Luke 7:36-48
Then one of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. He entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And a woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house. She brought an alabaster jar of perfume and stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to wash his feet with her tears. She wiped his feet with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with the perfume.
When the Pharisee who had invited them saw this, he said to himself, "This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him – she's a sinner!"
Jesus replied to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." He said, "Say it, teacher."
"A creditor had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?"
Simon answered, "I supposed the one he forgave more."
"You have judged correctly," he told him. Turning to 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, with her tears, has washed my feet and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she hasn't stopped kissing my feet since I came in. You didn't anoint my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that's why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little." Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
This is a passage in Scripture that I had heard many times before, but until a few months ago, I had never really stopped to take in what Jesus was saying. To many people during that time, and even to some of us today, the actions of the woman from the story seem a little extreme. We might nod our heads as we listen to a sermon about this story, but when we think about it, we would turn our heads and pretend not to know what was going on if we were present when it happened. We often choose to look down on the actions and words of the Pharisee, but we are probably more similar to him than we would often like to believe. When we look at Jesus' response, though, we might find a next step for ourselves in this passage. Jesus tells the Pharisee a short parable, and then he says, "her many sins have been forgiven; that's why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little." I don't believe Jesus was telling the Pharisee that he was any less in need of forgiveness. Scripture says in Romans that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I think what Jesus was trying to convey to Simon was that this woman had allowed herself to be humble enough to admit her need and her desperation for Jesus. She allowed who He was to move her to worship, no matter what anyone else thought of her. I know I am often guilty of forgetting just how much Jesus has done for me and allowing my posture of worship to reflect my forgetfulness. I believe that we can all learn something from this woman. I think we can all benefit from asking ourselves the question, "How am I allowing what Jesus has done for me to affect my posture of worship in everything that I do?"
