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