To whom little is forgiven, the same loves little

 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him.  And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  So he said, "Teacher, say it."

"There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.  One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.  Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"  Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sin?"  Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."

- Luke 7:36-50

On Saturday, we read that the disciples of John reported to him concerning all the about Jesus.  And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  When the men had come to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'"  And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.  Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard:  that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."  When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John:  "What did you go out into the wilderness to see?  A reed shaken by the wind?  But what did you go out to see?  A man clothed in soft garments?  Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts.  But what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  This is he of whom it is written:  'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.'  For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."  And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.  But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.  And the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like?  They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:  'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not weep.'  For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!  But wisdom is justified by all her children."


Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him.  And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."   My study bible tells us that "some Pharisees were open to Jesus' mission, as indicated by their gesture of hospitality towards Him.  Yet they could not entirely free themselves from their suspicions and prejudices." 

And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  So he said, "Teacher, say it."  "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.  One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.  Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"  Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  My study bible says, "This is a great encouragement to all who feel so much of their lives has been given over to sin.  In the mercy of God, a sinful past is not a hopeless liability.  Forgiveness comes to those who truly love Christ."  I find it intriguing that we can't quite tell what comes first, the love or the forgiveness.  In some sense, it is telling us that both go hand in hand, in a circular movement.  Love, which is of God, seems to make a tremendous bridge over many things; its healing power is great!

Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sin?"  Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."  The question, "Who is this who even forgives sin?" as so often happens in the Gospels, is really the right question.  Our understanding of Christ's identity hinders on such real, important questions!   Again, we get a kind of circular understanding here:  what comes first -- her faith? her love?  her forgiveness?  All go hand in hand, and I think we are supposed to think of things this way.

In today's reading, Jesus speaks of love, and forgiveness, and faith.  Which one(s) come first?  Which comes second?  Which is the result of another?  We can't really tell very clearly, in my opinion, from the reading.  In fact, it's hard to tell in life sometimes.  We know often that those who love us are easier to forgive than others!  We know when a person approaches us with love that it makes a difference in how we approach them.  In fact, Luke's Gospel makes much of this in the Sermon on the Plain, where Jesus asked, "But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them."   The question comes again for us to ponder:  which comes first?  Above all, we understand God's love first in this context:  this woman knows Christ's love, and she knows Christ's forgiveness.  We're told that her sins are many, but in the healing love of Christ she is restored in terms of her own faith, and that faith and God's love give her hope.  It is a chance to enter into relationship, into trust, which is what faith is really all about.  But without God's love as a kind of initiation, where would her faith be?  In what does she put this faith and this trust?  So, I say that this is a continuation of Christ's teaching in the Sermon on the Plain.  We can't guarantee that those to whom we give love or with whom we practice loving behavior are going to love us in return.  Neither can God guarantee that those whom God loves will love God back, nor practice faith -- and God doesn't compel anyone to love.  Love is a gift of freedom, a freedom that we have to choose our faith, the freedom to love God in return and to trust in return.  It is always important that we remember what Christ models for us here:  that love and forgiveness go hand in hand, that love forms a bridge and a bond between persons -- but it begins between the Person of Christ (and the Father and the Spirit) and each of us so that we may in turn enter into such relationships among ourselves.  In this case, it is her capacity for returning that love, her trust, that saves her.  "Go in peace" is God's teaching of reconciliation.