The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States Grow Pray Study Guide for Thursday, 10 May 2018 "Jesus welcomed a 'sinful' woman Simon condemned" Luke 7:36-50Daily Scripture:
Luke 7:
36 One of the P’rushim invited Yeshua to eat with him, and he went into the home of the Parush and took his place at the table. 37 A woman who lived in that town, a sinner, who was aware that he was eating in the home of the Parush, brought an alabaster box of very expensive perfume, 38 stood behind Yeshua at his feet and wept until her tears began to wet his feet. Then she wiped his feet with her own hair, kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them.
39 When the Parush who had invited him saw what was going on, he said to himself, “If this man were really a prophet, he would have known who is touching him and what sort of woman she is, that she is a sinner.” 40 Yeshua answered, “Shim‘on, I have something to say to you.” “Say it, Rabbi,” he replied. 41 “A certain creditor had two debtors; the one owed ten times as much as the other. 42 When they were unable to pay him back, he canceled both their debts. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Shim‘on answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “Your judgment is right,” Yeshua said to him.
44 Then, turning to the woman, he said to Shim‘on, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house — you didn’t give me water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair! 45 You didn’t give me a kiss; but from the time I arrived, this woman has not stopped kissing my feet! 46 You didn’t put oil on my head, but this woman poured perfume on my feet! 47 Because of this, I tell you that her sins — which are many! — have been forgiven, because she loved much. But someone who has been forgiven only a little loves only a little.” 48 Then he said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” 49 At this, those eating with him began saying among themselves, “Who is this fellow that presumes to forgive sins?” 50 But he said to the woman, “Your trust has saved you; go in peace.”
(Complete Jewish Bible). Luke said the uninvited woman at Simon the Pharisee’s home was “a sinner.” Women in that day had fewer options (they couldn’t, for example, embezzle, or be tax collectors), so “sinner” almost always meant a prostitute. The Pharisee Simon saw only a fallen woman, but Jesus said he’d forgiven her “many sins.” In Jesus’ eyes, Simon (a man who felt no need for forgiveness) was in much greater spiritual danger than the woman grateful for forgiveness.
- In verse 44, Jesus asked Simon a telling question: “Do you see this woman?” “Simon only saw sin, but Jesus saw the woman and her lavish display of humility, nurture, generosity and love.”* He saw a beloved child of God, cause for a party in heaven (see Luke 15). How did Jesus’ pointed contrast in verses 41-47 show the spiritual hollowness of Simon’s pious front, fed in part by his patriarchal assumptions of male superiority?
- Jesus was famous (or, in some circles, infamous) for forgiving. He gave this woman the priceless gift of freedom from guilt, which also gave her freedom from feelings of shame before others. If not, she would not have been able to be so socially bold in expressing her gratitude and love to Jesus. Have you ever felt “ashamed to show your face” for any reason? How can opening your life to God’s love and forgiveness set you free to live more fully?
Lord Jesus, Simon didn’t see the woman, just the “sinner.” But you saw her, and you valued and forgave her. Heal my inner sight from any self-righteous blindness that hides any of your beloved daughters from my sight. Amen.
* Ginger Gaines-Cirelli, “Portrait” note on “Woman Who Washed Jesus’ Feet” in The CEB Women’s Bible. Nashville: Common English Bible, 2016, p. 1301.
Read today's Insight by Chris AbelChris Abel is the Pastor of Students and Young Adults at Resurrection, and he describes himself as a "Pastor/Creative-type/Adventurer." A former atheist turned passionate follower of Christ, he completed his seminary education in Washington, DC. Before coming to Resurrection, Chris was a campus pastor near St. Louis, MO.
Have you ever had the realization you needed to change something? There are some days we look in the mirror, see ourselves, and it dawns on us that we have to make some changes. Maybe it’s weight, workaholism, lack of sleep, moral failing, or more of the “I didn’t think I’d be doing this my entire life” kind of change. It’s like that iconic moment in the movies when the protagonist leans over the sink, splashes water in his face, and stares himself down.
Then, there are times we need to change because someone elsecalls our attention to something in our lives. You know, intervention-style: That room of friends and family who want to help you get over your obsession with Kate Middleton (or whatever addiction you may have). Even if you’ve never had an intervention about British princesses, you’ve probably had someone either intentionally or unintentionally bring your attention to something you need to change.
For me, one of these moments was when a seminary professor looked me up and down and said, “WOW Chris. You have put on WEIGHT.”
Thanks, Professor.
Or when I asked that same seminary professor for a recommendation… to another seminary. I was having trouble adjusting to Washington DC, and was looking to go where the grass was greener. His response?
“I’m not going to give you a recommendation because you haven’t even tried to create the community you desire. You're just running away.”
I took his advice to heart, threw my application away, and dove into my community. A year later I was Student Council Vice President and had a thriving community around me. Why? Because he was right. I needed to hear a hard truth in order to become a better version of myself. (I lost some weight, too).
In our Bible passage today, Jesus speaks pretty frankly to the Pharisee, Simon. The religious leader had invited Jesus into his home for a meal when an unexpected visitor appeared, washing Jesus’ feet with her tears and anointing him with an expensive oil. Simon judged this woman, who the scriptures only tell us was “a sinner.”
Simon thought himself better than that woman.
And Jesus let him have it.
“Jesus turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your home, you didn’t give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since I came in. You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she has poured perfumed oil on my feet.”
Jesus compares Simon to the very woman he’s judging. And he falls short of her.
Does Jesus say this to shame him? No.
Does Jesus say this to help him be better? I’d like to think so.
Sometimes we have to name things so people can grow. So they can mature. So they can leave behind behaviors and actions that hurt themselves and others.
Kind of like #metoo.
The #metoo movement is, at its core, a naming of actions men have done to women. Because when you name something, it helps a person confront it. And we, as a society, should be confronting the fact that there are a lot of men in power who are taking advantage of women.
And it’s been happening for a long time. But to change something, you have to name it first. So thank you, women, for staging one giant societal intervention.
Hopefully we listen.
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- Prayer Tip: #MeToo, #ChurchToo: What Would Jesus Say?
- A mission born from and saturated with love
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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