Opposites

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:36-39 ESV).

I saw a cartoon recently. It pictured two opposite opinions being fought over in the ear of a popular comedy character. We have seen many idioms and phrases used to describe such differences. Black and white and everything in between; on a scale from one to ten; or opposites ends of the spectrum are just some of the phrases we use to describe such contrasting beliefs. Our reading today pictures a scene where there were two very different kinds of people present with Jesus. Jesus had been invited to dinner by some of the prestigious religious leaders in town. It was not really a social courtesy, but they wanted to quiz Him and find out where He was coming from; they were testing Him. And then, just after the first course was served, a young, beautiful woman enters, drops to the ground beside Jesus, weeping so hard she actually uses her tears to wash his feet, wiping them with her hair. It was a stark contrast between the smug self-centeredness of the Pharisees and the humble earnestness of the young woman. It is a very easy picture for me to imagine. The Pharisees, jaws dropped to the floor, eyes the size of saucers are sitting at the table when this woman comes in fawning over Jesus. The woman was of questionable reputation. Men of good reputation would never allow this. But those Pharisees, they’re like a lot of good, long-time church folks who are quick to judge known sinners while being blind to their own sin. But this woman had a great appreciation for Jesus because she was keenly aware of the immoral life she had lived. She was overcome by the forgiveness Christ offered her. So there she was, her hair wet with tears, washing the feet of Jesus in an act of pure worship and gratitude. There were two very different responses to Jesus. It is profitable to reflect a bit about who we most identify with. Is it the religious moralists who felt they were right with God by their outward righteousness? Or is it the sinful woman who knew she deserved God’s judgment and was surprise by His grace? I pray I am always in the latter of those groups. How about you?