7-20-08 A Heart Check

Luke 7:36-50 (NIV) – read before the message

Have you ever been with a loved one just before they die? One of the things that I’ve noticed when I’m with loved ones and they know they don’t have much time left, is that they tell you the things that are most important to them. People, who are going to die soon, tell their loved ones what’s near and dear to their heart.

The last thing that Jesus said to His followers was: Go into the world and tell people the Good News; the good news of God. (Mark 16:15)

We are going to talk about that over the next couple of weeks, because the single most focused understanding about what God wants us to do is GO. For most of my Christian life I didn’t understand this. We know that the greatest commands in the entire Bible are to:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31 (NIV)

This is who we are to be. We are to be people who love, and out of that love for God and that love for other people, the single most important thing that we do, is to tell them about the Good News of God. Love is who we are to be. Going, is what we are called to do with that love. We are called to go and show people God; go and tell people about God; go and serve people so they experience God. Go and love people so they understand who God is. Go . . . is the most pointed understanding of what we are to do in the entire Bible.

How do we do that? How do we let people know about the Good News? We’re going to start by looking at our hearts, and that brings us to the story we’ve just heard from Luke 7.

If we want to get the full impact of this story, one thing that is necessary is to understand that there was a social etiquette involved in what was happening. I’m going to start by assessing where you and I are in terms of social etiquette in our day … in the 21st century. Then we will work our way back to etiquette in Jesus’ time.

I’m going to give you a little “Etiquette Test,” just to see how well you know what is considered proper behavior at public functions:

Q: When should one start eating the main course at a formal dinner?

A. After the hostess is served.

B. After the hostess lifts her fork.

C. After three or four people are served.

D. ASAP with urgency and passion.

The correct answer to this answer is “C. After three or four people are served.”

I’m not making this up! This is from etiquette specialists Amy Vanderbilt and Emily Post, so if you don’t agree, take it up with them!

Q: At a formal dinner, when should the hostess be served first?

A. Never

B. If it’s her birthday.

C. If the first portion is difficult to extract.

D. If she’s a greedy pig!

The correct answer is “C.” Sometimes it’s hard to get the first portion out of there, and it doesn’t look very appealing. Then the hostess takes it. Here’s the last one:

Q: What should you do at a formal dinner when you’re still hungry after the main course?

A. Ask for a second helping.

B. Say loudly, “Is that all there is?”

C. Yell, “Look out the window!” and take food from your neighbor’s plate while he’s distracted.

D. Go home hungry

The point of all this is that every culture has rules that govern social behavior. How do we welcome people? How do we host people? What are the ways we honor people and make them feel valued? How do we ignore or insult people? This idea of etiquette is crucial to understanding the story that was just read.

Jesus is invited to dinner at the home of a Pharisee. As a visiting rabbi, He would have been expected to be the guest of honor. It would have been understood that certain things would take place. It was customary for a guest to be greeted with a kiss in this culture – not a French kiss – not on the lips. If the guest were a person of equal social rank, he would be given a kiss on the cheek. If he were of higher status-a child greeting a parent or a student greeting a teacher-he would be given a kiss on the hand to express honor and respect.

By the way, do you remember how Judas betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? He gave Jesus a kiss. Part of why that would have been so painful is that Judas, in that moment, would normally have given Jesus a kiss on the hand. That was the way to say to one’s rabbi: I love you. I revere you. I follow you. That’s just part of why his act of betrayal would have been so painful.

Now, to neglect this proper form of greeting when someone came to your house in Jesus’ day was the equivalent of simply ignoring someone in our day. Imagine inviting someone over for dinner, and then not greeting him or her by name, not shaking their hand, or offering to take their coat. This is a shocking breach of common courtesy.

In that day, washing the feet was mandatory before taking a meal. It’s not often today that we say: Would you care to wash your feet before we serve dinner? We might offer our guests somewhere to wash their hands.

But at that time, in that context, people had pretty dirty feet – they wore sandals in a very dry and dusty climate.  So, if your guest were a person of high status, you would offer to wash his feet yourself. If he were of lesser status, you would ask your servant to wash his feet. Or at the very least, you would give him a bowl of water so he could wash his own feet. That would have been a little callous, but at least you would do that.

Also, as the host, you would give your guest something for anointing. People regularly provided Olive oil for their guests as a way of refreshing them, because the oil provided a soothing effect for the skin. The dry alkali climate was harsh on the skin and the olive oil was refreshing. Sometimes people would anoint the head of someone as a thoughtful way to refresh them.

Jesus is invited into this home. He is a rabbi, and He’s given nothing. No greeting. No kiss. No washing of the feet. No anointing. Nothing. These are not subtle omissions easily overlooked. This is a deliberate slap in the face. Maybe Simon wanted to put Jesus in his place. Maybe Simon was kind of afraid in this gathering of being too closely associated with Jesus … of looking too friendly. For whatever reason, the greeting is very, very cold, and the tension in the room that results from these omissions is so thick you can smell it. Then, at this moment, as if orchestrated by God, a stranger is present-a woman.

Banquets were a little different in those days than in our day. They were public affairs. In the home of a fairly wealthy person, a banquet would be held in the courtyard, and it would be open to anyone outside, because there were not movies to go to or other things to do. Anyone walking by could come in and watch. This was part of the culture, and it’s what is going on here. This woman comes in, and all we’re told is that she is “A

Sinner,” which would have probably meant a prostitute and well known as such in the village. She had heard Jesus teaching-maybe earlier that day-and something about him struck something very deep in her heart.

She began to wonder:

How did I ever come to this? How did my life end up like this? No little girl ever grows up thinking: That’s what I want to do with my life. Once she had been someone’s little girl. Once she had been the object of a mother’s hopes and dreams and prayers. Then it all went south. Maybe her husband rejected her. Maybe she just found out this was the easiest way to make money when she was poor and hungry. But on this day, she hears Jesus teach. The thought comes to her, as it has come to many of us in this room:

Right here … in my sin … in my darkness … I am loved by God.

Do you ever think about that? Has it been a while? Do you remember the first time that thought ever penetrated? God loves me. It’s not too late for me. God knows all about me, and He still loves me. That’s what Jesus did for her.

She hears that He is going to be at this dinner, so she goes to the courtyard. Of course, she would not have been invited to this dinner! Not in a million years! But she gathers all of her courage, and she stands in the doorway to watch. She is overwhelmed by love for this man. She sees how He is treated by Simon … how He is ignored and insulted. She can’t stand it. All of her love and devotion and anger bubble up to the surface … quite a

remarkable woman. But what can she do?

She can’t be the one to give Him the kiss of greeting. It would be presumptuous, and she knows how everyone sitting around the table would interpret that action. She has an impulse: she could kiss His feet. To wash someone’s feet was an act of abasement. To kiss them: that was an act of utter abandonment and humility.

So imagine the drama. This woman walks through the courtyard to the table. Everybody is watching now as she kneels down at Jesus’ feet to kiss them. She looks in His eyes for a moment, and instead of judgment or embarrassment, there is only love. She has not very often seen that look in the eyes of a man … maybe never seen it. Now she sees it in the eyes of the best man she has ever known-a man who loves her not as an object

to give Him pleasure, but as a daughter and friend, loves her not in the shadows or in the darkness, but in the light of day … in front of everybody.

Tears come; a few at first and then more. Before she can do anything, they are pouring down her face: Tears of sadness at what she has become; tears of gratitude, because Jesus offers forgiveness; tears of joy, because maybe there could be a new life for her. Jesus’ feet, unwashed by Simon, are now soaking wet with this woman’s tears.

Then she wonders: How can I dry them? No use asking Simon for a towel. He’d never give her one. So on impulse, she lets down her hair. This is another shocking breech of etiquette. A woman in that culture always wore her hair up in public. It was never allowed for a moment for her to let her hair hang loose in mixed company. It was considered too provocative for men to be able to handle it. They figured that men don’t do so well with impulse control … back in that day.

If a married woman, in that day, let her hair down in front of any man other than her husband, it was grounds for divorce. A man could divorce his wife for letting her hair down in public. Everybody at the table knew her profession. She had let her hair down many, many times with many, many men. Everybody knew that. A woman letting her hair down in front of a man was a sign of love and a sign of commitment; a sign of dedication.

I love this story. Now she is going to let her hair down one last time, and this time, she gets it right. This time, with her hair she wipes Jesus’ feet. This time, she lets down her hair as an act of love and devotion to the one that she would commit her life.

She had an alabaster jar of ointment. This most likely refers to a flask that she would have worn around her neck as a kind of perfume that was used to cover up any odor caused from her profession. This flask would have been almost certainly the most expensive possession she had. Now she empties the whole thing out. She won’t need it any more … not where she is going. She’s pouring out her life. She can’t anoint His head, because she’s a sinful woman, and He’s a holy man. So she thinks: I can pour it on His feet. I can anoint His feet. No one ever anointed feet.

She kisses them over and over. She has been so broken and undone by His sheer goodness, it is as if she has forgotten who she is, where she is, what she is and what she’s done. She just pours herself out in love and gratitude for the one who has given her so much hope.

Simon is watching all of this. This dinner is not turning out the way he had planned. He says to himself: You know, Jesus must not be “It” after all, because if He were even a prophet-if He had even that level of inspiration-and he knew who this woman is, he would not let her touch him with a ten-foot pole.

But Jesus does know about the woman, and Jesus does know about Simon … just as He knows about you and me. He does what He often does in a setting like this, He tells a little story.

He says: Simon. Once upon a time, there were two debtors who owed money to a moneylender. This is the only time in the New Testament that the word for moneylender is used. It referred to one who lends money at interest … lends money to the poor at high rates of interest and so becomes wealthy on the backs of the poor people. Those people were despised.

In that day, those who allowed themselves to get into debt were not highly thought of. They were thought of as “unfortunate” or “dim bulbs” at best, or “undisciplined.” They were not highly ranked. But moneylenders were in an even worse class … way low down.

In our day, Jesus’ parable would be the equivalent of a story like this:

Let me tell you about two bookies in over their heads to a loan shark named Vito. Both of them owed him money. Neither of the two bookies could pay Vito back, but there’s a difference between the two of them: One of them had a debt that looked manageable. It had the illusion of manageability. The other debt was so huge that the guy knew he was toast. He knew he was desperate.
Vito, the loan shark, calls them both in. He says: I’m gonna’ make you an offer you can’t refuse. I’m gonna’ cancel your debts … just take them off the books

Jesus says to Simon, which one is going to have his world turned upside-down? Which one is going to be filled with relief and gratitude and joy and seized with love for the one who has graciously set him free? Whose life is going to be turned upside-down? The little debt guy, or the big debt guy?

I love Simon’s response. He says:

I suppose … He doesn’t want to say it, because he knows where Jesus is going. He doesn’t want to go there. Well, if you force me to answer, I guess … I suppose … big debt guy.

Jesus says (with some humor, because Simon is supposed to be a bright guy):

You have judged rightly. Give the boy a cigar! Up to now, the conversation has been between Jesus and Simon. Turning toward the woman and facing her, looking at her, He says to Simon: Simon. Do you see this woman?

Simon didn’t see this woman. Religious people get this way sometimes. We get this way sometimes. He saw someone way beneath him. He saw somebody he’d rather not be in same room with. He saw somebody he’d rather not have in his world. He saw somebody that he thought of as a blemish on the earth, and someone certainly not cared for very much by God. He didn’t really see her.

Jesus says: Simon. Do you see this woman? Simon, you gave Me no water. He’s courteous. He doesn’t mention the fact that Simon should have washed His feet, but at the least could have given Him water. She’s bathed My feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

Simon. Do you see this woman? You gave Me no kiss. You didn’t even kiss Me on the cheek like an equal would have, let alone kiss Me on the hand, as a student would do for a rabbi. She has not stopped kissing My feet.

Simon. Do you see this woman? You didn’t anoint My head with cheap olive oil. She anointed not my head but my feet. She used not a cheap, substance but poured out the best she had.

Therefore I tell you Simon, her sins which were many-big debt-are forgiven … they have been forgiven.

Can you imagine what that does to the heart of this woman? In a public setting, before all those people, for Jesus the Rabbi to say her slate is wiped clean. She is OK with God. God is OK with her. She is cleansed.

By the way, Jesus is still in that business. If you’ve never done that before, Jesus would love for you to come to God today and just say: God, I know that You made me and that life is a great gift. I know that I’m messed up and that I have my own debts. I know that there’s deceit and hostility and other things inside me, and I’d like to be forgiven as a free gift of Your grace through what Jesus did on the Cross. Jesus will do that for you today. He’ll be your friend. He’ll stand up for you.

Simon. Do you see this woman?

Here’s the story, Simon. The one who is forgiven much loves much. The one who is forgiven little loves little.

It’s really important to understand this, because we can get this mixed up sometimes. In this parable, here is what Jesus is not saying to Simon: You know, Simon, you are a righteous man. You have hardly sinned at all. You don’t need much grace; you just have a little debt.

The difficulty is that Simon perceives himself to have little sin, and that’s what makes it so hard for him to love. He looks at those he thinks of as “large debt people,” and he wonders: How come they can’t be more like me? How come they can’t be more righteous? How come they can’t be more in control? And he’s filled with judgment and superiority. It makes him noxious.

The question that this story raises is: Who is really the big debtor? There is a great sin that is defined in this room, but it is not the sin that Simon thinks it is. It is the sin of lips that will not kiss and knees that will not bow and tears that will not fall and eyes that will not see and a heart that will not break.

The greatest commandment is the commandment to love: Love God. Love people.

That’s it. The greatest sin is the refusal to obey the greatest commandment. Simon, don’t you see? You have the biggest debt of all. You’re the big debt guy, Simon. It’s you! It’s

you. If only you could see it. If only you could fall to the ground beside this sinful woman and feel the pain over your sin as she does over hers.

If only you could be overwhelmed by the love of God for you in the midst of your love-less heart the way she is overwhelmed by God’s love for her. If only something of God’s goodness and grace to you would get the tears to start to flow in you and mingle with hers, and together they could bathe the feet of Jesus: She was in need of grace with a heart that was broken; Simon was in need of grace for a heart that was hard.

So … how is your heart? When you see somebody who doesn’t dress right or act right or do right or live right? This applies to our mission as a church. How is your heart for people who don’t know about God … who don’t follow God? Who are you praying for? Simon could have been the one to lead this woman to the feet of Jesus, but he didn’t.

How’s your heart when it comes to reaching people and helping them come to God?

Is your heart there? Are you praying for real people, real faces, or real names? Are you thinking about what the next step is for them to take in the spiritual life?

Then Jesus looks at the woman who has been looking at him the whole time. Finally, he speaks to her. Your faith has saved you. Jesus is in the “Saving” business. Your faith … your willingness to put your trust in Me … has saved you.

You can be part of that. You can give your life. You can stay up late at night trying to figure out how to get a bigger house, or a newer car, or more money, or a higher place on the ladder … you can do that if you want to. Good luck! Go to it! It’s temporary. But people-each and every person you lock eyes on-they face an eternal destiny with God or without Him. That’s why we’re here. That is our mission!

Life Link:

1. What is the greatest gift that you’ve ever given? OR What is the greatest gift that you’ve ever received?

1. The question

1. Review our mission and vision statements. What are they? What do they mean to you? Have our mission and vision statements helped you in becoming a Christ follower? If so, How?

1. “Loving God and loving our neighbor” is so short and so simple. Is it simple to live out these commands? Why or why not?

1. Why is the difference between “Doing” and “Being” Can you do the right things without being the right kind of person? How does this work when sharing the Good News. (Share the Good News because we are “Supposed to” without really loving the people that you are sharing the Good news with. The act is done out of completely selfish ambitions).

1. Compare and contrast Simeon the Pharisee and the woman who was known as a “Sinner”. Which one was living a life of sin? Which one did God value more (trick question?) Which one was being redeemed, and becoming more of who they were created to be? Which person can you relate with more? Why?

1. Do you regular pray for people who don’t know God? Why or why not? Do you regularly pray for opportunities to tell people the good news? Why or why not?

1. How can you love God more? How can you love your neighbor – those people you find yourself next to – more?

1. How does loving people equate to love God?