An Instructive Moment About Forgiveness

 

This winter weather messed with a few Sundays for us (and we might not be over with that yet. It is Ohio.) We enter Lent with one less Sunday since we finished up the letter of James. What could we possibly do with the five weeks we have as we head toward Easter? With the subject matter from James' letter still fresh on our hearts, there are some passages from the Gospel of Luke that seem to speak well with those themes and words. 

 A bit of our time in James left us wondering if the little brother of Jesus might have been present at any of the discourse and events we see unfolding in the Gospels. With the Messiah's mother, Mary, being accounted for in much of the background we read it is not far fetched at all to think that James would have been around also. What items did he hear about second hand? How did any of that play into what he chose to write about? While there is no clear and definite way to interpret any of that it does leave one to ponder and do some holy wondering. This morning we find Jesus in a place where the message of forgiveness is front and center. Throughout the 5 chapters of James' letter I hope you felt the need to forgive others as a strong emphasis being pushed in the background. We are going to start here and over the next four Sundays ahead we will jump through the good doctor's account here in the Gospel of Luke touching on moments spent in the Savior's presence. 

It's a familiar story that many of us have heard. Jesus is invited to the home of a Pharisee. After arriving and getting their seats around the table this evening is turned on it's head as a young woman interrupts the conversation to bolt into a house she doesn't even live in to do some remarkable act of repentance. Listen and hear.

There is little doubt that the woman who will come before Jesus tonight is indeed someone who has spent her life in promiscuous ways. The life of a prostitute is filled with long night in the arms and hands of strangers. They are days spent alone with no one to love or hold on to except loneliness and guilt. Shame is another friend of the two mentioned here and together they keep her out of the market and away from everyday people, like priests and religious leaders. Shadows are her closest comforts. Staying out of the light and into the darkness helps keep her out of trouble. 

Departing from this life is something she has rarely pondered or even considered. How would she even do that? This is what she is known for. This is the life she was sold into when she was barely old enough to lay with a man. Her mother was poor and didn't have money for food or rent. The comfort of a man's arms are something she had been taught to enjoy or endure for a short time and then it is back to the loneliness and shame. It is night time again and surely there will be another who will help her feel wanted and needed before leaving her all alone to deal with the emptiness. 

In the evening hours, she dolls herself up. Fixing her hair in an attractive manner, she take a jar of expensive alabaster oil and hangs it from her neck. The aroma from the tiny jar cannot be contained. As she steps into the shadowy street corner, the scent fills the air offering a seductive allure. Hoping she can find another attendant to preoccupy her time and satisfy their need, she walks the quiet street alone. She has met many men while on these corners. 

But, never has she met a man like Jesus. 

He is on his way to the home of a religious leader for dinner. As he come to the place where she attracts many of her customers, she hopes the perfume will do it's trick. In case it does not, she plays with her hair and bats her eyelashes hoping to get a moment with him in the shadows. However, his eyes do not go to the places most men would look. Instead, he sees below the surface and into her soul to discover the real reasons that bring her out to the streets each night. He sees the pain of a person left behind in a life that produces more pain and hurt than comfort and peace. He speaks to her in low and serious tones. How did he know those... details? Their brief moment on the street leaves her with the feeling that he must be a messenger from God. Somehow he knows where she has been and what she has been through. His brief sharing of words causes her to step back in a gasp as he turns and carries on with the group headed to their evening dinner. 

In their momentary encounter, this man mentioned forgiveness. How? And, who, more importantly, would forgive her for all she has done? He mentioned leaving this life behind. How could she? There was no other "work" for her to do. Who would hire her? How could she support herself? The very notion seemed silly to her. She would have to make it the best she could even if her ways were unholy in some peoples eyes. But, what if it was true? What if someone could forgive her and make her feel the way she has always wanted to feel? How could she show some sort of sign that she would want to accept that gift? Her hands clutch together and she rests her head against the tree at the corner. She feels the vile of oil on the string around her neck. Suddenly she knows what she wants to do. 

In the evening hours, there are few people on the streets. She stops at each and every one she can find to ask about where this man might have gone. She doesn't even know his name. Just that he was walking with what looked like some Pharisees and such. Finally someone points down the street - that way. The next person she comes across remembered seeing someone that fit the description headed into that house, down there.

All she can think about are the words he shared and how he must know something she doesn't. Somehow, he knows about love. A love unlike any she has experienced. Her midnight lovers and sultry encounters never spoke of a love that could forgive. Clutching the small vile of oil in her hands, she seeks diligently for the house and the door. If only she could find him, make a plea of some kind. Maybe that forgiveness he spoke of could be hers. At the end of the street she can see a house. The door is open. There are lights and people. In her desperate search, she heads that way. 

It is the home of a man named Simon. She approaches the doorway of the Pharisee's house. It is as if her ears have stopped working. She sees the man she spoke with sitting there. Guests are gathered around the floor along the edges of the table. Every person and guest has a mat in which to sit on. She has nothing. She's truly not even supposed to be here. It's not her home. She does not know anyone. All she can think about is getting to the One whom she spoke with earlier. In the busy nature of the room with servants sharing food and drinks being served, it is as if she slipped into the house without being seen. She stops at the feet of the One who offered her forgiveness in the darkness of the street. Now, in the full light of the house, she comes to Him with all that she has.

All attention has quickly come to the end of the table where Jesus is sitting. "Is this one of your servants, Simon?" "Wow, I didn't get that kind of welcome the last time I visited here!" "Who is this girl and how did she get in here?"

A question Simon would like an answer to as well. But, for this moment, he watches as the girl does something completely unexpected. Holding the vile of oil, in her fingers, she cries openly. With so much emotion, she wails and begs for the forgiveness that was extended to her. Now, Simon sits at attention. Now, it's not so much a question of where she came from, but of how he can get rid of her. Begging for forgiveness openly? Only God can forgive sins, he thinks to himself. And, if this Jesus were a prophet, he would know that also. And, if he were worth anything religiously, he would scold this girl and send her away for the embarrassment she was causing in his home. Instead, the Messiah does nothing. Nothing. 

Her tears have begun to make a mess of the ground around his feet. She takes her hair and attempts to keep his feet clean. Hair she would have brushed and used to draw the attention of men is now used to wipe the feet of the only one who could forgive her sins. The vile in her hands, the cap is suddenly unplugged and she pours the sweet smelling substance all over his feet. The scent fills the room and she further tries to use her hair as a tool for cleansing. The Messiah reaches down to touch the face of the one who has honored him so. Grace and mercy fills the space between their eyes. From the eyes of the host this evening come indignant thoughts. 

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.

Jesus proves that he more than just a prophet. "Simon, I have something to tell you." Encouraging him to go on, Simon lends his ear. Following up the hosts' thoughts Jesus goes right into parable mode. If anything, the moment lends itself to a little lesson in forgiveness, in mercy, in losing one's pride. 

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[c] and the other fifty. 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?”

Simon replies, "The one that had the bigger debt, I suppose."

Jesus uses the moment perfectly to turn everyone's attention toward the truth. "You have judged correctly", Jesus said.

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. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

It was not this woman from the street corner who needed to be reminded how great her debt was that night. It was the Pharisee.

It was customary in many Middle eastern households to honor their guests when they would arrive. Many of us know the story from John 13, how Jesus would wrap a towel around his waist and go around the table, washing the feet of all the disciples. Usually this task was placed on the lowest servant in the house. Jesus takes the task upon himself and washes away the sins of the disciples that night. In this moment , this young girl has entered a house she doesn't live in or own and honored the Messiah by washing his feet with her tears, unashamed about what she has done. It was customary to honor your guest with a kiss of the head. This was, in many circles, a way of showing respect and honor. No one in Simon's house offered Jesus this welcome. Instead a girl who did not even live here entered the house and did not stop showing Him honor. Finally, greeting a guest by anointing them with costly oil was a sign of welcoming, a way to bless them and the lovely smell would soothe them from their travels. Lastly, no one in Simon's house bothered to share any kind of blessing with Jesus. But, this "promiscuous" woman gave all that she had in what could have cost her a great amount.

The signs of forgiveness here are clear as Jesus listens to silence in the room. This young woman has given all that she has to honor the Messiah. She has shown her love, truly. All of them testify to her forgiveness. A woman of the night is found by a Savior for all.  Not the kind of salvation you find standing on a street corner, but he did that night. Or, rather, He found her. Coming to her rescue. Meeting her with the love she longed for always. An eternal love that would make the difference for all time. 

Blessings

J