You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [Colossians 2:13-14 (NLT)]
In Luke 7:36-50, we find a “sinful” woman anointing Jesus with her tears and perfumed oil. Taking place in Galilee early in Jesus’ ministry, this occurs at the home of Simon the Pharisee. During a banquet at the Pharisee’s home, a “sinful” woman carrying an alabaster jar entered. Remorseful for her sins, the uninvited guest fell at Jesus’ feet, washed them with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and kissed His feet while anointing them with perfume from her jar.
To Simon, the woman’s sins contaminated Jesus and made Him ritually unclean. The Pharisee silently questioned Jesus’ credentials as a prophet. If Jesus were a real prophet, He’d know she was a sinner and never allow her presence let alone her touch! Although His host’s thoughts of judgment and disdain were unspoken, Jesus knew what he (and probably the others present) were thinking. He answered their thoughts with a parable about a money lender who forgave the debts of two debtors—one who owed just 50 denarii and the other who owed 500. When Jesus asked Simon which debtor would love the lender most, the man admitted it would be the one with the larger debt.
Comparing the woman to Simon, Jesus noted his host’s rudeness to Him. Although it was customary to anoint a guest’s head with oil as a way of saying, “You are an honored guest,” Simon had not. Nor had his host offered Jesus the foot washing ordinarily given to guests. While the woman had been sincere and respectful in her devotion, Simon had been disingenuous in his invitation and rude to his guest. To the dismay of those present, Jesus told the woman, “Your sins are forgiven…. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” [7:49,50]
While we tend to remember the unnamed “sinful” woman in Luke’s account, it is as much about Simon as it is about the sinner who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. In Jesus’ parable, just as the debtor whose massive debt was forgiven and loves greatly represents the “sinful” woman, the debtor whose love is minimal represents Simon.
The “sinful” woman knew she was unworthy, but the sanctimonious Simon didn’t recognize his unworthiness. She was fully aware of her sizeable sin debt but Simon, so focused on judgment and looking good to others, didn’t see his. The woman knew she needed saving, but the self-righteous Simon couldn’t see the need for a savior because he didn’t know he was drowning!
Knowing this woman’s past, Simon decided it determined her future. Thinking “once a sinner always a sinner,” he never wondered about her apparent change of heart. The woman, however, no longer was the sinner Simon knew. Something changed her and that something was Jesus. She didn’t anoint Jesus to earn forgiveness; she experienced Jesus’ forgiveness before entering Simon’s house. Rather than a transaction, this was a gift for the Lord coming from her faith, love, and thanksgiving.
Like one of the parable’s debtors, she knew she was forgiven much so she loved greatly. After experiencing Jesus’ love and forgiveness, she deliberately sought Him and did for Him what Simon should have done. Like her, do we fully appreciate Jesus’ forgiveness? Do we appreciate it enough to humble ourselves in the presence of others? Enough to go where we’re not welcome? Enough to publicly lavish Him with expressions of love and faith? Enough to serve the Lord wherever He takes us? We should!
Several years ago, an entertainment network did a story on the highlights of Charlotte, North Carolina. Since the Billy Graham Library was considered a point of interest, it was visited by the show’s co-host Kristy Villa and her film crew. Commenting on the many crosses she saw throughout the property, Villa asked, “I see all the crosses, but where is Jesus?” Her guide simply replied, “He’s in Heaven,” adding, ”He is also present in the lives of those who believe in Him and follow Him as their personal Lord and Savior.” Villa exclaimed, “Oh, that’s right! Some worship a crucifix, but Christians worship a risen Christ.” Indeed, Christ’s story doesn’t end with a dead man hanging on a cross. Nevertheless, rather than an empty cross, our emphasis should be on His empty tomb!
Last February, we celebrated love with the secular holiday Valentine’s Day. We may have given or received flowers, candy, or a card—tokens of someone’s love for us or our love for them. Seven weeks later, however, the flowers are dead, the candy is eaten, and the card in the recycling bin. The day dedicated to “love” is forgotten until next February when the ads for jewelry and flowers remind us.
When we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, I suspect the revered bishop who brought Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century wouldn’t recognize this day in his honor. Originally a religious feast, it’s now a day for parades, sales, “Kiss Me I’m Irish” t-shirts, corned beef and cabbage, music, dancing, and lots of green (including hair, cookies, the Chicago River, milk shakes, and kegs of beer). St. Patrick, however, would recognize the common symbol of the day: the shamrock. Of course, to Patrick, the shamrock, with its three leaflets bound by a common stem, was a metaphor for the Holy Trinity. The shamrock’s three leaflets also came to symbolize faith, hope, and love.
Every year a friend sends me a bayberry candle to burn on New Year’s Eve. Legend has it that lighting a bayberry candle when the first star appears, burning it past midnight into the new year, and letting it burn all the way down will bring good luck, wealth, and prosperity to a home. We can’t stay awake past midnight and allowing an unattended candle to burn down to its socket seems more a guarantee of fire and disaster than good luck. Nevertheless, in honor of our friend, we light our candle every New Year’s Eve and extinguish it shortly after the new year begins in Greenland (three time zones east).
In all probability, you’re not having more than 5,000 guests for dinner today and they won’t be dining al fresco on a hillside. Nevertheless, John’s description of that miraculous meal sounds a bit like Thanksgiving dinner at any number of homes today. There will be lots of people and more than enough to eat but, instead of all the leftovers being gathered in baskets, we’ll pack them into storage containers made by Rubbermaid, Glad, Tupperware, and Pyrex.
Devotions of the Heart 