Changing rooms

Luke 7:36-50
(Revised Standard Version)

‘One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house, and took his place at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 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. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, 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." And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "What is it, Teacher?" "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?" Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly." 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. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." ‘

Luke’s story is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in the whole of the Bible. The setting is a private house where there is a gathering of men; it’s an exclusive gathering, where no woman, not even a female servant, is permitted. The woman’s presence there is therefore doubly problematic in that she has not only managed to gain access to Simon’s house without invitation, but she has also gatecrashed 'a boy’s night in'. We can see, therefore, that she (a lot of people believe it to have been Mary Magdalene) must have gone to inordinate lengths in order to get to Jesus, taking a number of risks to boot.

First, she was in a place where she had no right to be, and faced being thrown out on her ear; second, what she was doing was a very public display of remorse, an open admission of guilt, which many of her contemporaries would have considered to be a private matter; third, the fact that she was considered to be an ‘unclean’ person according to the law of Moses, meant that what she was doing to Jesus made him ritually unclean, too.

The fact she took these risks shows the courage and willpower that is needed in confession. Yes, indeed, we know how difficult it is to admit that we’re wrong. How difficult it is to build up the courage to confess our sins to God, let alone within the hearing of another human being. For to uncover our sin and guilt exposes us, it makes us powerless, we feel that it demeans us, particularly if we like to call ourselves Christians.

So how did Simon and his friends take to this woman’s presence among them? She was a prostitute, well known in the town. Perhaps some of the men present may have even been among her customers, so that her being there was not only an embarrassment for them, but the fact that she was repenting of her sin was highlighting their own sinfulness. So they chose to attack her character instead of acknowledging their own guilt. The woman had obviously heard Jesus’ teaching, seen the miracles he had performed and had been challenged sufficiently to reconsider her own lifestyle and, consequently, to seek her healing.

Unlike other men, Jesus now accepted this woman for who she was rather than for what she did. In other words, Jesus showed God’s love for her whole person rather than just for her body, and by doing so, brought an inner healing that not only pushed out the desire to live an unclean life, but freed her to love in a totally different way, perhaps even to love for the very first time - not just with her body, but with her entire being. She had become, in effect, a new person, a new creation. Resurrection again!

So now she wanted to display her gratitude and her faith in Jesus in a public manner. And how!

This woman’s work had utilised her body to gain money, and now she used the only thing that she felt available to her with which to show her love for Jesus. Her body. The physical tools of her trade. Her eyes, out of which flowed tears of gratitude and joy; her hair, her mouth which had perhaps kissed a

hundred men; her perfume, purchased with the money gained through her unsavoury activities. No wonder Simon and his guests were amazed: how could this Jesus, this man who claimed to be Messiah, God’s chosen one, allow himself to be defiled in such a way?

And yet, this woman gave everything that she was, her body, her soul, her love, her totality, herself, because these were the only things of value that she felt she had. No money, no wealth, no material assets, no status, nothing. Her body had been the tool of her work, and it was also the only thing she could use to offer worship to Jesus. And Jesus took it: the woman’s sin, the filth of her life, even the smell of evil through the perfume purchased with money obtained sinfully; he took it all and the seediness of her existence and transformed it all into something unutterably beautiful - love.

We often make the mistake in believing that we have nothing of value to give to the Lord: "I am unworthy". Yes, none of us is worthy, and we are made righteous only by the grace of God, not by anything that we can do.

This poor prostitute, this sinful seedy woman teaches us the lesson of humility and points the way to salvation and resurrection life. She shows us that God is not interested in our material or physical assets, but what is in the soul, the heart, and the mind. Sure, our financial giving is important because it is an expression of our love for God, or it should be! God wants our giving to be born out of love and not out of a sense of guilt or duty. He doesn’t want our loose change, he wants something that really costs - our very being. How do you measure the value of your life? How much have you been forgiven? How much do you appreciate what Jesus has done for you? Is it perhaps worth an extra pound or two a week? Is it perhaps worth another five or ten minutes a day in prayer? Perhaps an extra hour or two helping others. Only one person knows the answer.

What God wants from us is simple: He wants all of you and me, not just bits, the good bits, but everything that we are, because only then can He transform us. Remember the lad with the five loaves and three fishes. "What is this among so many?" asked the disciples. But in God’s hands the little fed more than 5,000 people and left baskets overflowing. In Cana, Jesus took the plainest water and transformed into the best wine. God can do so much with so little.

Our God is the God who transforms. We bring to him our sin and guilt, and he transforms them into forgiveness and freedom. We bring him our fears and uncertainties, and he transforms them into peace and strength. We bring him earthly things, like bread and wine - and he transforms them into Spiritual treasures - the body and blood of His Son.