Luke 7:36-50 retells the story of the woman of the city who follows Jesus into the home of a Pharisee. She positions herself behind Jesus, washing her feet with her tears. When the self-righteous Pharisee sees this, he is appalled. “How can Jesus allow this woman to touch him?” he asks. Jesus then tells a parable of two debtors – one owes five hundred, the other fifty. “When both are forgiven their debt, which one is more appreciative?” Jesus asks.
I am typically not one to encourage the recounting of transgression. Planted firmly in the assurance of a forgiving and gracious God, I would rather speak of how one lives out the life Christ makes possible for us. Typically, this is the message repeated in sermons and in these early morning offerings. In reading Luke 7, I am reminded that unless we take a good, honest look at ourselves, we might fail to realize what God has done for us.
This Sunday’s gospel lesson involves a self-righteous person and another who is humble of heart. This humility is praised by Jesus. The humble one is assured of a continued right relationship with God.
We do not dwell on our sin, bringing ourselves down to the depths of despair. But we do acknowledge our shortcomings, we identify our sin, so that we might remain forever grateful to the one who has forgiven us. We are forgiven of many debts. We therefore have much appreciation to show.
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