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March 19 Lesson
Christians should follows Christ's example of love
___Luke 7:36-50
___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."
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___Mildred McWhorter, the legendary director of Baptist mission centers, had a way of handling the toughest gang members in inner-city Houston.
___She kissed them. Smack in the middle of the forehead. Right in front of God and everybody.
___Late one winter night, a group of street-wise young Latinos started acting rough on the basketball court. They weren't interested in playing ball. They were getting their kicks out of pestering the smaller kids and smart-mouthing the volunteers.
___"Javier," McWhorter called to the leader, "if you don't straighten up, I'm going to have to come over there and give you what you deserve!"
___Javier glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked at his buddies. Unwilling to be sassed by an old woman, he went about whipping up mischief.
___So, McWhorter waded into the middle of the mayhem. She marched up to Javier, stretched on her tiptoes--he towered above her--grabbed him by his ears, pulled him down and planted a big, fat kiss right between the eyes.
___The other boys rolled in laughter as Javier jerked back and wiped the kiss from his forehead. Javier tried to scowl and act aloof, but his frown melted as McWhorter stood beside him, her right arm raised to drape across his muscular shoulders. Javier behaved himself the rest of the evening and shouted an affectionate, "Good night, Miss McWhorter!" before he led his band of boys out of the building.
___Later, after all the youngsters had gone, McWhorter explained her ministry and her unusual form of "punishment."
___She wasn't particularly brave or committed or compassionate, she claimed. But she could love those kids because Jesus first had loved her. If Jesus' love could forgive her sins and transform her life, then she could forgive the excesses of tough, neglected kids and try to show them the love she had found in Jesus. And the forehead-kiss? Well, nothing tames turbulent teens quite like comeuppance from a little old lady, especially when she also shows them she loves them as if they were her own children.
___A woman with a past
___Another woman who loved Jesus figures prominently in this week's Scripture passage. But first, the background: Jesus wasn't a sourpuss. In fact, the Bible demonstrates he particularly was popular at weddings, banquets and other festive occasions. Some self-righteous Pharisees even accused Jesus of having a little too much fun--they called him a drunkard and a glutton--at parties with down-and-outers, like tax collectors, prostitutes and other known sinners. But on at least three occasions, Pharisees also invited Jesus to share a banquet table with them.
___Today, we might be surprised to find a prostitute hanging around the edges of a banquet hall at the home of a prominent religious leader. But not back then. Uninvited guests often showed up at banquets to watch the festivities and listen to the conversations of the important people at the table. So, the host and guests weren't particularly shocked to see "a woman who had lived a sinful life" lurking at the banquet hall.
___However, what she did to Jesus' feet caused her to stand out. She had easy access to his feet because, as was the custom, diners reclined on couches, with their heads toward the table and their feet angled away. She approached Jesus to anoint his feet with oil, a humble act of service. But before she could get started, she began to weep, apparently overcome by the grace and forgiveness she already had received from Jesus. Crying profusely, she literally washed his feet with her tears. Then, with nothing else to dry his feet, she loosed her hair--a shocking display of immodesty--and used her locks to soak up the cleansing tears. Next, she kissed his feet, a sign of humility and utmost respect. And finally, she anointed them with the perfume, a sacrificial symbol of love.
___A man with poor
___perception
___Jesus' host, a Pharisee named Simon, failed to see the woman's act of love, because he was blinded by his own expectations of the situation. Maybe he had invited Jesus to his home to lay a verbal trap, just like other scribes and Pharisees tried to do so many times, and this display of immodesty played right into his scheme. Or, giving him the benefit of the doubt, maybe he really wanted to know Jesus better, but his revulsion at the prostitute's display of affection caused him to judge her--and Jesus--on the spot. Either way, he discounted Jesus. "If this man were a prophet," he thought, "he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is."
___How often do we miss out on seeing God at work because we see only what we expect to see? Many times, our "vision" says more about our own hearts and lives than it does about the ones we supposedly see. For example, a recent survey shows that most white people's perceptions of African-Americans are wrong. Too often, the filter of expectation distorts reality. This Pharisee saw that way, and he missed an opportunity to know Jesus for who he was.
___Relative forgiveness
___Jesus, a true prophet despite Simon's misgivings, correctly perceived what his host was thinking and confronted him with a parable: Two men owe money. One owes the equivalent of 500 days' wages; the other owes an amount equal to 50 days' wages. Neither of them has the means to repay. So, the creditor cancels both debts. Who will love the creditor more? Simon had a head for figures, even if he didn't have a heart for people. He correctly answered, "The one who had the bigger debt canceled."
___Then Jesus brought home the point: The parable was about the Pharisee and the prostitute. Embarrassingly for the Pharisee, the comparison favored the prostitute. She realized how greatly she had been forgiven, and she expressed her gratitude abundantly. He, on the other hand, saw himself as fully righteous and in need of no forgiveness. Moreover, his condescending attitude caused him to fail to extend even the most basic courtesies to Jesus.
___In those days, good manners called for several ritual exercises when a guest entered one's home. First, the guest was received with a kiss, a symbol of peace and respect. Simon did not do this, but the woman kissed Jesus' feet. Second, since roads were dusty and people wore sandals, a good host would have servants wash the guest's feet. Simon did not do this, either, but the woman washed Jesus' feet with her tears, one of the most poignant acts of love in the New Testament. Third, the host would place a drop of sweet-smelling oil on the guest's forehead. Again, Simon failed the Miss Manners Test, while the woman extravagantly poured oil on Jesus' feet. In every comparison, the "righteous" religious ruler was rebuffed, while the lowly prostitute proved herself to be his moral superior.
___Love & forgiveness, faith & salvation
___Concluding his remarks, Jesus stood conventional wisdom on its head, both by what he said and what he did not say. Of the woman, he said, "Her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much." Note the order here: She was forgiven because she loved. This seems to be the opposite sequence to what happened in Jesus' parable, where the debtors loved the creditor after they were forgiven. In the real world of real relationships, this woman loved and received forgiveness. Jesus told her, "Your sins are forgiven. ... Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
___Notice, on the other hand, Jesus offered no such comfort to the Pharisee. Self-reliant and self-righteous, he did not approach Jesus in need of forgiveness, much less salvation. Consequently, he missed out on a loving relationship with Jesus, as well as salvation and eternal peace.
___Who's who?
___As we read this Scripture, we are compelled to ask ourselves how we relate to this story. Are you more like the Pharisee or the prostitute? Don't get lost in the details of their lives. But examine your own love-relationship with Jesus. In Texas today, we're taught to be self-reliant and independent--work hard, live right, pay your taxes, keep your nose clean. All those are strong virtues. But taken together, they can lead to the sin of self-security. We can come to believe we don't really need Jesus' forgiveness, because we can manage for ourselves, thank you.
___However, the Bible teaches that we all need forgiveness. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Maybe our sins don't look--to our eyes, at least--as bad as others'. But all sin separates us from God. We need forgiveness.
___We also need to love. The woman expressed her love for Jesus by bathing his feet in her tears, publicly humbling herself by cleaning his feet with her hair and sacrificially anointing his feet with expensive perfume. Of course, we can't do that today. Or can we? Jesus said, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). Mildred McWhorter understood that, and her kisses on gang members' foreheads led them to love Jesus too. Maybe you're not called to kiss gang members, but Texas is home to thousands of "the least of these" who need to feel the love of Jesus. Do we love Jesus enough to love them?
For thought and discussion
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