From over on Aleteia’s home page:
In the 1950s, one of the most popular shows on television every Sunday asked the question: “What’s My Line?” A panel of celebrities would have to guess what someone did for a living by asking a series of simple yes-or-no questions. The show was a sensation. It ran from 1950 to 1967 on CBS—to this day, the longest-running primetime network television game show. I thought of this show when I looked over today’s readings, because in many ways Luke challenges us to play a similar game of “What’s My Line?” with the woman at the center of this Sunday’s gospel. Luke gives us all sorts of information about the Pharisee, Simon, and other people who were following Jesus; he sets the scene and provides compelling, credible details about what was going on. Yet, when it comes to the woman Jesus forgives … we learn almost nothing. We don’t know her name, her age, her background or even her sin that needed forgiving. Some speculate this was Mary Magdalene (who is introduced in Luke’s Gospel, as the woman whom Jesus had delivered from seven devils, just prior to the banquet scene in which the sinful woman appears), or that the woman was a prostitute – but we have nothing to prove that beyond what’s in this account. All we know, really, is that she was a sinner, known to many, and in need of God’s mercy. In that sense, she was like all of us. So, to answer the question “What’s My Line?”: well, in the case of this woman, we just don’t know. What we do know is that something compelled her to follow Christ, to come to this Pharisee’s house, to kneel before the feet of Jesus, and to weep and anoint his feet. Something motivated her to perform this great act of love. What was it? Well, I think she looked at Jesus … and saw herself.
Image: Wikipedia
And today we celebrate...