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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 the Baptist reported to
him concerning all the things that were happening in Christ's 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 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."
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." According to my study Bible, that a man could forgive sins was beyond the bounds of the Law as the Pharisees understood it (see Luke 5:21). But Christ was not a mere man, but rather the very Lawgiver Himself. St. Cyril of Alexandria asks, "Who could declare things that were above the Law, except the One who ordained the Law?"
In our previous reading, on Saturday (see above), Jesus acknowledged the criticisms He (as well as John the Baptist) receives from the Pharisees and lawyers: He's a friend of tax collectors and sinners! He's a glutton and a winebibber! On Saturday we read that even the tax collectors justified God, for they'd been baptized by John the Baptist, but not the Pharisees and the lawyers. Here in today's reading, Jesus is invited to dine with a Pharisee, but is not treated with the courtesy usually given to honored guests in a home. The one who does show Him great courtesy and welcome -- and love -- is the sinful woman. We don't know who this woman was; she's not the only woman in the Gospels who anointed Christ with oil. But we can see her great act of love and honor. In the anointing itself we can see the glory that she gives to Christ. This gift, according to the commentary of St. Clement of Alexandria, is the most precious thing she had, her perfume, the one thing fitting to pay the greatest honor to Christ. St. Ambrose writes, "The grace of many flowers gathered into a bouquet scatters different sweetness of fragrance. Perhaps none but the church alone can produce that ointment. The church has innumerable flowers of different fragrance." Let us note that she first stood behind Christ, weeping, and then began to wash His feet with her tears, before she anointed His feet with this ointment. If we understand the symbolism clear to the ancient world, her weeping and tears are evidence of her repentance for her life and the way she has lived it. The perfume is akin to the healing ointments of the ancient world, a pure olive oil base with essences of flowers added, and so it is seen as a comfort to Christ. The washing of His feet, drying with her hair, and anointing with oil is seen as a way to comfort the One who will comfort others. We may even see that, as Christ Himself took on the likeness of a sinner (scandalous to the religious authorities, and crucified like the lowest of criminals), so this woman, appearing in the likeness of a sinner, reveals the Church in her love for Christ. What today's passage undoubtedly shows us is the power of love that must be at work in our faith, for it is love that has truly saved her. As Jesus pronounces it, love is the key to forgiveness. For how do we show love to someone but through loyalty and faithfulness to them? This is an important key to understanding what faith or belief means to Christ. In John's Gospel, Jesus preaches to the people who've followed Him, after He fed them in the wilderness: "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." And they respond, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus tells them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." It's important to understand how "belief" is meant to work in this context. This kind of belief is more than intellectual assent to something. The word for "faith" has as its root the word that means "trust," and that is the Greek word translated as "believe." But what Jesus is asking for may be better translated as "faithfulness," as many scholars have commented. That is, to be faithful to His teachings, to be faithful to what He asks of us, to be loyal. And all of these things are signs of love, visible aspects of what it means to actively love someone, to be true to them. So when Jesus teaches the parable on debts forgiven, He's speaking of this kind of relationship of love and trust and loyalty. What makes covenant? This woman clearly expresses love for Christ with her tears, as He has moved her to this great evidence of repentance in her desire for relationship with Him. If we grasp the love of Christ, it is there repentance may happen, where shame is dropped for transformation instead. She also gives the greatest gift she can give in terms of something valuable and precious to her. And He responds with forgiveness, as He is the One capable of forgiving sins. In a sense, her expression of love is a promise, one that must be ongoing to continue in relationship. In the end, He does not say that her love has saved her, although the topic here is love in Jesus' dialogue with the Pharisee. But linking the two concepts, He says to her, "Your
faith has saved you. Go in peace." Let us take this journey into faith and forgiveness, and understand more deeply how faith must include love and loyalty, for without this understanding we cannot understand Jesus or His teachings to us.
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