Jesus is a Sanctuary For The Soul

Luke 7:36-50

One of the critiques of the local church, the Christian church, the Black church is that it has not been a safe place. In fact, Bishop Wayne Bullock stated the first night of the revival that if you want a sinner to be forgiven, take them to Jesus, but if you want a sinner to be judged, take them to church. The church has not been known to be a safe place for the wounded, the broken, the lost, the sinner. Some have even suggested that instead of the church being a place where the wounded is healed, the church is a place that kills its wounded. Unfortunately, far too many people have horror stories about the injuries they received from the church. Church hurt has driven away more people than Satan himself. In fact, the church has done such a good job of hurting people, until Satan does not have to do that much, because he church has not been a safe place.

It’s sad when a house of worship becomes stigmatized and talked about because real sinners are showing up. It’s a shame to think that the house of healing does not want sick people to come in; that the house of hope does not welcome in the desperate and those in despair; that the house of prayer is everything but prayerful when it come to life’s real hurts and pain, that the spiritual emergency room is not open for business, but has become of club for those who fake having it all together. That’s all because, the church as not been a safe place.

And while this statement is true on many levels, and many people have walked away from the church touting the same kind of testimonies, no group has suffered at the hands of the church like women. I dare say, and it is a bold statement to make, but more women have suffered injustices and hurt in the church than any other group dynamic. I believe this is true because of several undeniable factors. For one, the church as been a place of patriarchy. In other words, the church has been a place of male dominance, and as such, the rules have not alway applied equally across the gender spectrum. Truth has to be told, men have been allowed to get away with the same kinds of things women have been crucified for. Everything from being immoral to being incredibly intelligent, women have always received a harsher judgment for being either.

If the man sleeps around, he gets a platinum card, is admitted to the good old boys club, and is given a pass because he’s just being a man. You know, that’s just how men are. But on the other hand, if a woman sleeps around, she is deemed the town slut, and her reputation tarnishes the image of the church.

If a young teenaged boy gets a teenaged girl pregnant, there might be a quiet conversation held between the boy, his family, and maybe a church leader. But the teenaged girl that is carrying the baby is forced to stand in front of the entire church and apologize for her sin. The boy who got her pregnant is protected by the double standards in the church, while the girlfriend is embarrassed and shamed by those same double standards.

And while I am here, I might as well swing the pendulum in the other direction. If a man is smart, intelligent, and demonstrates brilliance, he is applauded and given opportunities to shine. He becomes a leader, a spokes person, even an officer or a preacher because of his intellectual aptitude. However, if a female demonstrates that same level of intellectual competence and academic prowess, instead of being celebrated, she is almost demonized and viewed as trying to be a show off, or her intellectualism is viewed as a threat to insecure men and other weak-minded women, who themselves believe womanhood is best modeled by mindlessness and dainty insecurity.

Sofia, from the movie “The Color Purple,” said to her husband Harpo, “A girl child ain’t safe in a household of mens,” and I dare suggest that a woman is not always safe in a church-house full of men. To add insult to injury, many have used the bible to justify and enforce practices that oppress women rather than liberate women. The black church in particular has marched and fought for equality in society, only to deny equality to the same women who also marched and fought for equal rights. It’s no different than the way black soldiers were treated when they fought in our nation’s wars to protect liberties and freedoms they themselves could not enjoy. They liberated other nations only to come back home and be treated like second class citizens and denied the very freedoms they fought for.

Even the bible has been used as a tool of oppression rather than an instrument of liberation all because we have yet to come to a place where we belief that in God’s economy, there is neither Jew or Gentile, prisoner or a free man, nor male or female, but we are all one in the body of Christ.

Many are still debating whether or not women should preach, while at the same time forgetting the fact that it was most likely a woman who taught every male preacher his first scripture, taught him the stories of the bible, or even how to pray. People either don’t know or choose to forget that the resurrected Savior told the women to go and tell the disciples that he had risen like he said. It was the women who stayed at the foot of the cross until Jesus died, the women who went with Joseph of Arimathea to purchase the tomb where Jesus was laid, and it was the women show up at sunrise on Easter Sunday to anoint his body with spices only to discover that a dead Jesus was now a Risen Living Savior, and in essence they were the first to say in the dictum of the old baptist preacher, “Early Sunday Morning, he got up with all power in his hand.”

Furthermore, some don’t believe in women deacons, and yet, there are more women in the church than men, therefore more issues with women that need to be addressed by women who understand women way better than any man in the building ever could. You see word on the street is, sistas know sistas, game know game, discernment know discernment, and women know women!

But Reverun, the scriptures are clear about the deacon. It is clear that scripture refers to the deacon as the husband of one wife. While that is true, we must remember that scripture must be interpreted based on what was written, when it was written, to whom it was written, and why it was written. Also, the Greek word “diakonos” means “a servant, minister,” and from the earliest manuscripts, the word “deaconess” meant “a female deacon” signifying the fact that it is not so much the gender of a deacon that should be the focus of our attention, as it is the function of a diakonos/deacon/ servant that should be our focus. And for the record, the word diakonos is the same word that is used for minister, which again focuses not on the gender of a person, but the effective functioning of a person!

But because the church has been shaped by male dominance, and misogynistic ideologies, or to be clear, because people have ingrained prejudices towards women, we have relegated women to kitchen duty, the role of the secretary, the nursery, or to the choir, First Aid, or hospitality ministries. That’s why we must admit a hard truth, that even though there are more women in the church than men, the church has not been a safe place for women.

However, when I consider the ministry of Jesus Christ, his ministry was radically different than what is seen and experienced today, especially in the westernized/American church. Jesus was not hostile toward people in general, and he was not hostile towards women in particular. In fact, Jesus had an all-inclusive approach to ministry to the point that he came teaching, preaching and healing, and he included women in each one of those aspects. Why, Jesus was a sanctuary for people, he was a safe place, a shelter, a solace, a safe haven, he as a Sanctuary for the Soul.

To be clear this morning, the message is particularly bent towards women in honor of Women’s History Month, however, the principles lifted from this preachment can be applied to every life impacted by the Word of God.

Luke is the carrier for todays message. It is his writing that guides us in our thinking. He is the third of the synoptic gospel writers, and he too brings a special focus to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. While Matthew talks about Jesus Christ as the Savior Worth Having, and Mark presents Jesus as the Servant Worth Emulating, it is Luke that presents Jesus as the Sanctuary for the Broken!

The reason why Luke’s account is so pertinent to today’s message is because Luke shows us a Jesus that is perfectly human. While he records many of the same miracles found in the other gospel accounts, he does so through the lenses of a physician, he himself being a medical doctor. As a doctor, Luke understands the importance of good bedside manner. He understands that when people are in crises, when people are hurting or devastated by life’s challenges, they need a safe space to let their guards down and get the help they need.

Therefore, in addition to seeing Jesus as the Messianic hope like Matthew, and seeing Jesus as the quintessential servant like Mark, Luke sees Jesus as the compassionate Savior who not only cares about getting people into the Kingdom of heaven, but also cares about getting the Kingdom of heaven into people. In other words, Jesus not only cares about heaven, but Jesus cares about HUMANITY!

Luke 4:18-19 records what I believe to be the mission statement of Jesus Christ. Here Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’S favor has come.” Here, Jesus emphasizes that he has come to respond to the disparities of humanity. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is not high and lofty, he’s not exalted and holy, but instead he is low and earthy, he is accessible and touchable, he’s close and reachable. He’s the seeker of the poor, the healer of the brokenhearted, the deliverer of the captive and the restorer of sight, he’s the liberator of the oppressed, and he’s the announcer of God’s favor!

That is why most miracles, most encounters with Jesus that resulted in transformation did not happen in the synagogue, or in a religious institution, but most of the miracles happened either on the streets, or in somebody’s house. You see, the houses of worship were not miracle friendly and neither were they sinner friendly. They were not known for welcoming those who truly needed an encounter with the Divine. Instead, they were known for giving a place of prominence to folk that had it all together and needed no healing. They were the church of the Haves, while ignoring the “Have-Nots.”

That is why most sick people, most of the troubled people, most of the tormented people gathered in places outside the walls of the temples, synagogues, churches; places like the lepers camp, the pool of Bethesda, or other places amongst themselves. They knew from the harsh and sometimes not so hospitable treatment that they were not welcomed in the house of God. And since they could not come to the place of hope, Jesus took hope to the streets, since they couldn’t come to the place of healing, Jesus took healing to them, since they couldn’t come to the place of deliverance, Jesus brought deliverance to them, and since they could not come to the place of salvation, Jesus even brought salvation to them.

With this kind of response to the plight of human suffering and shame, it is easy to understand why Luke would capture a unique encounter between Jesus and a woman labeled as a sinner. There in chapter 7, is the occasion where Jesus is invited to the home of a religious elite person called a Pharisee. This was a person who was known for primarily two things. First, he was known for being a person that kept the Law of Moses. He observed all that was written in the law so well until it got him access into the most elitist religious group of his day. So he was a keeper of the Law.

But secondly, he was known for being an enforcer of the Law of Moses. In other words, he also walked around policing others about what they were doing or not doing. In other words, he was person that would literally give citations to folk that violated the Sabbath or any of the Mosaic Laws.

Well, it is not clear why this man invited Jesus to his house for dinner, since traditionally Pharisees were not usually fans. Nevertheless, Jesus is in the man’s house reclining at the man’s table when a woman in the town who was a sinner, came in unannounced, uninvited, and apparently, unconcerned about the opinion of others.

She comes in with the jar of perfume, stands behind Jesus and then, takes the perfume and anoints the feet of Jesus, while simultaneously washing his feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair. This woman took some expensive perfume, fell at Jesus feet, began to weep allowing her tears to fall on Jesus’ feet, and with her hair, wiped his feet, and anointed them with the perfume.

She was broken, a sinner, but she found a sanctuary in Jesus…not the synagogue, but the Savior, not the mosque’, but the Master, not the church, but the Christ, not in a religion, but in a relationships, not in a building, but in a person, she found safety at the feet of Jesus. Apparently, her sin must have been public knowledge, because it appears from the reading of the text that she was known in town by her sin, everyone called her a sinner.

The host Pharisee, whose name was Simon, judges her in his mind, but not just her only, he also judges the discernment of Jesus. He thought within himself, if Jesus really was a prophet, then he should’ve known who and what kind of woman this is who was touching him—this is a sinner. Jesus shared a scenario that explained her situation, two men owed a man some money. One owed $20.00 and the other owed $200,000. Neither could pay the man back, so he forgave the debt. The question: which one loved the man more? The answer: the one who had the greatest debt!

The explanation: This woman had much sin, but all of her sins but she found in Jesus a source of forgiveness and for that she is expressing her love and her faith. Because she has been forgiven for much, she is willing to sacrifice much, to worship much, to express her thanksgiving much. And because of her willful act of thanksgiving and appreciation, not only did were her sins forgiven, but her faith saved her! That is why she was willing to fall at his feet, wash his feet with her tears and anoint him with such expensive perfume. She was forgiven, saved, and she found a sanctuary for her soul in Jesus!

What is the take away? What principles can we apply.

Principle #1: People everywhere are in need of a sanctuary!

Principle #2: Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity regardless their dilemma.

Principle #3: Healing can only take place in a safe space.

Principle #4: Real gratitude is expressed when a person realizes the magnitude of his/her mess up.

Jesus is a Sanctuary for the broken because

He understands brokenness. trauma, causes, addictions, behaviors, etc.

He is compassionate towards the broken. Jesus is gracious and merciful.

He is accessible to the broken. He does not avoid contact, but instead gets in the path of the sufferer, he increases the chances of an encounter, he finds them.

He kept is promise to the broken. He changes lives, restores, heals, delivers, sets free.

The Pharisee violated the code of hospitality.. he did not wash Jesus feet, did not anoint Jesus’ head, did not kiss Jesus’ (Look up customs)