Greater Love, Luke 7:36-50, 02.23.35
To understand scripture, we must recognize the historic cultural aspects of the passages we read, as well as our own cultural perspectives.
Let’s look at today’s passage
‘Simon, a Pharisee, asked Jesus to eat with him, and when Jesus went into Simon’s house, he (Jesus) reclined by the table to dine.’
Our cultural understanding of passage – Jesus is invited to Simon’s house for an dinner with Simon and his family. Jesus enters the house, sits in a chair at the table, and begins to engage peacefully with those at table.
This view leads us to ask, ‘If Jesus was sitting at a table in a chair pushed up against the table’s edge, how would it have been possible for the woman to wash Jesus feet? How would she navigate a crowded space of feet and knees under the table? We end up with a hilarious picture.
Even if we are aware of the cultural practice of reclining by the table we stil have to intentionally insert this strange (to us) cultural reality into our understanding of this opening scene.
Let’s reinterpret this scene through the historical cultural reality:
Reality 1 – Jesus arrives and reclines on the floor next to the table. It is possible that Jesus lies partially horizontal to the table, or floor, while leaning on one elbow and eating with the other hand and hand and arm. While Simon’s family may have been present in the background they are not a part of any discussion. They stand back and, if permitted, listen. Doors and windows are open so folks outside are listening in and some will enter and also stand in the background, and will listen, again, if allowed. The purpose of this ‘dinner’ is for the men, who are considered deep thinkers, and possibly men of position or controversy, to discuss, debate, and argue the issues that face them, their nation, and the world. Intertwined into the discussion will be a religion. Much like the philosophers in Athens the men at the table in Simon’s house will discuss and debate without actually coming to any conclusions or solutions. Sometimes there would be agendas and sometimes agendas would naturally rise up. Jesus is not only a guest at dinner others will be present as well – It would have been an honor to be invited to such a seat at this table.
Reality 2 – There would have been uninvited and unexpected guests, probably hoping to enter without notice throughout the men’s discussion. And, as odd and awkward as we imagine it to be from our own cultural perspective, the appearance of this woman to wash and anoint Jesus’ feet would not have been that strange or awkward. Often, an action such as this would have taken place upon entry into the house by the host as a gesture of honoring the guests – remember Jesus washing his disciples’ feet.
Sometimes unexpected individuals would enter to honor or gain favor with hosts or guests. The woman’s act probably went unnoticed by most. It is probable that those at the table, as well as those in the room, were not paying attention to the woman or her actions – if they did they would have quickly judged and dismissed her.
The house, was probably a chaotic scene and upon leaving the house every guest would have left with different views of what took place.
Jesus and Simon, would end the evening with one mutual remembrance – a woman washed Jesus feet in a very gracious and sacrificial (Simon would say wasteful) way with utter disregard of what anyone thought of her or her actions.
Both men were less engaged with the deep thinkers as they were the presence and actions of the woman. It is the inner processing of each of these men and their external commentary that we will focus on today.
Speculation as to the details about this woman…her name, her association with Jesus, her sin, her life, plus the constant argument ‘was sinner code for prostitute?’ have always hijacked this story.
I think that we purposely are not given answers to these questions because we do not need answers to these questions. It is possible that we would miss the most important aspect of this woman if we had such details.
Why? Because, this woman is us, all of us, all of believers, all of humanity.
Simon saw this woman as her sin. In Simon’s perspective, her sin was more sinful than his sin. Jesus, though, was moved by her gratitude
This is the problem when faith has a foundation of rigid legalism, judgement, condemnation, and finally, rejection. Our ‘sin’ is seen as our actions rather than our disobedience. Our list of things that make a person a ‘sinner’ is continually edited and altered, molded by our own prejudices, actions and arrogance.
Think about Jesus’ first sermon where he upended the ‘sin’ list of the religious officials. Lust became adultery and hatred became murder. These were lists that no one, except for Jesus, could live up to. The leaders could not grasp that our inability was Jesus’ point.
Simon ended the evening in confusion and outrage – Jesus had allowed this unclean woman to touch him and, even worse, Jesus had pronounced her forgiven. There was no way Simon could make sense of this evening. His perspective was stuck. However, Jesus went to bed with an affirmation of his purpose. The woman closed out the day in peace.
Jesus did not see this woman as her sins. Jesus saw her struggles and her gratitude. Jesus saw this because Jesus did not dismiss her very real struggles, pain, and shame, which were her core. With her permission and society’s insistence, this core formed her label of worthless. Jesus did not agree with her acceptance of worthlessness – Jesus saw her strength that raised her up from a new core of gratitude that then enabled her to accept what came next – Forgiveness.
Jesus removed the weight of the baggage of her shame and all that it included. Jesus removed the name tag that said ‘SINNER’ from the woman, a tag that had been assigned by Simon and most of society, and the woman subtly left the room released and relieved.
Jesus had not only allowed this unclean woman to touch his feet but he had given her forgiveness.
The woman had been noticed and forgiven by God. She left with a love much greater than the hatred of Simon and the crowds.
‘In Luke’s version of the story of the sinful woman we see the refusal of Jesus to play into the Pharisees’ judgment of the woman based upon who belongs at the feet of Jesus and what appropriate interaction with Jesus ought to be. Fast-forwarding from Luke to thinking about worship inside churches today, how often are we also quick to judge what kinds of people belong in the house of God and how they should act?’
Rev. Dr. Gerald C. Liu, Emerging Faith Communities Cultivator, & Princeton Theological School
In 2001 researchers and statisticians found that regular church attendance in the United States had dipped below the 50% mark. 2021 was a rough time. Public was concern about social settings, and crowds, due to the pandemic while politics and social media warped the thinking in our isolation. The decline in church attendance and affiliation would have been dismissed except the decline continued even after that. In just 3-4 decades the church went from majority high percentage points while church participation and growth fell in public respect, status, and position.
Consider the realities of religion over the past decades.
- Politicians went from not so subtle use/abuse of religion and religious institutions to blatant abuse and disrespect to those who were religious. The exact things Prophets such as Jeremiah and Isaiah had warned the people about.
- Politicians have assumed the role of false prophets with the approval of and partnership with influential religious leaders fueling ugly and hateful religion. Making unholy alliances, these religious leaders have falsely claimed that these false prophets, many of our politicians were and are anointed and inspired while, at the same time, choosing to verbalize, and judge, who could have a seat at faith’s table, and who was not worthy.
- Denominations and Churches who were accustomed to high membership and attendance stats were free, like Simon, to sit at the table and decide who was uworthy to be at the table or to sit in our pews. The ‘sinner’ woman, and all like her, have been quicly denied as their sins have been judged more harshly than sins of those at the table. Their struggles were doubted, ignored, and dismissed. Now, as churches sit with more empty seats than full seats, denominations, churches, and the religious of our world, seek to find a scapegoat rather than recognize their own unholiness.
All the while, we see an answer in this story of Jesus, our deliverer, and Simon, a Pharisee. Simon saw an unworthy female sinner while Jesus saw a loved woman overflowing with gratitude.
Everywhere in this country and in this auditorium we see empty chairs. We can shake our heads in outrage at the unholy state of our world or we can recognize the probability that many of the empty seats we see are God’s a reminder of God’s call for those denied seats since 250 AD. (Church – world wide)
May we look at those seats and see a world denied seats for decades/centuries. May we meet our world without judgement but, instead, with the love and embrace of God extended to all.
Our calling is to offer a seat to all, a place at faith’s table to all, and, in doing, we show the world a greater love.
Order, Words, & Voices 