Pentecost III

By The Rev. Martha Frances+
Year C, Third Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 6

17 June 2007 

Text: Luke 7:36-8:3; Other Readings: I Kings 21:1-10[11-14]15-21a; Galatians 2:15-21; Psalm 5:1-8 

            Have you ever been invited somewhere & then really felt unwelcome when you got there?  Perhaps Jesus felt that way at Simon the Pharisee's house.  Why did Simon invite him to dinner anyway?  Was Jesus just a curiosity?  Perhaps Simon was mildly amused at this traveling preacher, anxious to hear him so then he'd be able to say he'd had him over.  Or maybe it was another opportunity for the Pharisees to try to trap Jesus.  We don't know.  What we DO know is that Simon invited Jesus for dinner yet did not grant him the usual courtesies offered a dinner guest in Jewish society.  Hospitality was an important part of this culture, yet it was not the righteous man who extended hospitality to Jesus but this "sinful" woman.

      Galilean homes in Jesus' day were open to the streets, & uninvited folks might come out to see someone as popular as Jesus.  Simon, Jesus, & the other dinner guests lie on pallets at floor level, holding themselves up on their left elbows with their feet stretched out sideways away from the food.  This woman, a known sinner, comes up behind Jesus weeping. 

      Isn't it interesting that many people have interpreted her sin to be sexual?  Do you see anything in the text indicating she is a harlot?  Though there isn't a word, either in English or Greek, detailing her sin, tradition has developed that, because she is a woman & a sinner, her sin is sexual.  Between Martha Stewart's inside trading conviction & the news stories we hear of mothers' bizarre methods of killing multiple offspring, perhaps we ought to reconsider the variety of sins of which women are capable!

      At any rate, this woman's tears are clearly those of joy, washing his feet with her tears & drying them with her hair responses to forgiveness already given her.  However, Simon's concern is her interruption to his dinner party, & he is indignant.  Doesn't Jesus know what kind of woman is touching him?

      Jesus does not criticize Simon directly for his lack of hospitality but rather tells a parable to reveal Simon's shortcomings.  In so doing, Jesus provides the opportunity for Simon to confront his own petty behavior toward Jesus as well as his judgmentalism toward the woman. 

      Jesus also frees the woman from guilt for her sins since she has shown great love.  The Pharisees still don't get it & try to turn the situation into a discussion of who Jesus thinks he is since he is able to forgive sins.  However, Jesus is confident within himself & goes ahead to forgive the woman's sins, meanwhile offering the opportunity for Simon & the other Pharisees to acknowledge their own self-righteousness so they can be free also. 

      Jesus says, "Simon, do you see this woman?"  The irony of Jesus' question is that, of course Simon sees the woman, sees her as an embarrassing interruption to this dinner party, but Simon does not see her as a woman, a person, a beloved child of God.  Jesus insists on Simon's seeing her—& our seeing her—in new light by contrasting her admirable actions with Simon's lack of hospitality.  This woman is responding out of gratitude for having previously been forgiven, caring for Jesus' feet with her own tears, hair & ointment—a detail which shows that she planned ahead to provide for him—& by kissing him—a common greeting to someone special then as now.  Clearly, a proper host would provide similar courtesies for an honored guest—respectful actions which Simon has neglected.  Jesus doesn't let Simon's holier-than-thou attitude go unnoticed.

      Isn't it curious that we know Simon the Pharisee's name yet this woman whose love & gratitude for Jesus' forgiveness bubbles over into such caring action is never named?  Each of us deserves to be known by name.  When I'm asked what a panhandler on the street should be given, I say I don't usually give money though I usually have crackers & a bottle of water to give, but the most important thing any of us can give is to look that person in the eye, smile at her or him, & acknowledge his or her presence.  Making meaningful eye contact gives more than whatever donation we choose to add.

      Jesus turns his full attention to the woman when he reminds her that her sins have been forgiven.  It's really important for us to realize that the woman doesn't earn Jesus' forgiveness by her actions.  Forgiveness is a gift Jesus has previously given to her.  Her loving actions are her response to the forgiveness that God initiates.  All she's done is to be open to God's gift of forgiveness.  When people can't recognize their own need for forgiveness—which Simon hasn't been open to in the past—then little is forgiven & they can't love abundantly.  Jesus dismisses the woman lovingly, assuring her that her faith—not her actions—has saved her, & that she will truly go in peace.

      The 12 Step programs of recovery including the father of all of them, Alcoholics Anonymous, teach us a lot about the power of forgiveness.  The 4^th of the 12 steps says we make a fearless & searching moral inventory of our character defects & then, in Step 5, we admit to ourselves, to God, & to another person the exact nature of our wrongs.  Many folks have said they don't need anyone between them & God to confess their sins.  However, the wisdom of the 12 Steps tells us that we're much more likely to let go of unhealthy behaviors & learn to live more abundantly when we've admitted our faults to another human also. 

      For many people, the General Confession they say at almost every Eucharist followed by the absolution is adequate to rid them of their guilt & shame & allows them to get on with more healthy living.  However, many of us find that at times in our lives, we need to take more complete stock of ourselves & make private confession to a priest or sponsor or another trained person.  In the Episcopal Church, we have a sacramental rite for confession.  We don't go into a confessional box to talk anonymously to a priest.  Instead, we make an appointment & come in for conversation followed by a short service found right in the prayer book starting on page 447 that can be said between you, the priest, & God.  Interestingly enough, we call that service "Reconciliation of a Penitent" because the purpose is to break down the barriers between you & God, you & another person, or within yourself. 

      Should you take advantage of such private confession?  It's certainly not required in the Episcopal Church.  We often say all MAY come, none MUST come, but many SHOULD come.  Many who take this step find that we can truly put the past behind us & lead a new life unencumbered by the ghosts of our past. 

      Does making confession mean you will never sin again & you'll have smooth sailing the rest of your life?  Absolutely not!  After all, not even Jesus side-stepped the cross.  But our being willing to recognize our faults & give them to God to remove them in God's time allows us to receive the forgiveness which God is always eager to offer us.  Each of us is in the process of becoming more like God in whose image & likeness we were made, so forgiveness of sins is a huge part of living into our baptismal vows, becoming more mature in our faith. 

      In closing, let me comment that we're each called to be the forgiver of sins toward us as well as asking God & sometimes other humans to forgive us.  As long as Simon was unable to see his own sin of judgmentalism, he could not fully experience God's grace & peace.  Isn't that what we truly mean when we say, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"?  We can accept God's forgiveness & that of others only to the extent that we're able to truly forgive others.  I don't know about you, but sometimes, I'm only capable of that forgiveness because God forgives through me.  In those times, I count on the assurance Jesus gave to the woman who anointed him, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."  May we all go in peace today in full acceptance of God's forgiveness of us & committed to do whatever is necessary to experience that peace within ourselves & share it with others.  Amen.