November 8 (7)
WE ARE thankful (for the gospel)
Luke 7:36-50
They say houseguests are a double blessing. They are a blessing when they come, and they are a blessing when they leave.
The woman was an uninvited guest. I feel pretty sure that Simon was hoping that she would bless him by leaving. She was after all disrupting his dinner with Jesus. And she was steeling the show.
This dinner was supposed to be about Simon. Simon was going to catch Jesus in some embarrassing situation to discredit him… instead this uninvited woman embarrasses and discredits Simon. By the end of the night, I suspect Simon was pretty anxious for both the woman and Jesus to bless him by leaving.
Luke tells about the night Simon invited Jesus to have a meal with him. Not being one to turn down free food, or a chance to teach a lesson to someone who was pretty sure of themselves, Jesus went to Simon’s house for supper.
Often these dinners were served to invited guests, but the room would be open to anyone who wanted to watch. Why would anyone want to watch a dinner? Well, they couldn’t watch Big Brother or The Treasure of Oak Island or any other Unreality TV show. Because there weren’t any TV’s. So, people liked to see how the rich and powerful live. This was kind of like their version of reality TV. Or maybe they were hoping for something more exciting like professional wrestling as these two religious authorities sat down at the same table.
So, Jesus is reclining at table… remember I talked about that 2 weeks ago. For banquets they laid on their left arm and ate with the right. Their feet were extended behind them like the picture.
While they were eating, a woman who is called a sinner came to watch. That was OK with Simon until she moved into the spotlight. Simon’s dinner didn’t seem like such a great deal when she brought in her beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive oil. The Bible doesn’t say what kind of oil it is, but if it was Nard, for instance it would have cost 300 denarii per pound. A denarius was a day’s wage. So, it would have cost a year’s wages to buy nard. This woman was no slouch. She had nice stuff and had the money to buy the best for Jesus.
She entered the room and sat down at Jesus’ feet. Remember his feet were behind him. She began to sob… the Greek word here is not quietly shedding tears… it is sobbing violently. Her shoulders shook, her weeping filled the room and Her tears fell on Jesus’ feet. The dinner came to a screeching halt when, not having a towel or even a Kleenex handy, she unpinned her hair. Now all eyes sere on the woman.
In Jesus’ time, a woman’s hair was her crowning glory and to uncover and let it lose was a very intimate act. The only women who went around with uncovered long hair in public were the prostitutes. Now, let me be clear, so as not to disparage her reputation as so many others have done. When she came in her hair was respectfully covered. There is no indication that she is a prostitute. There is no indication that she is Many Magdalene who is introduced later in the Gospel. There is no indication that she is the woman caught in adultery. We really do not know anything about her besides she was a woman of means and Simon’s judgment that she was a sinner.
Which raises a fair question. How exactly did Simon know what kind of woman she was? If she was a prostitute, adulteress a fornicator the law said she should be stoned. Simon did not seek to stone her. Did he have intimate, personal knowledge of her sins? I’m mot saying he does, but it is a question worth asking. How does Simon know what kind of woman this is? I wonder if he had a secret.
While the woman us drying Jesus’ feet with her hair, we get a little insight into Simon’s thoughts. He thinks to himself, “there are 2 possibilities here…
Jesus is not a prophet because he does not know who this is. (and Simon wins)
If he is a prophet and knows who she is, he doesn’t seem to care about her sins. (and Simon wins again.)
Either way, Jesus hears Simon’s thoughts… (maybe he is a prophet) and Jesus says, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
Jesus starts the story about the two men who owed money. One owed abut 2 months wages. That’s a significant amount of money for anyone, but it is not an insurmountable debt. The other owes 2 YEARS worth of wages. That would be a problem for most folks. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter if your payment is $50 or $50,000,000 If you can’t make the payment you can’t make the payment.
So, the creditor in the story, who is obviously Jesus, cancels both debts.
The question Jesus asks is, “Who is more grateful?” Jesus affirms Simon’s answer that the one who owed the bigger debt would be most grateful.
Then Jesus goes on to compare Simon and the woman. This is where Simon would love to see both Jesus and the woman bless him by leaving. Now to be clear, it does not appear that Simon broke any laws. But he also did not put himself out to make Jesus feel more comfortable or more welcome.
The woman on the other hand has not stopped looking after his needs since she walked in the room even to the point of using her tears to wash his feet and hair to dry them.
But Jesus’ story is not about one man who had a debt and one who didn’t. It is about two people who both owed a debt that neither of them could pay.
Simon probably thought that the woman was a sinner and he was not….At least he was not much of a sinner... OK he sinned a little…okay, maybe he had some things he needed to deal with but who is Jesus to point that out?
But let me ask you this, if you lose your house are you more or less homeless if it was a million-dollar house or a $50,000 home? Of course not.
Are you less lost if you’re an hour from home rather than six hours from home? Of course not.
Are you any less of a sinner because you have been able to hide your sins compared to someone who’s sins are printed on the front page of the newspaper? Of course not.
The truth to which Jesus is pointing is that we all owe a debt for our sins that we could not possibly pay.
Weather you are the worst sinner in the world, or your only sin might be the pride in thinking that you have never sinned, you Are in need of forgiveness.
Whether you are wracked with guilt every hour of every day, or if you are unaware of the harm you caused by an unintentional sin, you are in need of forgiveness.
You, and everyone you know have done things that have broken God’s law, or harmed yourself, others, or creation. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Me and everyone I know have done things that break God’s law, or harmed themselves, ourselves or others, or creation. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
All of us… everyone… each and every one of us is a sinner in need of forgiveness.
And we can’t do a thing about it. The debt is so big we could never climb that mountain.
But we don’t have to rely on our own ability. We don’t have to rely on our own goodness. Jesus provides forgiveness… freely…and abundantly for all who call upon him in faith.
He said to the woman, “your sins are forgiven. Go in peace.”
Jesus says to each person, “Your sins are forgiven… go in peace.”
Thanks be to God that Jesus says to me, “Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace.”
Hallelujah that Jesus says to you “your sins are forgiven. Go in peace.”
Would you pray with me?
Just like the simple woman in today's story, we come. Many of us have given our guilt in our lives to you before. Others may be doing it for the first time today. Without you we are all broken, powerless, and doomed. We know that without you we cannot experience forgiveness of sin, receive new life in the spirit, or enjoy eternal life.
We confess all of our sins today. Some large; some small. Some recent; some long ago. Times when we broke your law on purpose or harmed someone intentionally. Other times when out of negligence or ignorance we have failed you and others. We lay all these sins before you today and ask for the freedom of your forgiveness and healing.
We humbly and gratefully ask for the power of your cross to destroy the grip that sin has on us. We ask for the power of your love to draws close to you. And we ask that the hope that everything we do will ultimately glorify you. In the precious and powerful name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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