"The Anointing Woman"

A first-person sermon by The Rev. Keenan Kelsey
Noe Valley Ministry, Presbyterian Church (USA)
March 12, 2006

Text: 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,[a] 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."

MY NAME IS MIRIAM. You have just heard about me in the Scriptures. You would not recognize the woman I am today. I guess that could be said about a lot of the followers of Jesus. I know that you all gather each week to uncover, to discover, a way of discipleship - what it means to follow Jesus. I have a feeling you are trying too hard. So I want to tell you my story.

My parents both died before I was ten, and my older brother Reuben had to take me in. It was hard -- it was as if he blamed me, like maybe they shouldn't have had a child in their old age, especially a daughter. And I know he had a wife and family of his own and I was in the way. Before I was 15, he had me given in marriage to Asham. It was good for Ruben. And you know, it turned out to be good for me too. Asham was old, married once before. I was terrified. But you know what, He really cared for me. For the first time, I felt special!

But them, it all came crashing down. Literally. Only 18 months later, a scaffold, which should never have been used on the tower, collapsed and Asham and four others were killed. Oh that awful reality. Was I a curse on all I met? I knew it was too good to be real. Of course I had to go back to Reuben, but what could he do? And Reuben groaned at the thought of having a widow on his hands. He said I could stay in the back room, but only if I paid him a huge sum. How could I do that? I looked for a servant job, any kind of job -- but there were few options. Lord forgive me, what was I to do? I began thinking maybe Ruben was right, maybe it was all my fault.

I have no excuses. I put myself on the street. Ruben took his share on the money, but he still berated me for disgracing the family. They were such hard years.

I would not have survived if I hadn't heard Jesus. This Rabbi came through town; already a flock of followers were with him. The stories were miraculous -- how this man cured people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits. How he made blind men see again. I lurked on the outside of the crowd, and he said, "Lo, I bring Good News to the poor!" How could that be?

He talked of love and kindness. He said God loved us, the poor and the sinners, and that our lives would be blessed. He walked through the crowd and looked at me. I cringed, so ashamed, hiding myself beneath the scarlet robe. But he touched my head. "Come child, eat with us. We have plenty." He gave me water and made a place on the grass. He was so kind. Kinder than anyone I have ever met. I could not turn away from him. Reuben continued to beat me and harass me -- but I began to get up early to go listen to Jesus. I walked far into the countryside to listen. In his presence, I felt whole, and free.

Then one day there was a lot of fuss around the house of Simon the Pharisee. The new Rabbi is coming --so the buzz said. The Rabbi Jesus will dine with Simon!

Simon the Pharisee? I wondered. I caught up with a maid servant from his home at the well, "How did Simon meet Jesus? How did this happen. Is Simon actually pro-Jesus? The other Pharisees hate him and mock him."

"It's not like you think, she answered me. Simon is a teacher. He can talk for hours about the Torah quote every Rabbi who ever spoke. He collects celebrities! Simon is curious. He wants to check him out. "But having him to dinner!" I exclaimed.... "What an honor!"

"Well you may think so. But I will tell you a secret. Simon doesn't want it to look like he follows Jesus. So he has given us all precise instructions. Let him in. Feed him. After the talk, let him out again. No extras. In fact, Simon will not even allow us to extend the common courtesies, you know, a bowl of water for the feet, a towel, ointment for the hands and feet. He forbids any of that." I was astonished. Even in Reuben's home he greets his guest with a kiss and offers water and ointment. I couldn't imagine such insult.

The dinner party was in the courtyard of Simon's house. I was among the onlookers. The other guests arrived first and the servants did the ritual washing. By the time Jesus arrived, all the jars and bowls had been removed. It was just as my friend said; the message was clear. "We are allowing you to be with us, but you are not one of us."

I couldn't stand it. I felt the rage and bile rise up from my stomach like a column of heart enfolding me. Jesus, my Jesus, shamed like that. Did not they know what he meant to me, to us, to his followers? I was overcome with grief that the goodness of this man was being ignored, ridiculed. And God help me, I rushed forward. I don't know what came over me, but I, lowly unclean sinner that I am, had to serve him, had to honor him. What else could I do? I felt the gift he had given to me, the gift of acceptance and honor, the gift of love. Yes, as I now try to identify it, the gift of forgiveness. Jesus knew my sins, yet to him I was a beautiful child.

I hardly remember the next part. I only know I pushed through the crowd and raced over to him. He was already reclining, so I stood behind his feet weeping and weeping. My tears bathed his feet, so having no towel, I loosed my hair and swung it around to dry the feet. I was so caught up in the beauty of this man, the gift of this man. All my longings seem to have been fulfilled and I could not thank him enough. Imagine not honoring this holy man. In my frenzy, I knelt down, I opened the alabaster flask from my neck. It is a tool of the street, a way to make myself desirable, this lovely, fragrant oil. I scooped great gobs of it and lavished in on his feet and ankles. I kissed those feet, and still I wept. I was so happy, so ecstatic. It was the most exquisite moment of my life, this chance to honor Jesus.

Only later did people tell me what else happened. I was told about the stunned silence at the table. All the men were squirming, looking horrified, or even jealous. But no one dared to speak. The message was loud and clear, "Who is this Jesus and what is his relationship to this whore? Doesn't he know who she is? Are there no limits?"

I'm told that Jesus, replied, "Do you see this woman Simon? She has made some mistakes. But she has not lost the ability to love. Her love is greater than her sin. She is not afraid to risk giving away everything she has. You may be a great teacher, Simon, but this woman whom you judge so harshly has learned a lot more about living than you have."

Simon was speechless. All I remember is that Jesus turned to me and said, "Your sins are forgiven." I sank into the ground. Overcome with his words. But you know, I knew that even before he said that. I hadn't put words on it, but he made me feel forgiven from the very first moment. No wonder I loved him so. He had forgiven me! There was no longer a price to pay for my wretchedness. He said, "Your love is greater than your sin."

The others were seething. By saying those words, they accused Jesus of taking the role that belongs to God. But that's not what he meant. He meant I was better than I thought I was. It meant, I was loved, and I was free to love back. Even me. Isn't that what we all want?

Jesus forgave me before I even knew it. I didn't have to love him first or prove anything to him. He didn't bless me because I washing his feet -- I think I washed his feet because he had already blessed me! Is forgiveness a consequence of love? Or is love a result of forgiveness? Or can they be separated? Maybe the ultimate form of love is forgiveness. Could it be that sinfulness is actually the carrier of salvation? All I know is that the reality of my sin and Jesus' forgiveness led me to a new life.

Forgiving is hard. But by living into my own experience of being forgiven, I was better able to offer it to others, even to Reuben! But I admit, at the beginning, all I could do was pray, "O Lord, forgive Reuben, because I'm not quite ready to do that yet." but I did! And I discovered there is as much if not more freedom in forgiving some one else, as there is in being forgiven yourself.

Forgiveness is a mystery. It belongs to the realm of freedom rather than necessity. It is scented with the spices of grace rather than the sweat of legalism. It delights and humbles with the impact of wholly unexpected bounty. Gentler than a tender embrace, tougher than their bands of retribution that strap us to our pain. You see, Jesus awakened that sleeping love inside of me. Jesus loosed that love because he forgave me.

Friends, I'm here to implore you: Don't be Simon's. Don't be so proud and impenetrable, always in control, measuring our courtesy, rationing hospitality, calculating love. Simon was bold enough to invite Jesus to dinner, but he was cautious and afraid enough not to treat him well. Simon wanted Jesus on his own terms, but Jesus doesn't work that way. Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more.There is nothing we can do to make God love us less.

One who loves much is forgiven much. One who knows herself to be forgiven is freed to love much. That's what Jesus taught me.