LOVE GROWS WHEN WE ACCEPT FORGIVENESS
Luke 7:36-50
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and when he went into the Pharisee’s house he reclined to dine. 37 And a woman in the city who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38 She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair, kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”40 Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.” 48 Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
There are several details of this scripture that can distract from its central meaning and there are some details that are easily missed that enhance the passage. How was it that a known sinner was allowed to enter the house of a Pharisee? Given the Pharisee’s knowledge of this woman’s status, it seems highly unlikely that he would have allowed her to enter his home in the first place—much less allow her to stay. Was the host trying to set a trap for Jesus by letting her in—or by allowing her to stay? Was his goal from the beginning to establish Jesus’ obedience to the reigning rules of proprietary? The Pharisee’s motives may have been curious or sneaky but as the story plays out, Jesus is discredited in the eyes of the Pharisee. How could Jesus be a prophet if he allowed a known sinner to touch, kiss and caress him?
Also notice that Jesus ‘sees’ the Pharisee’s secret heart. The Pharisee’s questions are an internal dialogue. The Pharisee’s thoughts were never spoken to Jesus. Instead they are internal observations—”he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known….’” There is an important irony here. Jesus is silently accused of failing to discern (the status of the woman) even as he has fully discerned the Pharisee’s secret heart.
This is a common teaching technique in the Gospels. Jesus and the Pharisees are regularly portrayed as playing mental chess games. The Pharisees become caricatures, if not straw men, in order for Jesus to teach a new way to understand scripture—and claim the authority to do so. Please remember, this narrative was never recorded. It was written at least thirty years after the fact—and there were no tape recorders.
In this case, the questions being raised include: Who can enter the Kingdom of God? Are there conditions? What is sin and who decides the definition? These were questions assigned to the religious experts to the day—the Priests, Scribes and Pharisees. This text points to how Jesus challenged the prevailing authority.
Before the Pharisee has expressed any of his thoughts, Jesus responds as if he had spoken. Jesus asks a question to challenge his unspoken assumptions. If a moneylender forgives two debtors, who will be the most grateful? —the man who owes $50 or the man who owes $500?. The Pharisee answers rightly when he replies: “The man with the greater debt.” The stage has been set.
Jesus now shifts focus to the woman. “Do you see this woman?” The Pharisee could only see her as a debtor—and probably unredeemable. Her sins disqualified her. She had gotten in too deep. Then Jesus points out what the Pharisee did not see. While the Pharisee owed little (at least in his mind) and the woman owed much (she was ‘obviously’ the greater sinner), it was the woman who offered the hospitality the Pharisee failed to offer. Jesus tells him: “…you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.”
Verse 47 is key: “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love.” Jesus explains her lavish gratitude is based on her previous experience of forgiveness. “Hence” is a connecting word, similar to “therefore” or “as a result.” She had to have heard the Good News earlier—Jesus came into the world to save us—Not holding our sins against us.
This is good news for us all. But in a society which shamed and stereotyped her, this promise of love and acceptance transformed her. She was deeply and extravagantly grateful. No matter how or why this woman entered the Pharisee’s home, her tears, humility and gratitude reflected her faith that the promises of the Gospel included her.
Jesus upended the ways of the world. Sin is turning away from the way of Love. It is not a catalogue of offences. Stereotyping, name calling, trying to arbitrate and quantify sinfulness is, in itself, sinful. Such behavior is self serving and entitled. It says “I’m better than you. I may be a sinner but not as bad as you.” Such quantification and ranking denies God’s extravagant love. If you find a way to rationalize and rank sin (and we all do) we join the Pharisee and miss that love. This is when Jesus’ last comment to the Pharisee strikes home: “…the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.”
Jesus closes the dialogue with the woman by confirming her forgiveness and announcing: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” It takes faith to believe we are loved when the world says otherwise—and when we become aware of the many ways we fall short.
Every Sunday we make a corporate confession of sin. Most of us are tempted to say “Yes, but that one doesn’t apply to me.” Instead of claiming an exception, ask “How is that true for me?” It is a question that Jesus was asking the Pharisee to consider.
You can make this personal by making this exercise a Lenten practice. I sometimes ask couples to make a list of their partner’s foibles. I do not want the list to be shared. I tell them to wait a few days and cross out their partner’s name and insert their own name. What we don’t like in others is frequently things we do ourselves. It is far easier to point a finger than to accept accountability. It is humbling. It is a challenging Lenten practice. I have done it myself and have not liked what I learned. But I have realized failing to see how I am like who I dislike, is most likely a blind spot. When I see more clearly, the gospel promises blossom into humility and gratitude.
Pick someone you are in conflict with—personally or politically. Do the same exercise. We all have somebody we have trouble with or we believe is beyond the pale. When you learn what you share, the conversation changes. Our judgments may well be the same but they are less likely to be self righteous. We all need forgiveness. As creatures, we are wired to put our needs first. It is how we are made. It is how survival of the fittest works. But it does not have to be the only way we live.
Jesus calls us to love as we have been loved. Jesus loves us in the full knowledge of our limitations and failings. He knows we fail to balance our needs with the needs of others. He knows we have disregarded others. He knows we insist on being right, that sometimes we serve in order to get, and sometimes think of ourselves as superior. He knows most of us are delighted to get a good deal without regard to the poverty level wages that made the sale price possible. He knows when we ONLY put our needs first, we doom ourselves to a polarizing, competitive existence. Jesus knows us and forgives us—even when we kill him. That is a gift beyond measure.
Loving as Jesus loved is not a Hallmark card. It is inconvenient, costly and difficult. But, as Safiyyah said in her Ash Wednesday meditation: “Every time we turn away from these uncomfortable realities, God is waiting, requesting that we return….Knowing that every time we turn away, an opportunity to return to God with all of our hearts arises.”
I believe Jesus was trying to teach the Pharisee about God’s extravagant love. The woman’s sins AND his were forgivable. The story tells us the woman accepted God’s Good News. We do not know if the Pharisee could hear Jesus.
Confession is the doorway to enjoying God’s extravagant love. Accept it and be transformed. Let it be so.
