Lavish Grace

When you are invited to someone’s house for the first time, especially when you are invited for a meal, what do people typically consider doing as a thank you for being invited? I typically bring a plant for them to have or sometimes I’ll bring flowers. Maybe there is some kind of dessert or a bottle of wine that you know they like, and so you bring that as a way to thank them for their generosity of inviting you over to their house. Some people like to write a note afterward and send it to them as a way to show their appreciation. Now that’s not to say that something like that is expected but it is something that some people like to do.

Well back in the time of Jesus, which was a mixture of both Jewish and Roman societal practices, that same kind hospitality and gratitude existed, but the person offering it was reversed. It wasn’t the person who was invited that did those kinds of things it was the host. Now I know that hosts, ourselves included like to make sure that the person we invited has a good time, they are fully fed, etc., but this idea of making them feel cared for and provide them with special treatment was on the host. Jesus dives right into those things that a good host would do.

First, a good host would provide a wash basin at the entry of the door. The basin was there so that the people entering the house could either wash their own feet to get the dust off, or if the host was well enough off then a servant of the house would be asked to wash the feet of the guests entering the house. We see this act most meaningfully in the gospel of John when Jesus washes the disciples feet at the Passover meal. Then they would be greeted with a kiss which would be the same as say giving a handshake or a hug when you see someone. Finally, putting oil on someone’s head was another way of refreshing the person and their body.

In defense of Simon, the pharisee, all of the above things were the sign of what I said were what it meant to be a good host. Just like when I said when today we are invited to someone’s house there is nothing wrong with simply going to their house and enjoying the meal. There is no hard law or hard custom/tradition that dictates that we bring someone for the host. Simon did not have to do these things. These acts of kindness and hospitality from the host were ways in which the host would show how much they cared for their guests, but Simon wasn’t being impolite or rude by not doing them. Simon was doing just enough, or if we wanted to be a bit harsher, he was doing the bare minimum of what was required of him as a host.

This is where the conflict comes in. Simon is aggravated by this woman. While custom allowed her to be there as a poor person looking for leftovers from their table, the way in which she engages with Jesus in what seems to be such a loving and intimate way really upsets Simon the pharisee. Since Simon is only having these thoughts in his head and Jesus doesn’t address the them as directly as another person might, we can only assume that either Simon is upset that this sinner is touching Jesus and that sinners should stick with the leftovers and not touch his guests let alone this teacher he has invited. Or Simon could be upset because this sinner is now making his dinner guest unclean at his table.

While Simon the pharisee is focused on the the audacity of this permissible bystander and what she is doing to an invited guest, Jesus is instantly creating points to compare and contrast this ‘gracious’ host and this ‘supposed’ sinner. Jesus uses the parable about the debtors to show how this woman whose sin was great and forgiveness was even greater, was better than this hosts minimalistic approach to hospitality for those who are already on the inside of society and maybe even the inside of what Simon considered to be the importance of faith.

This is the comparison I feel that Jesus is trying to make. Simon as a pharisee was on the inside of the faith track. He was respected and liked, but if his faith was anything like his skills as a host, then we can say that Simon, though faithful to what was expected of him didn’t do a whole lot. Or for us, it would be like someone who comes to church at Christmas and Easter out of obligation. They are doing what is the bare minimum to fit the quota because everything else in life is going fine so they don’t see a need to place faith higher up on the importance of the things they have going on. On the other hand, a person who has firsthand received and experienced so much forgiveness in their life and knows how much God has done for them comes and gives thanks to God both at church and in many other ways. I knew a woman who was like that. She had experienced so much love, grace, and forgiveness from God that she was constantly in Bible studies, church, volunteering for all kinds of ministries. She wanted to give back to God and show God the love she could for all that she had received first from God. I really feel this is the point Jesus is trying to make.

And something that I think it vitally important to point out is that in the original Greek it makes it much more obvious that this woman’s sins have already been forgiven. Jesus isn’t forgiving her of her sins in the presence of the people. There has already been some unknown encounter between Jesus and this woman. We don’t know what it was, we don’t know how Jesus handled it. We don’t know if the woman had already thanked him or if this was her first opportunity or one of many times that she has found Jesus and found a way to express her love to him in response to the forgiveness she has received. What we do know is that the love that she is expressing toward Jesus is in response to the grace and forgiveness she has received. We know that also because Jesus tells her that her faith has saved her. It wasn’t the acts of love that she was doing, but the faith that has done it. Whatever that faith is in this woman has done it.

Now that faith has been expressed, forgiveness has been given, then comes the acts of love back toward to the one who first gave her that forgiveness. And what a beautiful example of what it means to live a life of faith. To understand and believe that our sins are already forgiven. That Christ came first and foremost for us. To show us love, to show us grace, and because we have been given those things from the beginning we then are free to share that love and grace with others and to give thanks to God for all that God has done and continues to do in our lives and in this world. May you know deeply the love that God has for you, the grace that has been bestowed to you, and the forgiveness that has been paid by Jesus for all of the world so that we can then both thank God and share abundantly what we has been so lavishly given to us. Amen.