from John Donne, HOLY SONNETS XIII

What if this present were the world's last night ?
Mark in my heart, O soul, where thou dost dwell,
The picture of Christ crucified, and tell
Whether His countenance can thee affright.
Tears in His eyes quench the amazing light ;
Blood fills his frowns, which from His pierced head fell ;
And can that tongue adjudge thee unto hell,
Which pray'd forgiveness for His foes' fierce spite ?
No, no ; but as in my idolatry
I said to all my profane mistresses,
Beauty of pity, foulness only is
A sign of rigour ; so I say to thee,
To wicked spirits are horrid shapes assign'd ;
This beauteous form assures a piteous mind.

The One Thing Needful

The Ninth Sunday After Pentecost

Genesis 18:1-10a
Colossians 1:21-28
Luke 10:38-42

Text : Luke 10:38-42
Title : THE ONE THING NEEDFUL

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Romans 1:7)

Our Gospel reading for today is the story of Martha and Mary, two sisters who were close friends of our Lord Jesus while he was here on earth. These are the same sisters that John mentions in his gospel. John says that they had a brother, Lazarus, whom our Lord raised from the dead.

Well, Martha and Mary may be sisters, but St. Luke is apparently moré interested in showing us the differences between the two sisters instead of their similarities. In our text, we see the hospitality of Martha. St. Luke says that it was Martha who welcomed our Lord to their house. And it was Martha who was so very busy preparing food and refreshment for our Lord and for his disciples. Remember that our Lord’s disciples were fishermen, men with big appetites. How many times have we ourselves experienced preparing food for many people? Well, Martha felt the same worry, was probably as busy as we can be when we have to entertain many visitors.

We also notice in the story that the Lord does not admonish Martha’s busy-ness. Why? Well, because Martha was doing a good thing. St. Paul, in his letter to Timothy, says that “an overseer must be. . .hospitable. . .” (1 Timothy 3:2b). But, we also notice that Jesus does not praise Martha’s hospitality. More of that in a moment.

Well, let us look at Mary. If seen from worldly eyes, we would be apt to say that Mary is somewhat of a slacker. Ever since Jesus stepped into their house, Mary has done nothing. She just sits there at the foot of Jesus, listening to him, oblivious to the things that need to be done for the guests. The Lord also does not chide or reproach Mary for not doing anything. It is Martha who reproaches Mary, but she does this indirectly. She reproaches Mary by speaking to the Lord. Well, the upshot of this was that it was now the Lord, the guest, whom Martha reproaches, instead of Mary, the hostess: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me."

Well, what can we conclude from this? First, we conclude that our good works do not earn points with the Lord. Our good works do not draw us closer to God. Our good works are worthless before God. And it doesn’t matter if we are Christians. God will not look at us as holier, or more precious, or closer to Him because of our good works. True, our good works, which are fruits of our faith, do indeed show others that we are the Lord’s disciples. BUT THIS IN NO WAY MEANS THAT OUR GOOD WORKS ARE IN ANY WAY PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. Martin Luther, in his Heidelberg Disputation, says that when we begin to think that our good works draw us closer to God, then that becomes mortal sin.

And that is what Martha thinks. Martha thinks that God will look at her good works and judge them to be good. Actually, that is not true. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is. Good works do not matter one whit to God, no matter who does it, Christian or not.

And how many times have we thought like Martha, how many times have we thought that our good works matter to God, that our good works are precious in the sight of God? There were people during Luther’s time who thought that way. They said “Facientibus quod in se est, Deus non denegat gratiam. To those who do the good that is in them, God cannot deny grace.” And so many times, we think the same way, don’t we, that God will have to recognize our good works as good and meet and right because they are good and meet and right.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.” Only one thing is necessary, and Mary, says the Lord, has chosen the better portion. Mary has chosen that one thing necessary. Only one thing is necessary: ONLY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS NECESSARY. Why? Because only the Lord Jesus Christ’s works will God accept. Only the Lord Jesus’ perfect fulfillment of the Law will God accept. Only the Lord Jesus’ suffering will God accept. Only the Lord Jesus’ prayers will God accept. Only the Lord Jesus’ death will God accept. Only the Lord Jesus’ good works will God look at as precious in his sight. AND HERE IS GOOD NEWS: ALL THE GOOD THAT THE LORD JESUS HAS DONE, HE DID FOR US. And because everything that the Lord Jesus did he did perfectly, we need only one thing: ONLY THE LORD JESUS. Nothing else, no one else.

And so, because of this, rejoice, people of God. Nevermore do we need to examine our works, if they were perfectly done, or whether God will accept them. Only one thing is necessary, only one thing is needful: ONLY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, for only the Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled the Law perfectly; only the Lord Jesus Christ’s good works are acceptable to God; and only the Lord Jesus Christ’s death, FOR US, will God accept and look at as precious in his sight.

Only one thing is necessary, that, through faith we accept what the Lord Jesus has done for us. If we choose this, then, like Mary, we have chosen the better portion, and this will not be taken from us.
Only one thing is necessary: not our good works; not our striving; not our concern for the church; not our fulfillment of the Law. Only one thing is necessary: ONLY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Jesus, Our Good Samaritan, Our Neighbor

The Eighth Sunday After Pentecost

Text : Luke 10:25-37

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text today is a favorite of Christians everywhere. It is the parable of the Good Samaritan. I know that we do not have a church named Good Samaritan Lutheran Church, but I am familiar with a Good Samaritan Methodist Church in Manila. And I think there is a UCCP church in Manila which goes by that name too. Why is this? Well, I think that the parable of the Good Samaritan appeals to the good side of most everyone we know, including ourselves. I think that the most common interpretation of this parable is that Jesus exhorts us to be like the good Samaritan in showing compassion to our fellow man. In fact, when we see or hear of people being good to others, returning a wallet full of money, returning a lost child, or even helping an old lady cross the street, we refer to that person as a good Samaritan. Even the bible commentator Matthew Henry exhorts us to emulate the good Samaritan, for, he says, that is Christ’s command, to “go and do likewise.” Well, this morning, may I offer a different interpretation of this parable.

Our text begins when a lawyer, an expert on Jewish Law, comes to Jesus and asks him, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus, in typical rabbinical fashion, answers the lawyer’s question with another question, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” To which the lawyer replies, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus then tells the lawyer: “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.” And here St. Luke gives us a very puzzling line. St. Luke tells us that he, the lawyer, DESIRING TO JUSTIFY HIMSELF, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Why does the lawyer feel the need to justify himself in front of Jesus? Well, because of what Jesus told him: “Do this.” Jesus was actually saying that the lawyer DID NOT love his neighbor. That the lawyer was in fact NOT obeying the Law of Moses. And so, the question, “who is my neighbor” does not even have to be asked. Not by the lawyer, not by anyone, for all of us know perfectly well who our neighbor is.

And so, in answer to the lawyer’s question, “who is my neighbor,” Jesus tells this parable: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'

And at this point, Jesus asks the lawyer the fatal question: 36Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" If we were asked this question, then undoubtedly we would at once answer, “The Samaritan.” But notice the lawyer’s answer. He says, “The one who showed him mercy.” The lawyer does not say “the Samaritan.” The hatred of the Jews and the Samaritans for each other runs deep indeed, that the lawyer cannot, in good conscience, utter the nationality of this man who showed mercy simply because he is a Samaritan. This also proves that Jesus was right about the lawyer, that indeed he did not love his neighbor, for Jerusalem and Samaria are, geographically speaking, neighbors. Jews and Samaritans hate each other so much that they cannot worship at the same place. And so, the Jews worship at Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, and the Samaritans worship God at Mt. Gerizim in Samaria.

And now for the interpretation of the parable. The parable indeed answers the question, “who is my neighbor,” but not in the way we expect. Like the lawyer, when we think of neighbor, we automatically think of a person in need who we must help. But our text does not say that. In our text, the neighbor is the one who helps the man who was beaten and robbed. Now, it would be very difficult for us to identify with the priest who crosses the road and ignores the man, for we are not priests to begin with; neither can we identify with the Levite, for we are not all connected with the overseeing of rituals. Also, it would be difficult for us to identify with the lawyer, for we are not experts in the Law. But neither can we identify with the Samaritan. The Samaritan was an outcast. We are not outcasts. The Samaritan was treated like a dog in Jewish society. No one treats us like dogs.

But if we cannot identify with these characters, who is left that we can identify with? Well, what about the man who was set upon by thieves, beaten and left for dead, dying, helpless to help himself? Yes, we can identify with this helpless man for we ourselves are helpless to save ourselves from our sin. Nothing we can do can ever win for us the forgiveness of sin which we need in order to be saved. We are like that man. We are helpless because of sin. We cannot help ourselves. We cannot save ourselves.

But if we identify ourselves with the helpless man, who then is the Good Samaritan? Who, then, is OUR NEIGHBOR? THE GOOD SAMARITAN IS JESUS, WHO SAVES THE MAN FROM CERTAIN DEATH. JESUS, THE GOOD SAMARITAN IS OUR NEIGHBOR, THE ONE WHO SHOWS US MERCY. But maybe you will complain. How can Jesus be the good Samaritan? Jesus is not a Samaritan. He is a Jew. In John 8:48, the Pharisees, in answer to Jesus, tell him, 48, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" But we might say, well, Jesus was not an outcast, was he? The prophet Isaiah has this to say about Jesus : “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

The GOOD SAMARITAN is Jesus, OUR NEIGHBOR, who comes and saves us, helpless men and women, from sin and from certain death. The GOOD SAMARITAN is Jesus, OUR NEIGHBOR, who pours wine to clean our wounds, and oil to soothe the pain, through his Word and Sacraments. The GOOD SAMARITAN is Jesus,M OUR NEIGHBOR, who came and died on the cross NOT FOR HIS FRIENDS ALONE, BUT EVEN FOR HIS ENEMIES. The GOOD SAMARITAN is Jesus, OUR NEIGHBOR, who paid the penalty of sin as our substitute, in our behalf, so that we may be forgiven and have eternal life.

Once more, Jesus, THE GOOD SAMARITAN, OUR NEIGHBOR, comes to us, now, through his Word and his Sacrament. Like the helpless man in our parable, you also, go and do likewise. Be like the helpless man. By faith, with no merit or work on your part, receive the saving grace of Jesus, OUR GOOD SAMARITAN, OUR NEIGHBOR.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

from John Donne, HOLY SONNETS XIV

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ;
breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

"What Great Things God Has Done For Me!"

Pentecost +4

Isaiah 65:1-9

Galatians 3:23-4:7

Luke 8:26-39 – New American Standard Version

Today is the fourth Sunday after Pentecost, and so far, Jesus’ life is full of excitement, well, insofar as our Gospel lessons are concerned. First, Jesus demonstrates his authority over sickness, then Jesus demonstrates his power over death, then he demonstrates his power over sin, and now, in our text, Jesus shows us his power over the devil and hell.

But there is a negative side to all this. First, Jesus talks to a Gentile, a Roman soldier, which makes him unclean; then, when he meets the funeral procession, he touches the coffin, making him more unclean; then, in the pharisee’s house, he lets himself be touched by a sinful woman, making him doubly unclean; now, here in the land of the Gerasenes, Jesus lands in Gentile territory, wanders near a cemetery, is met by and engages in a conversation with a naked, demon possessed man. UNCLEAN. UNCLEAN. UNCLEAN.

Well, I guess Jesus is entitled to his choices. He could choose not to talk with the centurion, thereby preserving his ritual purity; Jesus could have chosen to avoid the funeral procession, thus preserving his ritual purity; Jesus could have told Simon the Pharisee not to let the woman in, thus preserving his ritual purity. And now, Jesus could have told his disciples to land the boat somewhere else, for this was Gentile territory, so they would not have to be near a cemetery, so that he would not have to deal with the demon-possessed man, thus preserving his ritual purity. Would you be glad if Jesus HAD made these choices? ---

And yet, these were not the choices Jesus made. He instead chose to meet these unclean people and address their needs, thus making himself unclean in the process, because HE HAD COMPASSION ON THEM. BECAUSE THEIR SALVATION WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HIS RITUAL PURITY. Aren’t you glad Jesus made the choices he made?

And so, as they land on the shores of the Gerasenes, he is at once met by the demon-possessed man. We are told that the man “had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.” Why the tombs? Well, I guess demons, the devil, loves death, not life. When the demon sees Jesus, he shouts, in alarm: “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me." One thing I found strange in the biblical accounts is this, that it is the demons who recognize, and confess the true identity of Jesus. Jesus’ disciples, even his detractors, seem to find it difficult to comprehend who Jesus truly is. Could that also be the reason why most times, we find it difficult to reflect Jesus’ compassion and love to others? We say that we are saved by grace. Do we see that grace here, among ourselves, in church? Do we need a demon-possessed man to tell us who Jesus is?

St. Luke describes the life of the demon-possessed man: that “it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.”

Jesus asks the man’s name, but the demon would not let the man speak. Instead, it is the demon who answers Jesus’ question: Legion, for it was not one demon but many. I do not believe Jesus was interested in the demon’s name. I do not believe that Jesus is interested in demons, whoever they are. From our previous Gospel lessons, we see clearly what it is that interests Jesus: Jesus is not interested in whether a man is a Jew or a Gentile; he is not interested whether a person is rich or poor; Jesus is not interested whether a person is ritually clean or not. All Jesus is interested in is US: and so, out of compassion and grace, he heals the centurion’s servant, he raises the widow’s son from the dead, HE FORGIVES THE SINS OF THE WOMAN. And now, he casts out Satan’s kingdom. By casting out the demons from this man. Jesus makes himself ritually unclean for these people. DO YOU THINK THAT JESUS WOULD DO LESS FOR YOU? Jesus had great compassion for these people. DO YOU THINK THAT HIS COMPASSION FOR YOU WOULD BE ANY LESS?

The demons beg, implore Jesus not to send them into the abyss. On the hillside, a herd of pigs were grazing, no doubt kept by the gentile herders of that land. The demons beg Jesus to send them into the herd of pigs. Again, Jesus is confronted by a choice: he could free this man from the demons forever, at the expense of someone’s pigs, or he could let the man continue suffering so that someone’s business might not be disrupted. Once more, Jesus shows compassion. The man, at last, is freed from the torment of hell. And it is, or should be, an occasion for joy. At least, I believe it was an occasion of joy for Jesus at the time. But apparently, the other Gerasenes did not find what happened joyful:

32Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission.

33And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

34When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country.

35The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.

The man, who was once demon-possessed, was now sitting calmly at Jesus’ feet, had clothes on and, most important of St. Luke’s observations, was sane, was in his right mind. And the Gerasenes were frightened. Of whom? The man? But he was freed of the demons. He was calmly sitting at Jesus’ feet. He had clothes on. And he was sane. If only they had talked to him, they would know he was sane. But they had let fear overcome their compassion:

“36Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well.

37And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.”

They were probably afraid that Jesus would, by his casting out demons, put them all out of business. Possibly they were superstitious people, fearing that Jesus would, by his casting out demons, invite other demons to their land to do battle with Jesus. The reasons, we could say, are Legion. But, the most important thing here is that by their fear, they refused God’s grace. By their fear, they have effectively prevented Jesus’ compassion from reaching them. By their fear, they had effectively driven Jesus, and his compassion and his grace, from their midst : “and He got into a boat and returned.”

BUT NOT EVEN THEIR FEAR COULD PREVENT JESUS FROM LOVING THEM. AND SO EVEN AS HE WAS HANGING ON THE CROSS HE WAS HANGING, DYING ON THE CROSS FOR THESE GERASENES WHO DROVE HIM AWAY. HE WAS DYING FOR US, WHO CONTINUALLY DRIVE HIM AWAY BY OUR LACK OF COMPASSION. BUT IN SPITE OF OUR LACK OF COMPASSION, IN SPITE OF OUR REJECTION, JESUS STILL COMES TO US AND OFFERS US FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND LIFE – THROUGH HIS WORD AND SACRAMENTS. AND BY HIS DEATH, SATAN’S KINGDOM IS UNDONE. SATAN IS DRIVEN OUT, AND LIKE THE DEMON-POSSESSED MAN, WE END UP SITTING AT JESUS’ FEET, GATHERING AROUND HIS WORD AND PARTAKING OF HIS SACRAMENTS.

But one last thing: why does Jesus refuse the offer of the man to become his disciple? Isn’t the principle, THE MORE THE MERRIER? Wouldn’t that be proof that the kingdom of God is indeed increasing? Instead Jesus sends him home. Why? BECAUSE FOLLOWING JESUS AND RETURNING HOME AND TELLING PEOPLE HOW MUCH GOD HAD DONE FOR HIM WAS ESSENTIALLY ONE AND THE SAME THING. THAT FOLLOWING JESUS IS RETURNING HOME TO TELL EVERYONE HOW MUCH GOD HAS DONE FOR US: TO PEOPLE IN OUR HOMES, IN OUR SCHOOLS, IN OUR WORK PLACES, IN THE GYM.

Here now we have been forgiven. Jesus, the Lord, has given us freedom from the devil through his word and his sacraments. And so, at the end of this service, as we go back to our daily lives, once more we hear the words of our Lord: “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”

TODAY HIS MERCY CALLS US (Just As He Called Simon)

The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

(Sermon for Sunday, June 24, 2007)

Text : Luke 7:36-8:3

Sometimes the Lord Jesus does some things which we find hard to believe. Our Gospel lesson for this Sunday is about Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman. One thing I found interesting in our Gospel lesson is the lack of significant conversation between the people involved. The woman does not speak, Simon does not utter anything important. And yet, their actions speak louder than their words.

A Pharisee, Simon by name, invites the Lord to eat at his home. Now, we have to realize that in Jesus’ time, the Pharisees were the good guys. The Pharisees were given the task of protecting and preserving the LAW so that the Israelite nation may be preserved pure before God. The Pharisees were the religious guardians of God’s people.

Well, St. Luke tells us that a certain woman, a sinner, got wind of the fact that Jesus was having lunch at the house of Simon the Pharisee. The NIV says that the woman was a SINNER. It is important for us to understand the term SINNER as used by Jewish society. SINNERS, according to Jewish society, were those people who did not go to synagogue to worship. People who neither have the time nor the inclination to go to synagogue on the Sabbath. But not only those who did not go to synagogue. SINNERS in Jewish society included lepers and people who had communicable diseases, tax collectors, gentiles, PROSTITUTES. The woman in our story, that St. Luke calls a SINNER, was a prostitute. Well, this woman goes to the house of Simon the Pharisee bearing an alabaster jar of perfume. The fact that the perfume was in an alabaster jar suggests that the perfume was expensive. How was she able to afford this? Well, she was a prostitute, where do we think she got the money? She manages to get into the Pharisee’s house (I wonder: does Simon let the woman in on purpose to trap Jesus?). So, in Simon’s house she sits at the feet of Jesus. She is weeping, probably in remembrance of her many sins. She wipes the Lord’s feet with her hair, kisses his feet, and pours perfume on Jesus’ feet.

Meanwhile, Simon looks at the whole scene, and thinks: “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.” In other words, Simon was expecting that Jesus, being a prophet, would be able to read the woman’s mind, and therefore know what kind of woman she was. But it was not the woman’s mind that Jesus was interested in. It was Simon’s heart. So Jesus tells him: “Simon, I have something to tell you.” Simon, ever confident of himself, answers: “Tell me, teacher.” And Jesus tells Simon the parable : “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answers, “Well, I suppose, the obne who had the bigger debt cancelled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus says. And then Jesus proceeds to apply the parable to him and the woman. “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Now, the NIV is a bit unclear here. The Greek text, however, is clear: the woman loves much BECAUSE she was forgiven much. In other words, she is doing this now to Jesus because she has been forgiven. Her acts of love, her tears, the perfume, were only proof that she was forgiven, not the condition. And then Jesus proclaims to the woman the absolution that she has already received.

Well, if I were to pose the question, “With whom would you identify in the story?” No doubt most, if not all of us would say that we would identify with the woman. I doubt if any of us would identify with Simon the Pharisee. But I would maintain that we cannot identify with the woman, well, because we are not prostitutes. But can we be like Simon the Pharisee? Well, what kind of person was Simon the Pharisee? Well, being a Pharisee, Simon regularly worships. He attentively listens to God’s word and zealously protects God’s word so that it will be preserved for God’s people. Being a Pharisee, Simon believes that he is good and deserving of God’s mercy; Simon also believes that gentiles and sinners (especially, heaven forbid! prostitutes!) deserve only God’s wrath. Simon believes that these people are bad, being sinners, and do not deserve to be forgiven. These people do not deserve to be counted among God’s people, do not deserve to be included in God’s kingdom. And Simon believes he is right to think this way. Simon believes he is right to feel this way. When Jesus confronts Simon with the LAW, when Jesus tells Simon what he failed to do, in contrast to what the woman does for Jesus, what does Simon do? Simon does nothing.

Well, what about the woman? She wept, didn’t she? She poured perfume on the Lord’s feet, didn’t she? Lest we think that the woman did something to merit her forgiveness, let’s go back to our text. What does Jesus say? In verse 47, Jesus says, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much.” Meaning, her many sins were forgiven – THAT IS WHY SHE LOVED MUCH.” What the woman did for Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee was only proof of the forgiveness she had already received.

But what about Simon? Is there no GOSPEL for Simon the Pharisee? Well, you may say, none, because he was puffed up with pride. But aren’t we all, at one time or another, proud? Aren’t we all, at one time or another, like Simon the Pharisee? YES. But isn’t the GOSPEL for ALL people? Again, YES. And so, it would be well if we read the parable again. In the parable, who was forgiven? Only the one who owed 500 denarii? No, Even the one who owed a mere 50 denarii was also forgiven. And so, if we apply the parable, we would say that the woman corresponded to the one who owed 500 denarii, while Simon the Pharisee would correspond to the one who owed only 50. BOTH WERE PARDONED.

And so, in the final analysis, there is no difference if we identify with the woman or with Simon the Pharisee. For both were forgiven.

And so, our sermon hymn today serves us aptly, TODAY HIS MERCY CALLS US. Not to make a decision. One of the most pernicious thoughts in Christendom is the idea that promotes that “you have to accept Jesus in your heart as your Savior and Lord.” WRONG. It is not we who accept Jesus. It is Jesus who accepts us. Because Jesus has accepted us, he died for us. None of us wants to accept Jesus. None of us wants to do what God commands. O, so great is our debt! And because of this what does Jesus do? Does he condemn us? Does he punish us? Does he force us to pay him what we owe? No. Instead, JESUS FORGIVES US. JESUS DIES FOR US. JESUS ACCEPTS US. WITH NO MERIT OR ACTION ON OUR PART. This is most certainly true; THIS IS MOST CERTAINLY GOOD NEWS.

Today his mercy calls us. Jesus calls us today NOT SO THAT WE CAN DECIDE TO FOLLOW HIM. HE CALLS US TODAY BECAUSE HE HAS ALREADY FORGIVEN US, HE HAS ALREADY ACCEPTED US, HE ALREADY DIED FOR US. HE CALLS US BECAUSE THE TABLE, THE BANQUET, IS READY. REJOICE IN THAT FORGIVENESS. REJOICE IN THAT ACCEPTANCE. REJOICE IN THAT GRACE, OFFERED TO YOU NOW WITHOUT MERIT OR ACTION ON YOUR PART. TODAY HIS MERCY CALLS US, JUST AS HE CALLED SIMON THE PHARISEE. TODAY, JESUS CALLS US TO REJOICE.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Pentecost +3