Simon missed it!
Norah Summers
April 12, 2019
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Luke 7: 44-48
44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your home, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You did not welcome me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since I came. 46 You provided no olive oil for my head, but she has covered my feet with perfume. 47 I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love.”
48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Simon thinks he has seen the situation clearly.
He has seen through this woman who has gate-crashed his dinner party, and lowered the tone. So he reproaches Jesus for not seeing through her too, and thinks this is more proof that the so-called prophet isn’t what he is supposed to be.
But Jesus sees.
He sees not only into the woman’s heart, but into Simon’s as well. The contrast between the Pharisee’s arrogant and judgemental attitude and her generous spirit is plain to see.
Once more Jesus the revolutionary is doing a new thing. He is looking at the heart, the intention, the spirit, the real whole person, instead of at the outward signs of piety, the following to the letter of the regulations which circumscribe the daily life of his contemporaries. He sees what really matters.
God of the new,
free us from our anxieties about rules
and principles
and respectability
and what others will think,
show us your new way,
and give us love
and compassion
and generosity of spirit,
to see and value all your people,
whoever they are.
Lent Disciplines
WEEK 6: Each time you eat this week, stop and think about how Jesus lived a human life and regularly ate with others. Give thanks for the food you are eating and pray for opportunities to share it with others.
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