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 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 sins?"  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 things done in Jesus' ministry.  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, an 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."      We can see a great contrast here.  By his invitation extended to Christ, we can see that the Pharisee is intrigued by Him and wishes to have this well-known teacher in his house.  And then there comes an apparently well-known woman, called a "sinner" here, who also meets Jesus in the house of the Pharisee. 

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."    My study bible contrasts the woman and the Pharisee:  the Pharisee clearly doesn't believe in Christ, as shown by his reaction to Christ's mercy and also his lack of even common hospitality.  In his heart, he offers Christ criticism.  We contrast his lack with the abundance of the woman that is shared with and lavished on Christ.  My study bible tells us that the encounter with this sinful woman is an icon of grace that is found only in the Church.   Ambrose of Milan writes that through this woman, "the Church is justified as being greater than the Law, for the Law does not know the forgiveness of sins, nor the mystery in which secret sins are cleansed; therefore, what is lacking in the Law is perfected in the Gospel."

And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"  Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."  My study bible says the fact that a man could forgive sins was beyond the bounds of the Law as the Pharisees understood it (see 5:21).  But Christ was not a mere man; He's the very Lawgiver Himself.   Cyril of Alexandria writes, "Who could declare things that were above the Law, except the One who ordained the Law?"

There is a kind of interesting contrast about faith in this reading.  We first of all make note of the "wealth" or "poverty" of each character here.  Jesus is invited in to dine at a Pharisee's house.  We can assume this is a man of enough status and means to treat Jesus to a fine dinner, and most likely with many other guests present.  But we read that he doesn't even offer Jesus the customary ablutions nor greetings.   Perhaps it is a sort of "status" question.  Jesus is an itinerant minister with a very popular following; we can imagine the man invites Him simply out of curiosity or in order to hear Him or question Him.  The woman, on the other hand, is seemingly a well-known outcast.  She obviously hasn't been invited but has come to see Christ.  She treats Him as if He is visiting royalty, a great Lord.  She washes His feet with her tears, using her own hair as towel.  She anoints His feet with an expensive fragrant oil; she blesses His feet with many kisses.  But the Pharisee criticizes, to himself, both the woman and Christ for allowing her to touch Him.  We can see the great differences in stature implied in all of this.  Most intriguingly, when Jesus teaches Simon about forgiveness, He uses as example the forgiveness of debt (as in the Lord's Prayer, where we are taught to pray in a manner that likens sins to debts:  "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive our debtors," reads the Greek in Luke 11).  But by contrast, we see who is the richer in some sense in the actions at the dinner.  Simon, as host, isn't very hospitable, nor lavish with Jesus who is his guest.  But this woman, a sinner, is like she is the wealthiest person present, given the largesse with which she treats Jesus, expressing her great love.  Interestingly, it also follows Jesus' words to the crowds about the Baptist in Saturday's reading, when He asks what they expected to find in a great prophet -- surely not the soft robes found in king's courts -- contrasting the rough asceticism of the Baptist whom Jesus defends.  I think experiencing the love of Christ -- as in the example He uses of forgiveness -- makes us very wealthy people indeed.  Somehow being "in touch," if you will, with the Lord, gives us a sense of just what we do have in abundance, and perhaps allows us in a very helpful way to see our own resources in the light of Christ, as an expression of His love.  When we enter into this ongoing, living relationship implied both in the Lord's Prayer, and in the story of forgiveness told in today's reading by Jesus, our resources also become transformed into means by which we live out the Kingdom in this world.  No longer merely an asset for ourselves, but also transformed into a kind of wealth that can express the aims of the Kingdom, wealth becomes gift.  It becomes a trust, a kind of fund through which we are capable of doing the things Christ asks us to do with it.  In that sense, we also "adorn" God with our love.  We can put what we have in His service, in whatever way we feel God calls us to do so.  Above all, we are rich with His love, especially in the ways in which we can return His love for us even in the way this woman does so.  Oftentimes it seems that we are bereft when we think about what we personally might wish we had, but if we think about what we can do that Christ might wish from us, there are plenty of resources at hand.  Let us remember that we are blessed in what He gives us and thereby what we have to give:  a gesture, some attention, even the smallest gift of love is one that we remember.  And it reminds us that we have much to give.  It is our faith that makes us wealthy.  And this woman becomes yet one more of those examples in whom "wisdom is justified by all her children."