From the Daily Lectionary for Thursday in the Eighteenth Week after Pentecost
Luke 7:36-50
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing 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 kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning towards 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 bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing 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 were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” But those who were at the 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.”
It is worth noting, I think, that Jesus doesn’t just rail against the establishment from afar. He engages them. We have already seen Jesus eating and drinking with tax collectors. Now he is cavorting with the Pharisees. The parable he presents is telling. It’s about debt forgiveness. Again, this is Luke critiquing the economic system which is laden with insurmountable debt. It is an interesting juxtaposition in this passage between debt forgiveness and the forgiveness of the “woman who is a sinner.” In light of Luke’s overarching theme, that the coming of God’s reign will be a dramatic social and economic reversal, it seems that Luke is offering two examples as to how.
The first is to effect a more compassionate means of sharing wealth. In a world in which the vast majority are poor, debt repayment is a remote possibility. Debt becomes a principal means of coercion, even violence. It was the means of the wealthy having authority and undue influence over the population. The Torah calls for debt forgiveness every seven years as a means of protecting the sacred bonds of community.
The second example is the forgiveness of the sinful woman. We don’t know what her “sin” is, but to be sure, it matters more that she is a woman than it does that she is a sinner. Women were considered property in the ancient world. They are of a lower caste. To offer her forgiveness is to grant her dignity and worth. Women appear often in Luke: Mary and Elizabeth, prophesying as to the coming new order; the persistent widow demanding of the “unjust judge” justice; and here a sinful woman forgiven. Just from a literary point of view, to present women as protagonists worthy of redemption in the ancient world is revolutionary.
This is all a part of the radical reversal of a patriarchal and hierarchical system. Why is this so important to Luke? Because Luke observes that love is stifled by the hierarchical disparities of the system. Failing to forgive, both sins and debts, separates, isolates one from another. The kingdom of God flourishes in community where there is justice and mutuality, and forgiveness. That is what eternal life is; not for the hereafter, but a life in which love is unhindered. We know that to be true in our own close relationships. To withhold forgiveness is an insidious burden for both parties involved.
The kingdom of God is not so much a new thing, as it is a restoration and reconciliation to wholeness, a return to our true humanity. That is why the practice of healing is so important to Luke. Forgiveness and healing are doorways to the gracious life of God’s reign. Seems so simple, yet we resist for some mysterious reason. Perhaps we should take to heart this teaching; perhaps we should give it a try.
A Prayer for the Absolution of Sin (BCP p. 80)
God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Savior Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.
