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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. 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. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven … Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
(verses 44-50)
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This story takes me back.
It takes me back to my childhood, growing up in a Christian home, growing into faith, not acting out, not really rebelling in my teen years, but rather being even-keeled and relatively “good” – some might even have said “goody-goody.” I always heard that if you didn’t rebel in your teen years, you’d do it later. Now in my late-60s I’m still waiting.
This story speaks about someone who seems to be good, and about someone who seems to be bad – someone who’s not acted-out, and someone who’s visibly embraced an immoral life. I too easily placed myself in the story.
This story takes me back to my college years when I encountered friends who’d come to faith in Christ later than me, being nurtured in all sorts of different church backgrounds – evangelical, traditional, Pentecostal, Charismatic. Plus, many of them were Americans and much more expressive and demonstrative than this mild-mannered Canadian. In that mix, I encountered some who clearly, deeply, expressively loved the Lord. I could see it. I could hear it in their prayers. I could see it on their faces as they worshipped. It touched me deeply. I wondered about the depth of my own love for the Lord.
This story takes me back to my years as a Youth Pastor. There was a young guy who was radically converted to faith in Jesus from a wild, partying, sexually promiscuous background. We became good friends – I mentored him. I agonized as he went through ups and downs of growth in faith. At one point, he prayed with someone who had a clear prophetic gift. The prayer touched him so deeply with sorrow and repentance for his past life, that he sobbed for hours, indeed days. He was profoundly touched with repentance and gripped by the forgiveness the Lord had brought him. It was remarkable to see.
I remember thinking at that point about this story. I reflected on Jesus’ statement that the one who has been forgiven much will love much, and the one who has been forgiven little will love little. I thought about my friend who had been forgiven so much and the blessing that had come to him. And I thought how unfair it was that I hadn’t come from the wild background he had – did that mean I got to love Jesus less?
And then I understood the story.
The woman is called a “sinner,” twice over (verses 37, 39). She certainly was. We often throw in an extra adjective like “notorious” to make clear just how much of a sinner she was. But no adjective is needed. We forget that sin is sin, that there is “no one righteous, no not one”(Romans 3:10), that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Roman 3:23). We are all in the same boat, right there beside the woman. We each have “much” to be forgiven.
So, when Jesus says “whoever has been forgiven little” it’s actually a euphemism to speak of someone who has not received forgiveness at all. I think that’s where Simon found himself. The fact is, the only people Jesus forgives are sinners. Further, if we have been forgiven at all, we have been forgiven much. So much.
I learned from this story the depth of my own sin, the “much-ness” of my own forgiveness, and the expansive possible horizons of my own love for the Lord, who has saved even me.
Praise his name.
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Lord Jesus, thank you for this woman’s story, whose experience and life-journey seem so different from my own. Forgive me for my presumption. I now understand that, of course, I am in the same boat. I have been forgiven – oh, so much. Thank you. Praise you. Oh Lord, I love you.
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Reflect:
How much have you been forgiven? Take the time to reflect. Embrace afresh the forgiveness the Lord has extended. Give thanks from your heart. Express your love.
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Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău on Unsplash
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