeps kissing them
passionately. The guests are highly disturbed, shocked and probably
embarrassed, but Jesus remains perfectly at ease. He knows what the woman is
doing and why; he is not worried about what others might think she is doing.
Let us admire his ability to focus totally on the woman and
not be self-conscious about the other people around. Imagine what a tabloid
publication might have made of this scene! What if something like that were to
happen today with a bishop or priest, or some other prominent person? How would
most clergy—or other public people react in such a situation?
Jesus knows that the woman is expressing both sincere
repentance and a great affection for Jesus. She is expressing her repentance in
the only way that she knows. She is a highly tactile person; it is part of her
way of life. To the sexually immature, what she is doing—and Jesus’ acceptance
of it—seems at the very least, unbecoming, and at the worst bordering on the
obscene.
But Jesus says her sins are now forgiven. It was really the
passionate love she was showing which indicated that she had won forgiveness.
Love and sin are incompatible; they cannot co-exist in the same person. She was
loving Jesus so much at that moment that she could not be a sinner. Simon could
not see this. His concept of sin was purely legalistic, but for Jesus it is
relational.
At this point her immoral past was totally irrelevant. In
our society, wrongdoers can be stuck with labels often for the rest of their
lives irrespective of how they have changed. God does not work that way. He
deals with persons as they are in the here and now. What I did yesterday does
not matter. All that matters is what I am doing now, how I am relating to God
and those around me right now.
We remember the man who died beside Jesus on the cross. He
had led a terrible life and was now being executed for his crimes. Yet he
appeals to Jesus and is promised that he will go to God hand in hand with
Jesus. Unfair? Fortunately God’s ideas of fairness are not ours—otherwise we
might be in trouble because of our past.
Once again we see how God, in Jesus, always tries to
rehabilitate and not to punish. Punishment destroys—God’s desire is that we all
be made whole and experience inner peace and harmony.
https://sacredspace.com/commentary
Thursday,
September 17, 2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Almighty God,
our creator and guide, may we
serve You with all our hearts and know Your forgiveness in our lives.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives
and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - 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."
Reflection
Today’s Gospel presents the
episode of the woman with the perfume who was accepted by Jesus during a feast
in house of Simon the Pharisee. One of the aspects of the novelty of the Good
News of Jesus is the surprising attitude of Jesus toward women. At the time of
the New Testament women lived marginalized. In the Synagogue they could not
participate in the public life and they could not be witnesses. Many women,
though, resisted this exclusion. From the time of Ezra, the marginalization of
women had been increasing on the part of the religious authority (Ezr 9: 1 to
10: 44), and the resistance of women against their exclusion, also increased,
as we can see in the stories of Judith, Esther, Ruth, Noemi, Suzanne, and the
Sulamite and others. This resistance found echo and acceptance in Jesus. In the
episode of the woman with the perfume there is inconformity which springs up
and the resistance of the women in the life of every day and the acceptance of
Jesus.
•
Luke 7: 36-38: The situation which breaks out
the debate. Three completely different persons meet with one another: Jesus,
Simon, the Pharisee, a practicing Jew, and the woman, whom they said that she
was a sinner. Jesus is in the house of Simon who has invited Him to dinner with
him. The woman enters, and she places herself at the feet of Jesus, and begins
to cry, bathing Jesus’ feet with her tears, and dries them with her loose hair.
She kisses His feet and anoints them with perfume. To get the hair loose in
public was a gesture of independence. Jesus does not draw back, nor does He
send the woman away, rather He accepts her gesture.
•
Luke 7: 39-40: The reaction of the Pharisee and
the response of Jesus. Jesus was accepting a person, who, according to the
custom of the time, could not be accepted, because she was a sinner. The
Pharisee, observing everything, criticizes Jesus and condemns the woman: “If
this man were a prophet, He would know who this woman is and what sort of
person it is who is touching Him and what a bad name she has.” Jesus uses a
parable to respond to the provocation of the Pharisee.
•
Luke 7: 41-43: The parable of the two debtors.
One owed 500 denarii, the other 50. Neither one was able to pay, both of them
were forgiven. Which of them will love their master more? Response of the
Pharisee: “The one who was let off more, I suppose!” The parable presupposes
that both, the Pharisee and the woman, had received some favor from Jesus. By
the attitude that both take before Jesus they indicate how much they appreciate
the favor received. The Pharisee shows his love, his gratitude, by inviting
Jesus to eat with him. The woman shows her love, her gratitude, by her tears,
the kisses and the perfume.
•
Luke 7: 44-47: The message of Jesus for the
Pharisee. After having received the response of the Pharisee, Jesus applies the
parable. Even if He was in the house of the Pharisee, invited by him, Jesus
does not lose the freedom to speak and to act. He defends the woman against the
criticism of the practicing Jew. The message of Jesus for the Pharisees of all
times is this one: “The one who is forgiven little, loves little!” A Pharisee
thinks that he is not a sinner because he observes the law in everything. The
personal assurance that I, a Pharisee, create for myself many times, in the
observance of the Law of God and of the Church, prevents me from experiencing
the gratuity of the love of God. What is important is not the observance of the
law in itself, but the love with which I observe the law. And using the symbols
of the love of the woman, Jesus responds to the Pharisee who considered himself
to be in peace with God: “you poured no water over My feet; you gave Me no
kiss, you did not anoint My head with perfumed oil! Simon, in spite of the
banquet that you have offered Me, you have loved very little!”
•
Luke 7: 48-50: The word of Jesus to the woman.
Jesus declares that the woman is forgiven and then adds: “Your faith has saved
you, go in peace!” Here we have the novelty of the attitude of Jesus. He does
not condemn but He accepts. It is faith which helps the woman to encounter
herself and to encounter God. In the relationship with Jesus, a new force
springs up in her and makes her be born again.
Personal Questions
•
Where, when, and how are women despised or
rejected by the Pharisee of today?
•
The woman certainly would not have done what she
did if she was not absolutely certain that Jesus would accept her. Do the
marginalized and migrant persons have the same certainty today?
Concluding Prayer
For Yahweh is good, His faithful love is everlasting, His
constancy from age to age. (Ps 100: 5)
