January 23 - Luke 7:36 - 7:50

36. Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.
37. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,
38. and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is?that she is a sinner.”
40. Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,”he said.
41. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
42. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43. Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44. 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.
45. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.
46. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.
47. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven―for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
48. Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49. The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50. Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

I was doing the QT on the shuttle home from work, and wanted to post about this passage. I hope you don't mind Joanne.

The first time through this passage, I didn't understand what was going on. Superficially, I understood what the woman was doing, but I couldn't connect her actions with Jesus' parable about the two debtors. My third time through the passage, the parallel between the two stories became clear.

When Jesus told the parable about the two debtors, the pharisees answered that the person who owed more money would love the moneylender more. The understanding of the nature of the cancelled debt translated directly to love for the moneylender. In the same way, the woman's understanding of her great sin caused her to show great love for Jesus by tending to his dirty feet with her hair, and using her money to buy perfume to pour on them. In both cases the realization of the lifted burden led to an outpouring of love for the burden lifter.

After coming to this conclusion, I asked myself if this relationship between debt and love is reflected in my life. The answer is a resounding no. For example, I really wanted to stay behind on Sunday to go boarding, so I was trying to pawn off the responsibility of driving the church van back from tahoe to someone else. I even got to the point where I was angry because no one would help out. After reading this passage, I realize that I was very wrong to get angry about this. For one, the whole purpose of this trip is for our retreat, and not just to have fun. Secondly, I should be willing to show my love for God and his church as well as our fellow church members in any way (including driving) because of how much God's grace has done for me.

Anyhow, that's my 2 cents about this passage. Peace.