Luke 7:36-50
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus[a] 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[b] 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.”
Matthew 25:35-40
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’
As we continue this morning looking at the Good News of the Gospels, we hear the story of Simon, a Pharisees who decide to host a dinner for Jesus when an unexpected guest arrives: a woman from the city who kneels at Jesus’ feet and washes him with expensive perfume. Simon scoffs at this interruption, but Jesus shifts his focus, asking him to truly see the woman and recognize that she has shown “great love,” by offering the tender hospitality he had not been offered earlier when he entered Simon’s home. This woman who arrives with the alabaster jar shows a shocking, extravagant love that exemplifies the Greatest Commandment: to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. Will the other guests see that loving God goes hand in hand with loving one’s neighbor? We also hear one of my favorite and among the most challenging stories from Matthew 25 which reminds us that when we care for the hungry, the naked, the imprisoned—each of whom are created in the image of God—we are showing love for God, too. Let us pray,
Artist Denise Anderson notes that “Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus uses diminutive language to refer to people of importance and describes small, humble things (like sheep, lilies, and sparrows) as precious. . . . In a book where Jesus talks about little things being loved, the word “least” here takes on new meaning: most loved.” Last week, we heard the story of the tiny mustard seed that grows into a great tree-like bush which Jesus likened to a kernel of faith that may blossom into something much more expansive.
This led me to think of the life of St. Therese of Lisieux who lived in southern France in the late 1800’s. She often spoke about something she called ‘the little way’. Therese was born in 1873 to a middle-class family in France. Having lost her own mother to cancer when she was only four, she grew up as a sensitive and deeply spiritual child. As a teen, she decided to become a nun and joined a community of contemplative nuns. She spent her years praying, serving and writing within the walls of the convent.
Sadly, Therese became sick with tuberculosis in her early 20’s. When she learned that she would likely die, she decided to live her seemingly ordinary life with limitless love. She called it “the little way.” As she wrote, “Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers, and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least action for love.” When others in her community behaved in unkind or mean ways, Therese would respond with even greater love and graciousness which she believed freed her.
What little ways have you been shown love? In what little ways have you shared your love with others? Mother Theresa
Examples of small kindnesses…Kate Bowler, Roger, the librarian, My sister’s neighbor who sent a new card every day, my neighbor shoveling
This morning, our readings tell of a small act of great love and we hear again of what is often called the Greatest Commandment, to love God and love our neighbor. It is the foundation for all of Jesus’ teachings and actions. Can we truly love God if we do not love our neighbor? In the anointing story in Luke. We see the woman’s actions as a bold act of love: she seeks Jesus out, enters where she isn’t allowed, and bathes Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. She won’t let her love be limited, no matter what others may think of her. And, in a surprising turn, Jesus praises the woman, characterizing her actions as signs of hospitality and “great love.” Speaking to Simon in economic terms (perhaps in a language he is familiar with as an expert in matters of the law), Jesus reveals a story about forgiveness, grace, and love. He gently indicates that while Simon has neglected to show genuine hospitality; the woman, whom Simon and the others have judged, has conversely shown “great love.” Can this story show us what it means to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind?
Rev. Dr. Brian Blount writes about this passage from Luke. After Simon rebukes Jesus for letting this woman touch him, Jesus responds with a parable about the extravagance and ferocity of God’s love: two people are in debt to a man. One debtor owes the man little. The other debtor owes much. Ridiculously, the man forgives both of them their debts. Which debtor, Jesus asks, will be the most grateful, will respond to the man with the most love? Of course, it is the man who owed the most.
Simon seems to believe that he owes God much less than this disreputable woman because he has lived a life of holiness and righteousness. Yet, Simon can never know the ferocity of the woman’s love for the God who loves her. According to Jesus, God loves her with an extravagance of grace that cancels all her sins just as surely as the creditor expunged his lender’s massive debt.
Jesus tells the woman to go in peace.
How can she, though, without help? Living on the streets, she finds welcome among those who struggle like her. Forgiven, she now needs the welcome she has shown Jesus to be extended to her by a community of Jesus people—people who recognize that they, too, have been graced by the extravagance of God’s fierce, unrelenting love. Did not Jesus say in Matthew 25 that to welcome him is to welcome those whom the self-righteous have rejected? The hungry. The immigrant. The homeless. The convict. We are called as individuals and as a church, as a community to do the same. By recalling Jesus’ journey to the cross, the season of Lent reminds us of God’s extravagant love. May this season inspire us to love others just as extravagantly and just as fiercely as God, through Jesus, loves us. We can all show great love with small acts of love.