DO YOU SEE THIS PERSON?
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time [C] is, “Do You See This Person?”
THE SECRET – THE QUESTION – TODAY’S READINGS
The title of my homily for this Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time [C] is, “Do You See This Person?”
THE SECRET – THE QUESTION – TODAY’S READINGS
If you’re looking for something that will enhance your spiritual life and your happiness, if you want a great eulogy when you’re dead and you’re at your funeral, a great secret is right here in today’s readings.
The first reading from 2nd Samuel has Nathan the Prophet challenging and castigating David the King for stealing and using another man’s wife and then having her husband, Uriah the Hittite, killed, so he can have her for himself.
The second reading from Paul’s Letter to the Galatians says we’re not justified by what we do, for example keeping the Law, but by a relationship with a person, Jesus Christ. All you who are married and all those with kids know that one.
In today’s gospel from Luke Jesus asks Simon the Pharisee a couple of questions. The question that grabbed me was: “Do you see this woman?”
In this homily I’m changing the question so as to embrace both women and men, everyone we encounter. So the title and theme and message of my homily is, “Do You See This Person?”
There it is. That’s the secret: to see the person right in front of us.
“Do You See This Person?"
How many persons in a given week do we act and interact with?
Do we see them? Are we with them? Are we aware of them?
“Love the one you’re with.” Who said that?
Remember the scene in the movie, Hoosiers? Norman Dale, the coach, played by Gene Hackman says in a time out, “Buddy, 41 is killing us. Just killing us. Stick with him! Think of chewing gum … if he’s chewing gum, by the end of the game, I want to know what flavor it is!” And when Buddy fouls out or at the end of the game he says to the coach, “Dentyne. He was chewing Dentyne.”
Now that’s awareness of another person.
How many times have we been at a party or in a vestibule or a hall with a group of people and we reach out our hand to someone, “Hi. I’m Andy.” And the other person is looking right over our shoulder to see who else is in the room or the vestibule – and sometimes they say, “Glad to meet you.” [Gesture looking elsewhere]
“Do You See This Person?”
Imagine being a toll collector on the Bay Bridge? Imagine being a waiter or a waitress? Imagine being a cashier at CVS or Borders or you’re at the front desk at Anne Arundel Hospital?
How many persons in a given week do we act and interact with?
How many of those persons do I see as a person?
I don’t know about you, but I fail – many times. There’s a lot of people walking around on this big ball, this big hall, called “earth” that I don’t notice.
So here in this gospel Jesus is invited to the home of a Pharisee for a dinner. The story is not a parable – but there is a parable in the story.
We find out the Pharisee’s name is Simon. We are not given the woman's name. It was standard practice that a guest would be given a kiss by the host – a welcome kiss. Then the guest would enter the house and during the first course – sort of like during hors d’oeuvres, servants would wash the guest’s feet. The roads were dirty and dusty. Then the guest’s feet and head would be anointed with perfumed oils to counter body odors.
We find out Simon misses these 3 standard courtesies – even though he invites Jesus into his home for dinner.
In the story we are told by Luke that a prostitute – described as a sinful woman – learns that Jesus was at Simon’s house for dinner. She shows up with an alabaster flask of ointment. She stands behind Jesus – at his feet. They ate resting on the floor. She starts crying and her tears fall on Jesus’ feet. She bends over and starts bathing his feet with her tears. Then she wipes his feet with her hair. Then she anoints his feet with the perfumed ointment.
Quite a scene.
And Simon seeing all this says to himself, “If this man is a prophet, if he’s so smart, he’d know who this woman is that is touching him – that’s she a sinner.”
Then Jesus gives a parable. “Simon I have something to say to you.”
Simon says, “What? Tell me, teacher.”
Jesus says that there are these 2 people who owe money to a certain creditor. One owes the creditor 50 days' wages and the other owes 500 days' wages. The creditor cancels both their debts. Who would be more thankful?
And Simon says, “I suppose it would be the one who owed the 500.”
And Jesus says, “You have judged rightly.”
Then he turned to the woman – but said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you didn’t give me water for my feet , but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t 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 because she has shown great love. But to the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Then those at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Then he says to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
There it is – a story and a parable about life – how we treat each other – what’s going on inside people’s thought processes and what have you.
JESUS WAS OFF ON THIS
Jesus was off on this noticing the other person. You can read the whole gospel of Luke with this in mind. This is the year of Luke’s gospel, so listen for this theme every Sunday till Advent.
I paged through the missallette quickly and came up with these folks to notice. Notice the person at your gate. Notice the person who touches the tip of your shoulder. Notice the person who interrupts you. Notice the person who comes up to you excited about all that happened that day. Notice the person who’s trying to trap you. Notice the person on the sidewalk – who just fell or got mugged. Notice the person who is just sitting there and the person who is doing all the work. Notice the person who seems to be totally concerned about stuff – getting more and more stuff. Notice the person on the other cross.
Jesus noticed folks that other folks were not noticing.
EXAMPLES THAT HIT ME
I don’t work on this enough – but I’m trying.
How about you?
Here are a few examples of this question that have grabbed me through the years:
In his book, The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck talks about two generals who have to decide whether to send a division of ten thousand soldiers into battle. One general sees them as numbers - "a thing"; the other sweats over the decision, because he sees families, he sees them as spouses, children, who could die. Which general do I want to be like? [Cf. pages 75-76]
A college professor put a question on an exam: Give me the name of the person or persons who cleans the bathroom and corridors in the dorm where you are staying this year? The answer to this question counts for your mark. Students whined about this question because many of them didn’t know the names of the persons who cleaned their bathrooms and their corridor. And it was an opportunity for the professor to be a prophet. If you haven’t learned this, you haven’t learned much this year.
Alphonsus Jansen in his book on Love and Marriage, talks about 2 boys at a swimming pool in the summer. There is this great looking gal over there in her bathing suit. One sees the girl as an object – and starts to get big time temptations. The other boy sees the gal and goes, “Wow! He goes over and starts talking to her. He finds out where she works – that her name is Ann – and that her dad had died recently. He doesn’t have the temptations the first boy has. The story went something like that.
I give these examples because Jesus was talking about something like that when he talked about life is between the ears - in our attitudes - in how we see life and people. Isn’t that why Luke is telling us in today’s gospel what these people were thinking inside their head?
CONCLUSION
Practice what you preach.
I have discovered that this message has really made life much more enriching and challenging for me.
I was trying to figure out when I first discovered this theme. It might have been when I read Martin Buber’s book, “I Thou!” If you still have some more time to live, put that book on your list to read before you die.”
Or I can save you time. The book can be summed up simply. We can treat each other in either of two ways: I-Thou or I-It. An I-Thou approach is the person to person approach. The I-It approach is seeing others as an object or a thing.
The choice is always ours.
Let me close with an example of something that came back to me as I was putting together this homily. I was driving down some highway – a long way from home – on a Christmas day – somewhere in the U.S.A. I stopped into a truck stop for a hamburger. Nobody – hardly anybody was in there. I got my hamburger and fries and walked with my tray into the almost empty dining area. There was a middle aged guy sitting all by himself in an open jacket, flannel shirt and baseball cap. He looked like a truck driver. For some reason I said, “Can I join you?” He said, “Sure!”
I know that everyone can't do this – and it would have been much easier – if I was dressed as a priest – and this was long before all the priest stuff – ugh. Merry Christmas! And I found out who he was and vice versa – and he took out his wallet and he showed me the pictures he had which fell down in their plastic sleeve, of his wife and 5 kids. They were in Tennessee and he said, “It’s Christmas Day and it’s a long way from home – away from my wife and kids – but I got to make a living.” And we toasted each other: “Merry Christmas.”
Now that’s I – Thou. Now that’s seeing another person. Amen.
