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Reflection on this Sunday's scripture readings
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Repentance leads to forgiveness. This is the theme of the readings for today. The passage from the book of Samuel relates how David, having taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite, then killed Uriah to keep his wrongdoing secret. When the prophet Nathan confronted David he admitted his guilt. God, says Nathan, has now forgiven David's sin. The responsorial psalm, ascribed to David, describes the joy and happiness of the sinner who has repented.
The evangelist Luke gives an account of an episode from the ministry of Jesus in Galilee. Jesus was dining at the house of Simon, the Pharisee, when a woman came in, wept over his feet, dried them with her hair, kissed them and anointed them. Simon thinks that Jesus does not know how great a sinner the woman is, but Jesus teaches him, by means of a parable, that the woman is showing great love for him and therefore her many sins must have been forgiven.
Like David and the woman in the gospel we are all guilty of wrongdoing. Throughout the Bible God reveals himself as loving and forgiving and that the wrong that we commit is not the end of the story if we repent and express our sorrow. Let us turn to God this week, experience God's forgiveness and hear him say, "go in peace".