Jesus Relating to Simon the Pharisee and the Sinful Woman

4 Pentecost 2013

1 Kings 21:1-10, 15-21; Ps 5;Gal2:1-8; Luke 7:36-8:3

Father Adam Trambley

June 16, 2013, St. John’s Sharon

 In today’s gospel, Jesus is contrasting the situation of two people with him at dinner.  The first is his host, Simon who is a Pharisee.  The second is a sinful woman who came unannounced to the dinner and began to wash his feet with her tears, dry them with her hair and anoint them with very expensive perfume.  The point Jesus is making is about love and forgiveness, and his point is descriptive.  Those who are forgiven more, love more.  He’s not saying that people who are forgiven more should love more.  He is saying that they do love more.  Look at how this sinful woman lavishes love on Jesus.  She isn’t worried about herself, or the Pharisees around her, or if she’ll get in trouble.  She just wants to express her love to Jesus.  Meanwhile Simon the Pharisee, who has been forgiven little, loves only a little.  Jesus is taken care of as a guest, but nothing to elaborate has been done.  Simon is being hospitable, as is required, but there isn’t a whole lot of love slipping through. 

Now the contrast of love coming out of forgiveness is especially interesting, because otherwise Jesus relates to both of them in very similar ways.  Both offer their gifts, and Jesus treats both of them respectfully and he gives both of them what they want, as well as what they need.  Simon the Pharisee invites Jesus to dinner at what seems to be a nice house.  He provides Jesus an opportunity to join his dinner party, and Jesus joins him.  While Simon may seem the negative character in the story, Jesus doesn’t treat him badly.  Simon is looking for good conversation and teaching, and Jesus gives him that.  Jesus tells a parable about two debtors and offers an interpretation.  This discussion of ethics is why Jesus would have been invited.  At the same time, Jesus knows what this Pharisee needs.  Simon needs to understand about love and forgiveness, so Jesus instructs him. Then we assume that after the woman leaves, Jesus respectfully stays and the rest of the banquet continues.   Luke tells us that the guests are talking to each other about Jesus, and certainly the next day what happened is going to hit the first century gossip mill, but Jesus gives Simon both what he wants and what he needs.

The sinful woman who comes to Jesus also gives what she has. Mostly what she has to give is herself, as well as this alabaster jar of ointment.  Jesus also gives her what she wants and what she needs.  She knows she needs forgiveness, and she also needs to be able to have someone accept her love.  Given her past, many would not receive her pure love borne of repentance and forgiveness.  Jesus, however, accepts her expressions of love.  He could have told her to stop.  He could have told her come back at a different time.  But he didn’t.  He allowed her to demonstrate the great love she had for him, even if it embarrassed the host a bit.  In fact, he took her gift and used it, offering it as a teaching on love and forgiveness to the Pharisees around the table.

So Jesus gives them both what they want and need, but what the woman receives is clearly the better choice.  She is able to give and receive deep love from Jesus and she receives profound forgiveness.  Simon the Pharisee could have received the same, but he didn’t.  The choice for us is what we would rather receive from Jesus.  What we are going to come to Jesus for?

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Now the answer here is not to go out and sin spectacularly so that Jesus can forgive us a lot and we can love a lot.  No, the answer is to come to Jesus as the sinful woman did and not as the Pharisee did.  Simon is interested in Jesus teaching.  He’ll probably learn something from it.  He might even incorporate Jesus’ story in some of his own teachings.  But he is clearly controlling his own life and his own situation, and respectfully considering Jesus’ own opinions.

The woman realizes her situation is out of control. She knows she’s beyond anything she can do for herself.  She recognizes that only with Jesus’ forgiveness does she have a chance at future life.  So she shows him all the love she could.  Simon doesn’t show that kind of love.  Simon isn’t even buying olive oil, much less ointment.  Simon isn’t kissing Jesus at all, much less his feet.  Simon is trying to weigh just how much of a prophet Jesus is, while the woman is busting into dinner parties and throwing herself at Jesus feet all out of love.  We have to decide whether we want to be like Simon or like the woman.  Certainly many of us could make an argument to ourselves much of the time that our lives are mostly under control.  We can allow Jesus in our lives at a comfortable level as a dinner guest, providing insight and occasional instruction.  If we really need him, he’s there, and we can go on with our lives.

But it doesn’t take much to see things get out of control.  Most of us have had times of crisis when we have thrown ourselves into prayer.  Sometimes our own sinful contribution to the difficult parts of our lives are clear enough to us that we really do seek God’s forgiveness and mercy with an abandon much like the woman who anoints Jesus feet.  Too often those moments don’t last so long, our lives normalize, and our extravagant love of God wanes.  But it doesn’t have to.  Just because life seems good doesn’t mean we need to turn into Simon.

Instead, we can realize the overwhelming love and forgiveness God has for us.  We can only understand how much we are forgiven when we both receive a Holy Spirit-led conviction about our sinfulness and grow in our ability to be fearlessly honest with ourselves.  As we come to recognize just how much even our normal everyday lives rely on God’s goodness and grace, we are led into the kind of extravagant actions that we do only for the people we love with as much of our heart, mind, soul, and strength as we can muster.

We know what those actions are.  We spend time with those we love, and spending time with God generally means prayer.  But at least two other actions we perform for loved ones are highlighted by the woman anointing Jesus feet.  She goes wherever she can find him, and she offers her wealth to him.  These activities are, by the way, the same ones we take in our marriage vows.  We promise to be together, and then we give each other rings as symbols that we honor and cherish our beloved with all that we have and all that we are.  (You can read the details on page 427 in the Book of Common Prayer if you want.)  This woman bursts into a party because Jesus is there and then anoints his feet with really expensive perfume. 

Our love of Jesus can express itself in similar ways.  If we really feel ourselves forgiven and loving God, those actions will flow automatically.  But if we are struggling to overcome our own ego and control, we can live into love and forgiveness of God by intentionally undertaking those actions. 

How do we burst in where Jesus is?  We find him in church, of course.  We know Jesus is really present to us in this place and when we receive him in communion.  But we also find him in many other places.  We find him where the least of our brothers and sisters are gathered, knowing that ministering to them is ministering to him.  We find him amid children, who Jesus seems to really like.  We just have to keep an eye out for him, like the woman in our Gospel, and run to find him when we hear of rumor of things happening somewhere that sounds like he might be there.

Then we also give all our possessions to him.  By that, I don’t necessarily mean turning over all your bank accounts to the church along with your car keys.  But we can offer everything we have back to God with great joy and abandon and allow it all to be used by God, whether for our needs or to take care of our loved ones, or save, or to give away.  Once we recognize it is all God’s, we find ourselves pouring expensive ointment in very good ways upon the feet of Jesus where we find him, and some of those guises will be unexpected if not downright disturbing, and some of the ointment we have to give will probably surprise us.

Those who are forgiven much, love much, Jesus says.  We all have been forgiven enough to love with our whole being.  We just have to recognize how much Jesus has already forgiven us and start seeking Jesus wherever he is and pouring all our ointment on his feet.