In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ. Glory forever.

This Simon knows very well what his eyes show him there in his house. This unwelcome woman who barges in is an infamous sinner. And if his guest, Jesus, were truly a prophet, then Jesus would know what manner of woman this was that is with him. And so, clearly, he is not a prophet.

I heard recently Mother Melania of the Holy Assumption Monastery put a thought experiment out there. If you were granted the opportunity to be in a boat with a woman who was journeying with a whole boat full of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem—on their way to venerate the precious Cross of the Lord there in the heart of the city—and this woman spent the entire voyage seducing each and every pilgrim into sin, would you be the one looking on her recognizing: "Ah, this is venerable Mother Mary of Egypt"?

"She is now a terrible sinner, but I know that she will, in due time, repent and turn to the Lord. And she will, hundreds of years later, be regarded as one of the most beloved saints in the whole of the Church—so much so that today, this Sunday at the end of Lent, is dedicated always to her memory." Would you be the one who sees clearly?

Mary, who almost ruined her life in Jerusalem, was stopped at the doors of the church. She found that she simply could not take another step. She looked up and confronted the icon of the Mother of God above those doors, looking down upon another Mary with loving admonishment, warning her that she must not continue on this path of destruction. And Mary of Egypt turned in that moment and found life. She dedicated the remaining days of her life to repentance, seeking the Lord and His righteousness with all her heart, with all her soul, with all her strength, and with all her mind.

So it was that when St. Zosimas, one of the great ascetics, met her years later across the river Jordan, he was filled with awe at the sight of her and was amazed to learn her story. It is only thanks to St. Zosimas that we know anything about this Mary of Egypt at all. All those who had known anything about her before were sure that they knew the sum of her life: that she was a sinner, the worst of sinners, someone upon whom we should only show contempt. None of them understood who it was that they saw, or what God was doing ultimately in her life.

This Pharisee, Simon, in the Gospel today thinks that he sees perfectly clearly, but he is blinded, judging by the surface of things. He sees a sinful woman and an ignorant prophet, not recognizing the Savior who is right there, patiently visiting him in his house—coming right to his own door. The God of all, coming to show love and grace to Simon; yet he misses the immeasurable gift that he is being given in that moment because he loves little.

Brothers and sisters, here we are in the last week of Lent, this final Sunday before it finishes out, these last few days. And still, we find ourselves struggling to see clearly. We have been beginning to work at repentance, at examining our own consciences. Many of us have already been coming to confession to bring our sins before the Lord. And yet, still we find ourselves blinded with judgmentalism, looking on others even as we are recognizing that we ourselves are filled with sins. We condemn and complain. We envy, we argue, we maintain grudges and resentments. What are we doing?

Meanwhile, we are given this amazing example of this woman. Yes, Jesus Himself says her sins are many; Simon is right about that. But what we see in her is not someone who is bound by that fact, but rather someone who knows that she has received immeasurable mercy, overflowing grace—too much for her heart to bear.

And so, when she knows that Jesus is there in the house, she rushes in with the most precious thing that she can bring: this alabaster flask of precious oil with which to anoint Him, as she washes His feet with her tears and wipes them with her hair. She embraces Him intimately and profoundly, knowing that there is nothing better than the One she embraces. She offers the best that she has: a loving heart in humility welcoming her Savior.

Brothers and sisters, we know that we also have been given that immeasurable mercy, that overwhelming, overflowing grace. God has set aside His glory to come and visit us, meeting us in the form of a lowly servant, abasing Himself to our level because our level is so very low. He holds nothing back, but comes to give us what it is that we need for our salvation. While we were still estranged from God, He pays the cost for us to be reconciled and brought back to life with Him. He showed us the way that we need to follow; He renewed our nature, embracing even death to bring us life. The gift that we receive covers us and fills us to overflowing. We cannot hold it all in our own hands; it is too much for us.

In these final days of the fast, we have one more opportunity to allow our eyes to be truly opened: to recognize the love of God at work in our lives, and to recognize His face turned toward us from heaven above. Yes, but also in the person that we meet each day—our family, our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers, the stranger, and our enemy. Each one of them is a precious gift from God made in His image, presented to us for us to embrace with the love that overflows us; for us to offer up what we have received and share it with others because it is too great for us to keep for ourselves.

We can learn from the example of this woman with her many sins, and from Mother Mary of Egypt in the same pattern—one who learned to live life fully to God, offering everything up, confessing her sins, trusting in the mercy of God, and turning everything over to Him. We are shown that it is possible. It is possible for the one that we would be tempted to reject and judge and condemn to be in heaven before us.

They say to us, "Come and follow. Love as we have loved, we who have received much mercy." And so the only answer for us is to receive what we have been given so freely and so undeservedly; to receive it with gratitude, with thanksgiving, with trust, and with the purpose to meet—as best we know how—love with love, mercy with mercy, and grace with grace.

As we begin to respond properly, the Lord will enter into us and work in us and through us to heal us, to make us whole, and to grant us peace. So that at last, we may know that we also have received what we need, and we can complete our lives in peace and be welcomed into the Lord's house, seated together with all the saints.

Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ. Glory Forever