June 17, 2007—Season of Pentecost

Lectionary Texts: 1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a and Psalm 5:1-8; or 2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15 and Psalm 32;
Galatians 2:15-21; Luke 7:36-8:3

Sermon Text: Luke 7:36--8:3

Who is the Host?

Simon, the Pharisee, knew a good thing when he saw it. A famous healer and teacher was visiting town. Simon invited Him to come and eat, “My house is always open to everyone.” Simon’s table was the center of action in town. All sorts of people knew of Simon’s hospitality and took advantage of it whenever they could. It was the least he could do, and it did no harm to his business either. After all, a tradesman like Simon needed to maintain good relations with locals and travelers alike.

As soon as the teacher opened his mouth, Simon knew how to react. Ah, another Galilean on his way to better places, he thought. Those people don’t know to stay in their own county. Why do they insist on this route to Jerusalem? And look at His entourage. I saw them coming into town--twelve men and in the rear a group of women! What kind of women would follow a vagabond teacher and a Galilean at that? Don’t those people know to keep their own company? Hillbillies! Look, they don’t even wash their hands before they go into the public inn. Unclean, unclean!

“Please come recline at the table and rest yourself,” Simon invited Jesus. Simon reclined on the other side of the table and motioned for his wife and the other servants to begin spreading the food. His table always had the finest olives, figs, pomegranates, bread, a well-cooked goat, lamb, even some strong coffee, and a cup of wine for his guests. After a long dusty walk the cool house and the smells of the kitchen were too much to resist. They all began the feast and Simon smiled at his success.

What’s this? That woman again! I thought I told my people to keep her away. She is always hanging about and taking advantage of my table. Simon signaled to his wife to get rid of the woman as she bowed to him, but it was too late. She ignored him and headed back to the cooking area. The woman approached the Teacher. She doesn’t even have her hair covered! The harlot. The sinner. No self-respecting woman would think of appearing in such a bold way.

But what’s this, she is pulling her hair to the front and she is pouring oil on the teacher’s feet. Oh, the waste of good oil. Now she is wiping his feet with her hair and massaging the oil into his feet. If he is such a good teacher, wouldn’t he know she is scum?

"Simon, I have something to say to you," Jesus said after studying Simon’s face. The room became deadly quiet. Everyone froze in place. Ah, that terrible Galilean twang. How I hate the sound.

"Teacher, speak," he replied. "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon sputtered, "I . . . I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt."

"You have judged rightly." The Teacher smiled.

What is this a trick question? Where is He going with this? Why has everyone stopped? Don’t they know their places? Simon spread his hands to clap them and to get attention redirected to himself.

The Teacher reached out and touched the woman’s head. Doesn’t he know this woman is . . . unclean?

On a prominent street near where I live, I saw a homeless man every morning rolling his bedroll and stacking it with his other overnight items in a grocery cart. He propped himself against the brick at the top of a flight of stairs in the front of a large church. For about a year and a half I saw the same routine as I drove past. A few weeks ago, I went down the same street. I noticed the church had a new black wrought iron fence around the property. The homeless man was gone.

A young man with a prosthetic leg walking down the street suddenly dives into a doorway and sinks to his knee. He is sweating heavily and his breath comes in gulps. He peeks around the edge of the door expecting a bomb blast at any second. He stands and looks again. It is all he can do to move from the place of safety. He walks the opposite way quickly and disappears into a bar and orders a double scotch, and then asks the barkeep to change the TV channel from the news of the war in Iraq.

A teenaged girl rings the door bell of a church office and through the intercom asks to talk to the “man-in-charge.” The secretary asks the nature of her business. “I just need to talk to someone.” The buzzer releases the door lock and she enters the office. A few moments later she tells the female pastor she was raped two months ago, and she thinks she is pregnant. She pleads for the pastor to not tell her parents and not report it to the police. She had sex as a way to join a gang at her school. If her parents find out, they will throw her out and she will have no place to go.

A bank manager calls a meeting of his staff and for the first time meets the new loan officer. She is single and attractive. After the meeting, he learns she is from another state and lives alone. The next Friday after work the staff goes to a local restaurant bar for “happy hour.” He finds a way to talk with her and makes sure her wine glass in always full. She tells him she needs a ride home as she has had too much to drink. He volunteers and on the way to her apartment he puts his hand on her knee and smiles. She doesn’t know what to do. He thinks it will be an affair to remember.

Jesus says, “Simon, see this woman? No, I mean look at her. Really look at her. What has she done? She has become the real host of this house.”

What are you talking about Teacher? This is my house and I am the host. I spread the meal for all to eat. I am the one who is the expression of hospitality in this town. This is my town. Do you hear? What is this he’s talking again! Such muttering and to me, a true follower of God.

“Yes, Simon. Her! When I came at your invitation, you asked me to sit. But you did not give me the kiss of peace as is our custom. You did not see my hands could be washed so I could be ritually clean. You did not see my feet could be washed keeping the road dirt from your house and easing the road weary. You did not anoint my head with oil, our signal of deepest respect for the sojourner. These simple things are a fundamental part of common hospitality.

But she condescended to be a servant and kissed my feet. She washed them with her tears, and tears she has aplenty for her sins were many. She wiped my feet with the crown God has given her, her beautiful hair to be seen only by her husband. She allowed us all to see her natural beauty, and she was not ashamed for she knows who I am. She anointed not my head, but my sore feet with the finest oil. She gave her best possession to me.”

Holding the woman’s hands gently in his Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace and love.” A collective gasp was heard. The woman moved away from him bowing and crying in gratitude as she left.

Can this one forgive sin? Blasphemy! thought Simon. A murmur went up, “Who is this who claims that he can forgive sins!” Jesus rose and looked at Simon, shook his head in pity and left the house.

Again Jesus broke the stereotype. He did not declare himself, but used the situation to show compassion for a sinful person who had come to him in faith, and at the same time to show the false front of the true sinner, who would not confront his own sin.

Imagine the scene after Jesus left. Simon had been found out. He was embarrassed by his false hospitality. He had offered only enough to prove his superiority to the stranger. But he had picked on the wrong person. The stranger was none other than the Son of God. Yes, everyone there was as astonished as Simon, they watched and listened. Did they learn who Jesus was? Did they accept who Jesus was? Did they take the next step and follow Him? Maybe not, but you can bet they never were the same.

How about us? Are we the same after Jesus touches us? They saw and heard Him and probably never forgot Him. We have felt Him deep in our soul. Have we forgotten him? How do we act when we are confronted by Jesus? The woman who bathed Jesus feet was not an upstanding citizen. She was a sinner. Yet, she broke convention and appeared in Simon’s house.

What about the homeless one who wouldn’t go away? The one who just needed a safe place to sleep, and what better place than the front of a church. What about the former soldier who still sees ghosts who are trying to kill him? He lives all around us. Maybe he isn’t an ex-soldier, perhaps he is a teenager who wants to live long enough to grow to adulthood. What about the young woman who desperately needs help with her pregnancy and with her relationships at home and school? What about the young professional who in loneliness becomes a victim of avarice and lust?

How are we to minister to all of these? Jesus calls us to be disciples. Jesus calls us to demonstrate God’s grace, to minister to the needs of His people--all people. Are we going to be like Simon and just put on a false face and deny we have been in the presence of God? Or are we going to be transformed, like the woman, and probably like the others in Simon’s house.

Jesus left Simon to his own sins, but He doesn’t leave us. His grace was bestowed on the woman--every woman and every man. He is with us.

Do you recall the rest of the story? Look who is with Jesus. Sure the twelve are there, but look who else--Mary, Joanna, Suzanna, and many others. Luke tells us Jesus had many followers, and they were from all walks of life--a former victim of demons, the wife of a person in the inner circle of government, and faithful Suzanna.

Are we among the many others? If you are not, I invite you to come closer to Jesus. You’ll note there are no qualifications. The steps are easy. The journey is challenging as you will be walking away from the crowd, but you will be walking with Jesus and the rest of his followers. You won’t be alone; you’ll be among friends, new brothers and sisters, in a new community of faith and love.

If you are one who is called to this journey, you need only to accept God’s gracious invitation and open yourself to be transformed