Following the Master - 3 Forgiveness

Luke 7:36-50 (TNIV)

36Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37When 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, 38and 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.

 39When 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."

 40Jesus 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. 42Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

 43Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."

      "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

 44Then 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. 45You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

 48Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

 49The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

 50Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

For a story with a similar theme, reflect on John 8:1-11.  Compare and contrast what you find there as you reflect here.

In what whys do either/both of these stories parallel your own?  Who in the story to you identify with the most?  With whom would you most like to identify?

"Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."It's an intriguing relationship isn't it - the one between the extent to which we are aware of how much we have been forgiven and our ability to genuinely love others?  It is at the heart of Jesus' teaching on prayer (forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors - Matt 6:12), and it is what makes it possible for us to love even our enemies (See Matt 5:43-48). 

As Miroslav Volf recently suggested, "We are at our human best when we give and forgive, but we live in a world where it makes little sense to do either one -- but we serve a God that makes it possible for us to do both."

God invites us to experience forgiveness, and then to allow the overflow of that awareness to find expression in our love for God and for others.  It is the lack of that awareness that too often results in the kind of response that Simon gave as his assessment of this woman's failings left little room for a realization of his own.  Even though Simon could answer the questions correctly, it does not appear that his correct answers had taken root yet in how he actually lived.  How does this happen?  What does it look like when a realization of God's amazing grace really takes hold and finds good soil in which to grow?  These are some of the issues Pastor Jon explores with us as he invites us to reflect on the passage to the right.  If you would like to hear the sermon once again, or perhaps for the first time, you can click here to access our sermon library.

To reflect further on what it means to live in the awareness of forgiveness, and to live a life that is shaped by that awareness, take a few moments to reflect further on the text to the far right, listen to the video to the right, or check out Miroslav Volf's book, Free of Charge:  Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace.But nowhere is it expressed better than in the the gospel accounts of Jesus' interaction with those around Him.