Loving God, you come to us in grace and mercy, ready to forgive, but sometimes we have closed ourselves off from you.  Open our hearts this day by the power of your Spirit, enabling us to experience your grace and mercy and love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Imagine that you are at Simon’s house.  You are there, at the table, with Jesus.  You see a woman come in who is carrying an alabaster jar with her.  She is a woman of ill repute, and you wonder if Simon invited her or not.  You watch as the woman goes over to Jesus and starts crying and kissing his feet.  In fact, she is crying so much that she actually manages to wash Jesus’ feet with her tears.  And, not having a towel with her, she dries them with her hair.  She continues kissing his feet and anoints them with the ointment that is in her jar.  All this time, Jesus does not pull away from her, nor does he tell her to stop.

    As you watch this scene unfold, what is it that you are saying to yourself?  Are you somewhat horrified, like Simon, thinking that if Jesus really were a prophet he wouldn’t allow such a woman to touch him?...  Are you embarrassed or uncomfortable, wishing that somebody would just put a stop to it?... Do you think that Jesus is allowing something inappropriate to happen?...  Do you identify with this woman, wishing that you could be the one serving Jesus in this way?... Or, do you have some other reaction that hasn’t even been mentioned yet?...

    My suspicion is that most of us probably wouldn’t grasp the depth of what was happening in this scene at Simon’s house.  We wouldn’t necessarily think that this woman’s actions have anything to do with God’s love and forgiveness.  In fact, most of us would be more likely to see her sins than the repentance and sorrow that she carried within her.  It brings to mind the truth that is expressed in 1 Samuel that human beings “look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (16:7).  Jesus was able to see what was in this woman’s heart, just as he was able to perceive what Simon was saying to himself (Lk. 7:39).

    At least one commentator focuses on this internal monologue (or perhaps dialogue) that goes on in Simon’s head and suggests that perhaps all of us could work on transforming internal monologues into prayer (WorkingPreacher.org).  And so, if we consider today’s gospel reading, Simon might have prayed for this woman instead of judging her, had his heart been open to God’s grace and mercy.

    The truth is that all of us have an internal dialogue that goes on all the time.  We are constantly saying things to ourselves without even being aware of it.  And so most of you are currently saying something to yourselves about this sermon, or about today’s worship service, or even about something totally unrelated if your mind is somewhere else.  We could have some of those thought bubbles over everybody’s head saying things like: “when is this going to end?” Or “did I leave the stove on?” or “I wonder if I’ll like the next hymn” or “where is so-and-so?”

    What difference would it make if instead we were praying - open to God’s mercy and grace and open to the power of the Holy Spirit?  What difference would it make if instead of talking to ourselves we were talking (and listening!) to God?  In Simon’s case, he could have seen an amazing thing happening right there in his house.  He could have seen the power of God’s love and mercy to transform the heart and mind of this woman.  He could have grasped God’s compassion for all people and the joy that is in heaven over one sinner who repents.  He could have experienced the joy and freedom that God’s forgiveness brings, but instead he objected to himself.

    As a congregation, too, are there people that you can think of where you’d ask yourself, “What are they doing here?” if they showed up for worship?  Are there people where you would immediately wonder what they are up to, or question how they are dressed?  And how might things change if instead of asking yourself all sorts of questions, you prayed for them?  What if you prayed something like, “Lord, I don’t know what has brought this person here today, but I ask that you would touch their heart and renew them by the power of your Spirit”?

    In fact, the same can be said about people that we might encounter anywhere.  Rather than saying to ourselves things like, “what’s her problem?” or “weirdo!”, why not just lift them up in prayer?  To do so is to be open to God’s grace and mercy and open to the Holy Spirit.

    At the same time, for many of us, our internal dialogue is not just about other people but about ourselves.  Some of us tell ourselves all kinds of negative things - about how we look, or about what other people are thinking about us, or about how we always mess up, or even about all of the bad things that might happen.  Taken to an extreme, these kinds of thoughts are part of most forms of anxiety and depression.  However, once again, what if we were to transform our self-talk into God-talk.

    I can tell myself what a terrible person I am, or I can say to myself, “You are a precious child of God.”  I can worry about what other people think about me, or I can focus on what God thinks of me - that I am worth the death of God’s Son.  I can focus on what I want or what I like, or I can remain open to what God wants for me.  All of this is part of being open to God’s grace and mercy and open to the Holy Spirit.

    The woman in today’s gospel was open, and Jesus was open, but everybody else, it seems, was ready to judge both the woman and Jesus.  As we gather together today, may we hear Jesus’ words of grace and mercy, not only for this woman, but also for us.  For Jesus also announces to us that our sins are forgiven, and says to us, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Lk. 7:50).  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Epiphany 7 (NL 3)                                Luke 7:36-50
February 19, 2017
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2017 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved