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 Jesus was doing.  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 their 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."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  So he said, "Teacher, say it."    My study bible says that this Pharisee was intrigued by Christ, as evidenced by his invitation, but he clearly doesn't have faith in Him, as shown by his reaction to Christ's mercy, and also by his lack even of what was common hospitality (as noted in Jesus' comments further down, verses 44-46).  The encounter with the sinful woman is "an icon of grace," a note reads, which is found only in the Church.  St. 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." 

"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."   Here is a question of what the Law allowed, and what Jesus does.  That anyone could forgive sins was beyond the bounds of the Law as understood by the Pharisees (see 5:21).  Yet Christ wasn't simply a man, but rather the very Lawgiver Himself.  St. Cyril of Alexandria comments, "Who could declare things that were above the Law, except the One who ordained the Law?"

This particular story in the Gospels centers on forgiveness.  We read of the power of God to forgive, the power of Christ as Son at work in the world.  The point of view of the Law, however, demands restitution of some sort for sin.  That this woman would simply be forgiven is not a sense in the Law (and that is beside the fact that only God can forgive sins).   The new covenant, however, would seem to indicate something new here, a different equation, and that equation includes love.  It's not simply about Jesus' love for others, God's love for us, in forgiveness.   But what we read about here is the love of this woman for Christ.  Her repentance is great, that is a given.  But the love she expresses is something tremendously great here, as told in the text.   It is an act of extravagance, not simply for the great value of the oil, but rather of the great love that is expressed by the woman.  Jesus frequently expresses the notion of sin as "debt," and this is in keeping with the Law.  In the prayer He has given us to our Father (Matthew 6:8-15), we pray that our debts may be forgiven, as we forgive our debtors (verse 12).  But forgiveness, in Jesus' teaching, seems to set up an entirely different sort of equation -- or rather, it sets the equation on a different footing.  God's love is extravagant, gracious, merciful, overflowing for us.  The love of this woman as expressed to Jesus is also extravagant and overflowing.  We go one step beyond debt and payment here, and into the Kingdom of heaven where love becomes the currency of all things (see 1 John 4:8). This woman knows what that Kingdom is, and she travels in this love as she is expressing it here.  Jesus tells everyone present that she knows what it is to be forgiven, and she has taken up the dwelling place in the Kingdom that she is able to live in this life.  Her tears teach us about repentance, but also they  express the great joy of forgiveness at the same time, the participation in God's love.  Jesus says, "To whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."   And there is not only a great truth which we can observe in human relationships, but rather again a description of a state of being, a place where we know and live within a kind of currency of love, where love may be like the air we breathe.  It teaches us about a new kind of exchange that goes beyond the Law.  There is an important understanding here about debt:  to forgive is to let go or to release.   Love allows us to release debt, to let it go.   We may consider this reading to be a great teaching on the power of prayer, the expression of love within the grace of God and our capacity for living the life of the Kingdom in the world.  To pray for others is to express love, and to pray to Christ whom we love may also be an extravagant outpouring of love.   There are times, we may find, when all we can do is express love for someone through prayer, even when we can't have dialogue or contact in person.   In this communion, love becomes language, communication.  She doesn't say a word, but her every gesture is an act of love.  This passage is read in the Orthodox Church on the days commemorating holy nuns.  As in Saturday's reading, it teaches us a great deal about holiness, even the lives of the saints.  So many were those who were former sinners, even notoriously so, but within the love of God they lived lives of holiness and participation in the Kingdom.  And like Saturday's reading, in which Jesus taught that "wisdom is justified by her children," so we may also see in the actions and love of this woman, whom Jesus tells, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."