Jesus, Simon, and the Sinful Woman - Part III

Luke 7:44-50

Ever notice how much of the Gospel stories deal with Jesus at dinners and banquets and how many of those dinners and banquets involve sinners as either hosts or uninvited guests? Come to think of it, there may be more stories of Jesus at such parties than there are of him in the synagogue.

Even here at the house of Simon the Pharisee (not to be confused with Simon Peter, the Disciple), what is remembered is the encounter with a certain sinner woman. She washes, kisses and anoints Jesus' feet and then in response to Simon's obvious disapproval, Jesus tells a story about forgiveness. Next Jesus speaks directly to Simon while looking at this woman.

First, Jesus tells Simon that the woman did what a more proper host in that time and place would have done -- wash the guests' feet. Simon also did not give Jesus a kiss -- speaking perhaps of the customary greeting with a kiss on the cheek, like we modern Westerners shake hands. For some reason, Simon didn't give Jesus a proper greeting. In contrast, this woman has taken care of all these hosting priorities and done so effusively, going beyond the ordinary by anointing Jesus with oil.

What Jesus says next gets downright confusing when you try to sort it out. Jesus is explaining these things to his host in follow-up to the story about the two men who have been forgiven debts, concluding, "Therefore, her many sins have been forgiven." And then he adds, speaking directly to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven."

The crowd reacts as would be expected, exclaiming surprise that Jesus goes even so far as to forgive sins. Other religious leaders have been known to teach, to heal, to do miracles, to cast out demons - but to forgive sins?! Elsewhere Jesus deals with why he can and does forgive sins, but at this time the focus remains on what happens to the woman -- that she is forgiven -- not on what Jesus does and why.

So, which is the cause and which is the effect? The woman's actions toward Jesus? Or, Jesus forgiving the woman? Has she been forgiven because of her actions toward Jesus or were her actions a response to having already been forgiven? Or was that forgiveness presupposed because she would respond in such a fashion?

In the end, Jesus never clarifies these questions, though he does tell her that it is her faith that has saved her. So her actions were simply an outward expression of an inner faith. But, again, which comes first, the forgiveness or the faith?

We tend to want to approach these kinds of issues systematically, drawing from all sorts of biblical sources and weaving a complete picture. We do this so that we don't have to deal with any holes in our reasoning. As people of faith, we do not like holes, perhaps fearful as we are that our faith might somehow seep out through those holes and leave us without faith. But faith is not a hole-less cloth, an ironclad guarantee that there are no holes, no doubts, no conflicts, no confusion. Faith is what we assert precisely because we do have holes and questions. That does not make faith unreasonable - it just means that faith is not the same as mathematic proofs.

So what is happening here? Jesus says her sins have been forgiven. What he does not clarify is when she was forgiven - the condition is more important than the timing.

He does make clear that she does these acts of love in response to being forgiven. And then afterward Jesus declares that her sins have been forgiven, meaning he forgives her. Finally he declares that it is her own faith, her own trust in Jesus, that has saved her. If Jesus had wanted Simon and the other guests to sort it all out, he would have been more straightforward.

Instead of answering all our questions, he simply affirms that it is our faith that saves us; that Jesus is the one who forgives sins; and that when we've been forgiven much, we love much in return. The more we respond in love to his love and forgiveness, the more we are forgiven. It starts with Jesus and snowballs from there. Anyone who cries "enough already", doesn't understand Jesus or his love and forgiveness. It never ends, overwhelming us to the last.