Forgiven

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).

Our reading today is one of the most poignant pictures of acceptance and rejection, understanding and prejudice. Jesus shows the love and acceptance while the religious elite show us the rejection and prejudice. I want you to use your imagination for a bit today. Imagine a woman in the Middle East, in a small town, in a very religious, highly conservative, cultural context. Imagine she is notoriously known as a sinful woman. Maybe she is sleeping or living with her boyfriend; she may be the one passed around the class in her school. Perhaps she is known to be committing adultery with a married man. Or, she may be a stripper, or a prostitute. She would be known as a sinner, disgusting, defiled, and degraded. She is surrounded by religious men who condemn, shame, and despise her. Her rejection is complete; at least until she meets Jesus. Jesus had been invited to dinner by some of the prestigious religious leaders in town. It was not really a social courtesy; they wanted to quiz Him. And then, while they were being served, this 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. I can just picture the Pharisees, jaws dropped to the floor, eyes the size of saucers. They were 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. Then Jesus simply says, “… her sins, which are many, are forgiven” (Luke 7:47 ESV). There were two very different responses to Jesus. Who do you most identify with? The religious moralists who felt they were right with God because their outward righteousness? Or the sinful woman who knew she deserved God’s wrath and judgment, yet was overwhelmed by His grace? I am the latter. I am that sinner who has been forgiven much. I pray I shall be the kind of person who reciprocates that forgiveness toward others.