A.
BACKGROUND
... Jesus is on a three-year journey in the public eye that takes him from a nobody to The Messiah; from no baptism to The Resurrection; from words and deeds that amazed and inspired to confrontation and challenges from powerful forces. It seems like every day, every event that Luke tells us about takes us deeper into the essence of Jesus.
B. TODAY, ... Luke 7:36-50.
C. SUMMARY. Having spent a month pushing my new book of short stories on you, it is humbling to read a short story that does it all better! In 14 verses Luke brings together three characters that we want to know better. It has a hint of sex, of scandal; it is about hypocrisy and faith; it teaches us about sin and forgiveness; it even has a pretty good story within a story. Oh, yes, back to the SUMMARY! A prominent Jewish leader, a Pharisee named Simon, invites Jesus to dinner in a public gathering. A "sinful woman" somehow gets in, and literally attaches herself to Jesus. In the custom of the day Jesus was reclining, she grabs hold of his feet and begins weeping. Her tears fall on Jesus' feet, she dries them with her hair, in effect washing his feet. She rinses his feet and perfumes the. The Pharisee is shocked that Jesus doesn't distance himself from such a "fallen" woman, an outcast, a social pariah, a sinner. Jesus knows what the Pharisee is thinking and tells him the story of two people who owed money to a moneylender, one a lot, one a little. The moneylender forgives both, leading Jesus to ask, "who do you think was happier?" The Pharisee rightly guesses it is the person forgiven the most. Jesus then makes the connection to the "sinful woman's" great remorse and the Pharisee's "holier than thou" attitude. Then Jesus blesses the woman, assuring her that her sins are forgiven because of her faith.
D. KEY POINTS:
1.
Confession, Repentance, Forgiveness, and Faith. All is Key Point #1. Confession is acknowledging that you know, you understand what you did wrong. Repentance is changing yourself in whatever way necessary NOT to do it again. Forgiveness is knowing that you don't have it hanging over you anymore, it is over and done with. A clean slate. Faith is the confidence to trust that God's love and Christ's life really do wipe your record clean. I guess I should define sin, too. Sin, biblically speaking, is to miss the mark. God set a target for your behavior and you miss the mark by a little or a lot, but you do miss it. A spiritually honest person doesn't rationalize it, excuse it, blame it on somebody else, deny it or cover it up. You own up to it. To wit, "I did it. I'm so sorry, and here's how I won't do it again. I know you love me and we can start fresh". The "sinful woman" doesn't say a word. But her tears, emotion, and actions show a person deeply in touch with who she is, what God can mean to her, where she wants to go, and who can guide her there.
2. A "Me Too" connection? The "Me too" movement has brought the sexual exploitation, harassment, and abuse of women front and center. From low-wage waitresses to Senators, from businesses to Hollywood, from sports to religion, women have said, "no more. No means No. Enough. Stop." Think about the "sinful woman" in this story. The scholars agree she was a prostitute, "the world's oldest profession" it is called. Only recently has the world come to grips with the real sins connected to it. Sex trafficking, white slavery, pimps; or the rape, incest, or poverty that leads to it; the commercialization of the whole industry of sexual exploitation. I raise this to ask: What do you think Jesus was seeing when he looked at her? How was that different from what the Pharisee (and townspeople) saw? And what was she feeling and thinking with her tears? Note: she is forgiven by her faith without saying a word. As the Pivot House Gospel Choir sing the they come to our church, "How great is God's love."
