Stewardship Sunday – Christ’s Love, Our Calling October 23, 2011

Luke 7:36-50 - ³⁶ Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, ³⁸ and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

⁴¹ “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

God was very clear and specific about how he wanted his Old Testament believers to worship Him. He spelled out exactly where they were to worship him, what they were to sacrifice, and when they were to do it. These sacrifices illustrated how the people’s sins had driven a wedge between them and God, and there was no way to remove that wedge except by the shedding of innocent blood. But God did not desire merely a sacrifice. He was most interested in the loving, faith-filled heart of the worshipper who brought the sacrifice.

400 years before the Savior arrived Malachi condemned the priests of his day because their hearts were far from God. Instead of bringing the best and the choice animals to be offered to the Lord, they brought the lame and the crippled. And God's prophet called them out on it. He said, "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the LORD. "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the Lord Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations" (Malachi 1:13,14). Outwardly they were doing the right thing. At least on the surface they were "serving" God. But their hearts were far from him. And God burned with anger because of it.

In our lesson today we hear about a man named Simon. Simon was not only guilty of a heart that was far from God, he wasn't even going through the motions. Now, the reason for Simon’s invitation to Jesus is not given, but from the omission of common courtesies, it appears he wanted to put Jesus under scrutiny. It was common courtesy to offer water for washing the dust off of sandaled feet. Simon didn’t do that. As in many lands today the kiss is a sign of friendship and welcome, similar to a handshake. Simon didn’t do that. The oil that Jesus referred to was not the expensive perfume the woman used, but ordinary oil that when poured on the head would refresh the traveler. Simon didn’t do that either.

Then Luke tells us that right in the middle of Simon’s dinner party, a woman sneaks in and before anyone even notices, she sits down on the floor by Jesus' feet. The word order of the original Greek tells us her presence is a surprise, as it literally says, “Behold, a woman!” With tears flowing from her eyes, she wipes his feet with her long, flowing hair. She kisses them – as an intense sign of devotion. And then she opens a costly jar of perfumed oil and pours it on Jesus' feet – a generous offering to worship her Savior, because nothing was too good or too expensive for Jesus.

Luke describes her as a, "woman who had lived a sinful life in that town." We don't know the exact nature of her sin but it seems that her sin was public and out in the open for everyone to see. She was the kind of person that Simon the Pharisee despised. We don't know anything about this woman except that Luke tells us that one day when she heard that Jesus was at Simon's house, she went there to worship him. She had faith in Jesus as her Savior.

And as the aroma of the perfume filled the air, Simon reacted to the intrusion. He thought to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner."

But Jesus did know. He knew every detail of her life. He was completely aware of her sin, her shame, her brokenness. He knew every dark recess of her heart. But he also knew the repentant faith that gave her courage to enter Simon's house…that caused her to sit at his feet…that caused tears to flow from her eyes... that made her open her jar of perfume and anoint his feet in love. Jesus knew all about her. And He knew all about Simon, too. "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

A denarius was a coin worth about as much as a day’s wage. Putting this into today’s terms where the average wage in America is $43,000: one debtor owed about $80,000, the other just over two month’s salary. From Simon's answer you almost get the impression that he's bored with Jesus' little story. But even he cannot ignore the truth Jesus is driving home. "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." Without even realizing it, he was condemning himself. Jesus said to him "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.”

Why is it, Simon, that this woman treated me so differently than you did? Isn't it because she understood the depth of her sin? Isn't it because she realized how deeply she had offended her God and how deserving she was of his wrath and punishment? As a Pharisee, Simon didn’t feel he had sins that needed to be forgiven, thus his lack of love toward the Savior. And only someone who truly understands the depth of their sin and the hopelessness of their cause can possibly grasp the depth of God's undeserved love and forgiveness. And only someone who has experienced that love and forgiveness responds with love in return and a desire to serve.

Jesus said about the woman, "Her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much." Her love didn't earn forgiveness. Neither did her service. The Bible is very clear; our works do not earn forgiveness. They cannot. Why did Jesus forgive this woman? Not because she loved first, but because Jesus first loved her. Her love and service were prompted by the love Jesus showed her. As a woman who had lived a sinful life, she had much love to show, for she had been forgiven much.

But if big forgiveness prompts big love and big service, then the opposite is also true, isn't it? In fact, Jesus says, "He who has been forgiven little loves little." Big sinners, like this woman are grateful for every ounce of grace they can get. But people who think they are little sinners think they can afford to keep Jesus at arm's length. So they're offended when they're sins are exposed…they're bored with the message of forgiveness and grace. They think they can afford to miss worship services which focus on those truths. They don't figure they need the Lord's Supper quite so often. They feel no need to be with Jesus in a personal study of his Word. They conclude, after all, that they are good people - what debt of sin do they owe God? That's how a Pharisee thinks. And the honest truth is that's the way we think too, at times.

Simon didn't believe he needed to be forgiven. He looked at Jesus as someone with whom he was on the same level, but he failed to see him as his only hope for forgiveness. The sinful woman, on the other hand believed in Jesus as her Savior, the only One who could help her. And so her love for Him knew no bounds.

So which are we? Go back to the parable again. Are we the one who owed 500 denarii? Or the one who owed 50? In the end, it doesn't really matter does it? It doesn't matter how big the debt is if we are completely broke and don't have a cent to our name? It doesn't matter how many sins you have or how big and bad they are. One sin makes you guilty of the whole Law. One slip makes you just as undeserving as the woman of our lesson. Both were under the same sentence. Yet consider your life. Isn’t it true that we have lived a sinful life? Both young and old and everywhere in between, we look back on our lives and have to agree. Whether our sins were public or we hid them away in private, we all have sordid pasts. Think about how you have spent your time on this earth. The ugly truth remains; we have lived lives tainted with the stain of sin. For that sin, we owe God with our lives. We owe him an eternity of suffering. And we cannot pay off that debt?

This is why we sing with the hymnwriter, “Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed his blood for me.” Christ had to pay the price that you and I cannot pay! And he has paid the Father everything you owe him, the eternity in hell, your very life, which he endured on the cross. He cancelled the debt of sin by taking that debt on himself, paid it with his life, and then stamped it with his resurrection to prove payment had been made. Just as Jesus said to the sinful woman he says to you, “You are forgiven,” your sins are sent away, God doesn’t see them anymore.

That’s the truth we see in the parable - both debtors were forgiven one-hundred percent of their debt. That's how it is with God's forgiveness and love. Forgiveness doesn't come in pieces. God doesn't forgive one sin at a time. He forgives all your sins and pays for them in full with his Son's blood once and for all. He cancels your debt for the sins of the past and remembers them no more. He doesn't allow the sin you commit today to separate you all over again.

The question then that confronts each of us today is this: With whom do you identify…the self-righteous, outwardly upright man or the broken sinful woman mindful of her sin, on her knees pleading for forgiveness? Are we the Pharisee or the sinful woman? Do you see yourself this morning comfortably reclining at the table with Jesus? Or do you see yourself crumbled and broken at the feet of Jesus, grieving your sin, clinging to His promise to save you, clinging to your Baptism, to the Lord’s Supper, to His words of forgiveness? Take a good look in the mirror of God’s Law, a look at who you are and what you have done. Don't make excuses. Don't blame your parents, your upbringing, your church or your pastor, or the people around you. Recognize that the same sin at work in those you judge is also at work in you.

The woman in our lesson left Simon the Pharisee's home that day justified, forgiven, cleansed, at peace. Jesus had made an example of her. An example of His mercy. "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." Her faith in Jesus saved her because her Jesus saved her.

Through faith you have received that forgiveness. Through faith your troubled past is swept away. In a few minutes Jesus will reassure you of that forgiveness, “Here’s the price I paid: my body, my blood, which I give to you to remind you, to tell you, to assure you that no matter what your past, no matter how private or public your sin, it is forgiven. Go in peace.” Through faith Jesus sets your heart at rest. That's the good news of today's Gospel. Today God reminds each of us that there is no debt so great that Jesus has not paid for it…no sin so horrible that Jesus has not forgiven it. There is no sinner so lost that they have not been found in Jesus. And it is that good news of love that moves us to stoop down with the sinful woman at Jesus' feet to serve him with our hearts, our time, our abilities, our treasure and our very lives.

The woman in our text was forgiven long before she showed Jesus how much she loved him. It wasn't her actions that gave her forgiveness, instead the forgiveness prompted her to serve Jesus. And that same forgiveness moves each one of us to offer Jesus far more than the crippled and lame sacrifices of empty worship and praise. It empowers us to give him much more than an apathetic reception of His Word and Sacrament . It fills us with gratitude and joy to give our hearts to him, to dedicate our lives to him, and serve him with our time, our abilities and our blessings. His love for us prompts true and sincere reverence. So rejoice today in his full and free forgiveness and know that Christ's love calls you and compells you to praise him in grateful service today and every day of your life. Amen.