I live by faith in the Son of God
who has loved me and given himself up for me.

Today’s readings and Gospel give us the full bore reality of sin —“ and the answer to sin.

In our first reading the prophet Nathan confronts David with God’s words.

‘I anointed you king of Israel.
I rescued you from the hand of Saul.
I gave you your lord’s house and your lord’s wives for your own.
I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah.
And if this were not enough, I could count up for you still more.
Why have you spurned the Lord and done evil in his sight?

In a deadly concoction of sin, a mixture of lust, jealousy, envy, desire, and corruption David had one of his finest soldiers, Uriah, a humble and righteous man, killed, so that he could take Uriah’s wife as his own. He had already committed adultery, she was pregnant by him, and then he killed her husband. David killed, and the Lord’s anger flared up.

What should David have done? What could David have done to make amends?

Nothing really.

David simply said:

—I have sinned against the LORD.—

To which the prophet of the Lord replied:

—The LORD on his part has forgiven your sin:
you shall not die.—

That, my friends, is trust beyond reason and a love beyond telling.

Jesus visits the house of the Pharisee and dines there.

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.

She didn’t say anything. She spoke through her actions and her tears.

Later Jesus would say:

—Your faith has saved you; go in peace.—

She had faith, but faith in what? Faith in a prophet? No prophet could forgive sins.

The guests pointed that one out.

The others at table said to themselves,
—Who is this who even forgives sins?—

To the Jewish people the forgiveness of sins required actions. A blood sacrifice in the Temple was necessary. Even with that sacrifice, forgiveness wasn’t a spoken commodity. Only God could forgive, only God knew.

No, the woman had faith, faith and blind trust, like David’s blind trust. She knew that Jesus, who reclined at table, whose feet she bathed and anointed, was God. He who could forgive sins.

You heard the readings and the Gospel. After a joyous Easter season, and the three great post Easter Sundays celebrating the Holy Ghost, the Holy Trinity, and the Body and Blood of our Lord, it’s all a downer. It’s all about sin.

Brothers and sisters,

David didn’t think so, the sinful woman didn’t think so, and Mary, called Magdalene, out of whom seven demons were cast didn’t think so.

David saw, the woman saw, Mary saw. They all saw the great light. Each of them trusted beyond reason, and received love beyond telling. The light of God’s all encompassing love, the richness of His forgiveness.

There is really nothing we can do, other than in our expression of faith. Faith that saves us from sin.

Paul spoke of salvation though works alone, which is impossible. He pointed out that that was the faith of the old Israel.

Each of us lives the full bore reality of sin. In the small things and in the big things we do. We are David, and the sinful woman. All we can say is: —I have sinned against the LORD.—

The answer, as Paul rightly points out, is our faith. Faith that bears fruit in our repentance, and through the works we accomplish by faith.