Third Sunday after Pentecost                        Luke 7:36-50                     June 13, 2010

Today's gospel is a real eye opener.
The problem is, we have possibly heard or seen this story so many times that we automatically gloss over it and move along, missing the crux of the story.
Having said that, let's look at it again—and hopefully with new eyes.

Jesus has been invited to the home of Simon a Pharisee.
Let me stop right there for a moment because I have a confession to make.
I'm not sure why but I have noticed that when ever I read the gospels and I see that word "Pharisee" I get an uneasy feeling, the kind of feeling I get when I run into someone I might not what to run into, someone with who I might not be on the best of terms, someone I don't really trust.
I'm not proud of that reaction—hence the confession—but I have been trained to be wary of the Pharisees.
And yet I know that this is both unfair and wrong to lump an entire group of people together based on the actions of a few.

In the case of the Pharisees, while it is true that there were some who were eagerly out to get Jesus and trap him and ultimately do away with him, I want to believe there were many who were not quite so zealous, a bit more moderate in their reactions to Jesus.
I want to believe there were probably some pretty decent Pharisees, individuals who took their faith seriously, who were truly devoted to living out God's will.
I mean these were people who read and studied their scriptures every day, they were scrupulous in their efforts to obey God in every way, and they were sincere in their efforts to encourage others to do the same.
These men were the pillars of the religious community.
And they never missed an opportunity to gather for worship.
I mean, really, what's not to like and appreciate?
Oh, that we should all strive to be so dedicated.

OK, so Simon, one of the Pharisees has invited Jesus to his home for dinner, and this is a big deal.
It was a big deal to invite someone to join you for dinner; it was the way relationships were forged.
And by inviting Jesus to dinner, Simon demonstrates that he is interested in getting to know Jesus better, he wants to see if all that he has heard about Jesus is true, to see whether this somewhat unorthodox teacher and miracle worker is the real deal and what better way than to sit down and chat, look each other in the eye and share a meal.

Well, everything starts out fine, but then something disturbing happens.
An uninvited guests arrives, a woman, a woman known to be a sinner, crashes the dinner party and kneels at Jesus feet and begins to weep, washes Jesus feet' with her tears, starts drying his feet with her hair and then anoints and kisses Jesus' feet with an expensive alabaster ointment.

Let's be honest, not only does this behavior strike us as odd in this day and age, it was also odd and scandalous in Jesus' day.
First of all, this unknown woman is crashing the party and begins to make contact with Jesus, a rabbi.
This was simply not done, Jewish men and women were not suppose to have any sort of physical contact in public—not even husbands and wives.
In fact women were not allowed to let their hair down in public, that was something only done in the company of one's husband.
So as you might imagine, rumors were running wild at the dinner table while all this was going on.

We are told that Jesus does nothing to stop her; instead he accepts her gratitude.
We are told that Simon, however, is all bent out of shape and thinks to himself how Jesus could hardly be a real prophet if he could not see that this woman was a sinner and not someone any self-respecting man of God would have anything to do with.
This leads to Jesus telling one of his parables about gratitude and forgiveness.
He says to Simon, and this is the part that we need to focus on, he says, "Do you see this woman…" and then he points out Simon's failure to demonstrate the traditional acts of hospitality.
But that statement, "Do you see this woman?" is key to our seeing the heart and soul of this text.
And the truth is, Simon never saw the woman, what he saw was a sinner, what he saw was someone who lived outside the tight community of the religious faithful, what he saw was someone he ought to stay clear of, what he saw was a disturbance to his social get together, an intrusion, and an embarrassment.

I want to suggest to you this morning that we all have a little Simon in each of us, we all have a tendency to see what we want to see, and we all are often blind to what Jesus sees in others and ourselves.
And that is unfortunate because when we put on our blinders we fail to see the good that God sees.

Going back to Simon and his dinner party—Simon did not see the same person that Jesus saw.
What he saw was a woman who was a sinner, and because he only saw a sinner, he could not imagine that God could love her as a daughter.
And because of this he could not see the possible meaning behind her tears—tears of repentance and gratitude—tears that might very well represent the beginning of a new life.

A fellow named Rev. Dr. Tony Campolo who teaches Sociology at Eastern University in Pennsylvania tells the story about how one day in class he was trying to get a discussion going on prostitution, particularly, how some of the world's great leaders might have responded. Apparently the discussion took off and was both lively and intense.
Campolo admits he was setting up the class to do a little evangelizing, and when the time was ripe, he asked what seemed to be the crucial question, "What do you suppose Jesus would have said to a prostitute?"

Campolo was all primed to point out to the class the compassion and understanding which Jesus had for women caught in desperate situations.
He was all set to do his best to make Jesus look greater than all the great religious leaders put together.
Once again he asked, "What do you think Jesus would have said to a prostitute?"

One of his students answered, "Jesus never met a prostitute."
Campolo jumped at the opening.
He would show this guy a thing or two about Jesus and about the New Testament.
"Yes he did," he responded.
"I'll show you in my Bible where…"
The young man interrupted him.
"You didn't hear me Doctor. I said Jesus never met a prostitute."

Once again Campolo protested.
Once again he reached for his Bible.
He started to leaf through pages searching for those passages, which showed Jesus forgiving the fallen women. He searched for the place where he gave the woman at the well a chance for spiritual renewal.

Once again the student, who was Jewish, spoke out, this time with a touch of anger in his raised voice.
"You're not listening to what I am saying.
I am saying that Jesus never met a prostitute.
Do you think that when he looked at Mary Magdalene he saw a prostitute?
Do you think he saw whores when he looked at woman like her?
Doctor, listen to me!
Jesus never met a prostitute!"

Campolo fell silent.
He was being corrected by a Jewish student who, in some ways, may have understood Jesus better than some of us who go by the name Christian.

Jesus said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?"
Jesus says to each of us, "What do you see?

When I drive down to the Twin Cities I will occasionally see men and woman standing on corners hold signs asking for a handout.
What do I see?
When I am sitting in my office working on Sunday's sermon and I look up and see a young man standing at my door looking disheveled and unkempt, with that look in his eyes that tells me he needs help with his current crisis. What do I see?
When you drive through town and see clusters of young adults huddled together at one of the parks smoking and being louder than is probably necessary—What do you see?
When you watch the news and you see reports of gang violence and destruction, or an ethnic group other than your own making the headlines—What do you see?

Do you see as Simon sees?
With eyes filled with distrust and disdain, with suspicion?
Do we look at the world and only see what is wrong and broken?
Do we look at others who might not share our point of view and life experience and assume the worst?

Or, do you see as Jesus sees?
With eyes of compassion and mercy?
Eyes that see more than what's on the surface.
With eyes of grace and arms willing to embrace and welcome?

Consider the story of a man who had arrived in heaven and was shown into God's office for judgment.
One office wall consisted of a huge window looking down on earth.
The earth was beautiful with its blue waters, green forests, and white clouds.
On the table in front of the window, there was a pair of glasses.
The fellow thought, these must be God's glasses.
And since no one was around, the man tried them on and looked at the earth again.
This time he saw hunger, poverty and sickness, and so much inhumanity that he could not bear it.
Then he heard a voice behind him, "Please, take off my glasses."

The man did so, immediately.
He stood there trembling; thinking that he was really in trouble now for messing with God's stuff.
After a long pause, the voice of God gently asked, "What did you see?"

The man said, " I saw hate, corruption, and evil!"
God asked, "Did you feel any love or compassion?"
"No!" the man said. "After what I saw, I would destroy the whole planet without any hesitation or regret!"

Then God said, "That's why YOU can't use my glasses. You may not see what I see, unless you can feel what I feel."

In last week's gospel reading when Jesus encountered the funeral procession in Nain, Jesus had compassion on the widow who had lost her only son.
In today's gospel through Jesus' compassion we are shown that God looks upon all of us with love and grace and forgiveness no matter what our circumstances, our situation, or what kind of lives we live—whether we are like Simon or like the woman who encountered Jesus.

The truth is—it is difficult for us to look at and see people in the same way if we do not know that love ourselves, I mean real love, the kind of love that God has for the world—that giving, sharing, caring, self-sacrificing and unmerited love.
This is a love that we cannot earn but only open ourselves to receive—much like a child being baptized.

Because we all have a little bit of Simon the Pharisee in us—it is sometimes difficult to fully receive this gift of grace, thereby making it difficult to see the need that others have for that same gift of compassion and grace.
And sadly, if we are not truly experiencing God's love and forgiveness in our lives—it makes it difficult to pass it along to others –and we are reduced to passing on nothing more than contempt and disdain.

So, what did Jesus see in Simon?
He saw a man of faith who wanted to do the right thing, who wanted to be faithful, but who was blind to those around him who were depending on his faithfulness and love for God to be acted out in tangible ways.
He saw a man far too often quick to assume and judge the worst in others.
He saw a man who valued obedience to the Law over God's gifts of grace and compassion.

What did Jesus see in the woman?
I believe it is safe to say that he did not see a prostitute.
But rather he saw a woman who may have been a victim of life's injustices, a woman who wanted to do things differently, a woman who was grateful for the grace and forgiveness she received.
He saw her pain and her need for healing and peace in her life.

And what does Jesus see in us?
To begin with, Jesus sees each of us who have been created in the image of God, the crown jewel of all creation.
Jesus sees a child of God, a brother and sister, a sinner in need of redemption and transformation.
Jesus sees in us what others might often fail to see in us—that we are all in need of compassion and forgiveness, whether we are as self–righteous as Simon or as humble and broken as the weeping woman.

Because we were created in the image of God, Jesus sees in us the capability to see as he sees and invites us to do so.
Jesus invites us to open our eyes to see the world as he sees it and to feel what he feels.
Jesus invites us to experience the joy he experiences when anyone of us sees the need for repentance in our lives—the need to turn around and get back on the right path.
Jesus invites us to experience the sadness he feels when one of God's children overlooks and ignores the needs and hurts of another child of God.
Jesus invites us to see the look of peace and gratitude that overcomes a forgiven sinner.
And Jesus invites us to put on our faith lenses, our God glasses, as we walk by faith into the kingdom of God with Jesus by our side. Amen

Pastor Stephen Blenkush
Zion Lutheran
Milaca, MN
www.ZionMilaca.org

 

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