The thing about forgiveness

In the New Testament, we find several passages in which Christ forgives the sins of people who come to him. One of the most impressive scenes is the one in which Mary Magdalene wets his feet with tears in the house of a Pharisee, dries them with her hair and anoints them with anointing oil from an alabaster flask. The Neapolitan painter Luca Giordano depicts this scene in the following way.

Painting by Luca Giordano (1634 – 1705)

You can let the impression of the picture sink in for a few moments to get a clearer picture of the different emotions. A laid table, women and men dressed in sumptuous robes sit at the table of the Pharisee Simon, who is depicted on the left-hand side facing Christ. To the right of the painting, Christ shines as a bright figure; in front of him, in the center of the painting, kneels a woman with loose blond hair, tears streaming down her cheeks, and she is devotedly absorbed in the task of anointing Christ’s feet. A kindly gaze and a hand of blessing from Christ are directed towards her.

But what moves the other diners?

All eyes are directed at Mary Magdalene and clearly in a disapproving manner. The two figures to the left and right of Christ proclaim open anger in their eyes. The person on the left, it seems, almost wants to get violent and expel the woman from the house. The painter expresses curiosity, incomprehension and whispering about this unseemly event in the people at the group of tables. Two obviously opposing expressions, the loving, blessing attitude of the Christ and the piercing, killing gazes, especially of the two other people in the immediate vicinity of the Christ.

Both the woman in the center and the Christ appear untouched by the emotions and condemnations swirling around them. Mary Magdalene stands out, she cannot help it, she meets the Christ in an act of direct loving devotion characterized by repentance. It is a courageous, self-forgetful attitude directed entirely towards him, the Christ.

And these are also the words of Christ according to Luke 7:47:

“Therefore I say to you: Her many sins are forgiven, for she has loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.“

A meditative meditation on this passage from the New Testament can help us to develop a deeper understanding of the act of forgiveness. Mary Magdalene has recognized Christ and shows him her utmost devotion and love. I believe that empathizing with this deep state of mind also brings us closer to the phenomenon of forgiveness.