Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-october-10-2024
Luke 7:36-47
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
In our reading for today, Jesus is having dinner at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. While they’re having dinner, a woman who is said to have “lived a sinful life in that town” comes to the house and kneels at the feet of Jesus, weeping and wiping his feet with her hair.
The historians tell us that in that culture, meals with guests were often taken in a courtyard that might be open to the street. Poor people would sometimes stand around watching the meal, hoping to be allowed to eat leftovers. Especially generous hosts might even have food served to those bystanders. And the guests would recline around a low table, with their feet extending outward. That might help you to picture the scene.
But what about the woman in the story? Christian Bible commentaries have traditionally declared that the woman’s sins were sexual in nature. But that probably says more about the authors of the commentaries than about the woman, because the text says nothing about the nature of her sins. It just says that she was regarded as a sinner. She might have been a thief, or a dishonest merchant, or an idol-worshipper.
But whatever her sins were, the woman is said to be overcome with emotion. We might imagine that she was experiencing a combination of remorse over those sins and relief at a promise of forgiveness she had heard from Jesus. In any case, the woman weeps so uncontrollably that her tears wet the feet of Jesus. And she unbinds her hair and wipes his feet with it. That would have been considered shocking in traditional Hebrew culture, where a woman would unbind her hair only at home with her family. And then the weeping woman pours perfume onto Jesus’ feet.
Luke says that the Pharisee hosting the dinner thinks to himself that if Jesus really were a prophet – that is, a person with supernatural knowledge – then he would not tolerate a sinful person in his presence. And he surely wouldn’t let a sinful woman touch him in such a familiar way. As you might remember, the thing the Pharisees objected to most about Jesus was that he accepted and befriended sinners – they thought he was condoning sinful behavior.
So Jesus responds with a parable: A moneylender forgives two men’s debts – one is forgiven a little, the other is forgiven a lot. And Jesus asks which one will love the moneylender more?
The Pharisee answers that he ‘supposes’ the one who’s forgiven more. It seems to me that answering that way – that he “supposes’ to one who’s forgiven more – indicates that the Pharisee is answering grudgingly.
And then Jesus points out that the hospitality that Simon has shown him is sort of minimal, in the context of the ancient Near East. Simon’s hospitality wasn’t exactly rude, but he wasn’t really knocking himself out to express appreciation for Jesus. No water for Jesus to wash his feet. No kiss of greeting. No oil for Jesus’ head. Those were all marks of enthusiastic hospitality.
The sinful woman, on the other hand, had demonstrated a very deep and emotional reverence for Jesus – she was moved to tears, and willing to lay aside her personal dignity and modesty to demonstrate that reverence.
Jesus’ point seems to be that Simon the Pharisee didn’t express any great appreciation for Jesus because he didn’t have a deep sense of having been forgiven. Pharisees regarded themselves as strictly obedient to God’s laws, so Simon probably didn’t think he had done much that needed forgiveness. But the woman was more aware of her own sins, so forgiveness meant a lot more to her. She was moved to tears of appreciation.
Jesus seems to be saying to Simon the Pharisee – and probably to us – that anyone who really understands how far they fall short of God’s will for them – and how much they’ve been forgiven – really will be moved to deep and powerful appreciation when they think about that forgiveness.
It seems to me that there’s an awkward truth that’s responsible for the lukewarm faith of many of us who call ourselves Christians. That awkward truth is that we’re more like Simon the Pharisee than we are like the weeping woman. We secretly think we’re pretty good people. Sure, we might have a few little sins – but we’re nothing like the “really bad people” around us.
The problem with that way of thinking is that if you think you’ve only been forgiven a few minor sins, you’re going to have a pretty lukewarm brand of thankfulness. Because if you think you’ve been a pretty good person, then there’s a good chance that you think God kind of owes you forgiveness, right? And if you think that, you might want to consider that you’ve become a Pharisee at heart.
On the other hand, a deepening relationship with God in Jesus means that we get more in touch with how far we fall short of God’s standards – and that makes us more deeply thankful for the forgiveness we’ve received. It also makes us less likely to judge others or think we’re spiritually superior to them. So this is probably an under-appreciated story, because it has a really important point to make to people like us who are trying to follow Jesus in the 21st century.
Let’s pray. Lord, you know how close to the Pharisees we often become – how little thankfulness we sometimes feel for the forgiveness we have received out of your grace. Help us to remember our many sins, and to be more and more thankful for your forgiving love, and the new life you’ve given us in Jesus. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
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