Pentecost 4 – 12 June 2016 – Year C
Grace to you and peace from our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The text for our meditation is written in the Gospel according to St Luke: Chapter 7: Verse 36 to Chapter 8: Verse 3:
36 One
of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s
house and reclined at the table. 37 And behold, a woman
of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table
in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and
standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her
tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed
them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had
invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would
have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a
sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he
answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred
denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both.
Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon
answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he
said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then
turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you
see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she
has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has
not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed
my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she
loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And
he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then
those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this,
who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
8 Soon
afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the
good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some
women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene,
from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the
wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who
provided for them out of their means.
To help us to navigate the path to
our eternal salvation, the Scriptures as written in the Holy Christian Bible,
is divided up into the two sections that are most relevant to our lives on
earth. Those two sections, as clearly identified by the highly acclaimed
theologian Dr. Martin Luther, are the ‘Law’ and the ‘Gospel’. The purpose of the ‘Law’ is to help us to
identify sin (i.e. The Ten Commandments
etc.) and how it effects each of us; whereas the ‘Gospel’ describes how our
Great Triune God gracefully deals with our sin and leads us into eternal
salvation.
The three main purposes of the ‘Law’
is to:
a. Provide us with clear illustrations
of sin to help us identify it and thus restrain us from being tempted by evil.
b. To act as a mirror, so that we can
see the sin in ourselves and our actions.
c. To provide a measure or standard
that guides Christians in their new life in Christ.
Probably the most important of these
three uses is the second use … the mirror.
For it is in this use of the law that we see our own sin. By showing our sin to us, the law prepares us
for the good news of the forgiveness that we have in Jesus Christ.
Why do we need to know about our sin
before we can learn about our saviour?
To answer that question, I offer an illustration:
Suppose you went to the doctor for a
routine medical exam. After the exam was
over, the doctor wrote out a series of prescriptions for medications and
further procedures. Suppose he said,
“Here are some tests for you to take.
They are going to use up a lot of time and make you very
uncomfortable. I have also written some
prescriptions for some really awful tasting medicine that might also sap your
energy and make your stomach a little queasy.”
- Now in putting forth this supposition, I am almost certain that the
greater majority of you would (quite rightly) reject the doctor and his prescribed
treatment.
Now, let us suppose you went to a
doctor and he said, “Your PSA levels are high.
There are some suspicious lumps on your skin. The results of your colonoscopy also show
some suspicious growths. We need to do
some more tests. It is possible that
this is cancer. We’ll know more after
the tests.” Now, when the doctor gives
you instructions for tests and directions for preparing for those tests, you
follow his directions, even though they are as distasteful as the
first supposition!
You see, in the second instance, the
doctor told you what was wrong and the result of the condition. Then he told you about the next steps
in getting your health back. Friends in
Christ, God places the Holy Scriptures into our hands specifically for that
purpose. The Christian Church ordains ministers of religion to do the same
thing spiritually. God’s inspired Word; Called and Ordained Spiritual Leaders,
use the law to tell people everywhere about the results of sin. Then,
through the Gospel of Grace and Truth, the forgiveness of sins that Jesus
earned with His suffering and death on the cross are revealed to bring us all
peace and reassurance.
The Gospel reading for the
meditation demonstrates this idea by comparing two people … Simon, the
Pharisee, and a woman of the city. Simon
did not believe he was much of a sinner.
On the other hand, the woman probably heard that she was a sinner every
time she went out in public.
They didn’t have radio and TV news
24/7 in that day and age. Instead, from
time-to-time a leading member of the community would invite some of the more
popular teachers to a meal. The hope was
that these teachers would have some kind of a discussion at the meal … current
events … theology … philosophy … politics … or some other topic of
interest. While you had to have an
invitation to eat with the host, there were also arrangements for the general
public to listen in on the conversation.
Jesus was rapidly gaining followers at this time in His ministry and
Simon the Pharisee decided to invite Him for a meal.
People in that time and place did
not sit down to a meal. Instead, they
reclined. A peasant family might provide
a few mats to lie on around a low table.
As a wealthier member of the community, Simon probably provided dining
couches for his guests. Typically, you
would lie on your left side and prop yourself up with your left elbow. Then you would eat with your right hand. The thing is that your feet would be out in
the open at the foot of the couch. That
means that everyone could see the woman who came in and washed Jesus feet.
Women in this time and place did not
go out into the city out in without a father, husband, adult brother, adult
son, or some other adult male relative to escort them. The fact that this woman is alone, says
something about her right away. She had
to let down her hair in public in order to wipe Jesus’ feet. This was considered a very intimate
activity. To top it all off, this woman
was already notorious, for Simon said to
himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of
woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” So this is a potential scandal in the making.
Jesus diffused the scandal with a
short parable: “A certain moneylender had
two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the
debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one,
I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You
have judged rightly.”
Jesus then went on to explain that
the sinner who most understands his sin is the one who has the greatest
appreciation for God’s loving forgiveness.
Simon didn’t see himself as much of a sinner and did not even have a
servant offer Jesus the common courtesy of a foot washing upon entry into his
home. The woman, on the other hand, had
a deep understanding of her sin, and was willing to endure deep shame in order
to demonstrate her humble appreciation for the forgiveness she had in Jesus.
All of us sin way more than we think
we do. The Holy Spirit is gentle with us
when we are new Christians. If He were
to reveal all of our sin to us right away, it would simply crush us. Instead, the Holy Spirit gently reveals just
enough of our sin to show us our need for a Saviour. Then He points to Jesus and the work Jesus
did to save us … the perfect life … the unjust trials … the suffering … the
death … the resurrection. The Holy
Spirit points us to all the work Jesus did for us to save us from our sins. Then the Holy Spirit delivers that forgiveness
of sin to us in God’s Word as we hear it and study it, as we feel it with the
water of Holy Baptism, and as we taste it as we receive Christ’s body and blood
with the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper.
Over time, the Holy Spirit continues
to uncover more and more of our sin.
Such an action would drive a non-Christian into the deepest despair and
terror. It is not this way with the
Christian. The Christian sees their sin
in the light of Jesus’ saving work on the cross. Instead of driving the Christian into despair
and terror, a deeper knowledge of sin produces a deeper admiration for the
forgiveness that Jesus earned for us on the cross. We know that there is no sin that God does
not forgive for Jesus’ sake. Therefore,
as we become more aware of our own sin, we become even more aware of the great
love that Jesus has for us. [Romans
5:8] God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
This leads to one of those amazing
paradoxes. As the Christian matures, the
people around him see steady improvement.
At the same time, the Christian himself becomes ever more sensitive to
sin. Every day, we discover that we are
more sinful than we thought we were the day before. However, instead of driving us deeper into
frustration, it only increases our awe at the great love of God who sacrificed
His Son for us. By the power of the Holy
Spirit, our greater awareness of our sin makes us even more aware of God’s
loving forgiveness.
True worship begins with God’s love
for us. He sent His Son to redeem
us. His Son redeemed us with His holy,
precious blood, and His innocent suffering and death. Then the Holy Spirit called and enlightened
us by the Gospel and strengthened us in the one, true faith. By that faith, we confess that we are
unworthy sinners trusting in the forgiveness delivered to us in God’s
Word. True praise points to our great
sin and then acclaims God’s even greater grace and salvation in Jesus Christ.
We cannot know the greatness of
God’s love for us if we do not have an understanding of the greatness of our
sin. Today’s Gospel teaches us that, for
the Christian, a deeper knowledge of our sin leads to an even deeper
appreciation for the work that Jesus did for us to overcome our sin and restore
us to eternal life with Him. The free gift of forgiveness and salvation! Simon
the Pharisee didn’t think much of his sin and so, Jesus was just an interesting
dinner guest. The woman of the city knew
her sin very deeply and so, she loved Jesus very openly.
What wonderful news as we venture in
this world: That the Holy Spirit will give us an understanding of our sin and
our need for a Saviour. As baptised and blessed benefactors of God’s loving
grace, let's continually pray for those who despair over their sin, that the Holy
Spirit will bring the Gospel to them, that they may marvel at the love of God
who forgives sin for the sake of Jesus Christ.
May the Holy Spirit bring all people
to weep at the feet of Jesus while they live in this world so that they will
experience His eternal joy in eternity. Amen
The love and peace of our Great
Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus. Amen
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