11th Sunday in Ordinary Time – The Party Crasher

“A Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.’
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven because she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.’ He said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’
The others at table said to themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’ But he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace’” (Luke 7:36-39, 44-50).
 
Every party has a guest list. Even the most open celebration has an implied set of “undesirables” who are not welcome. So we can imagine the reaction when a “sinful woman” from the city shows up at Simon the Pharisee’s by-invitation-only dinner party. To make matters worse, she makes a scene by crying and pouring a jar of scented oil over Jesus’ feet.
 
When Jesus fails to rebuke the woman as Simon expects, Simon begins to doubt that Jesus is a prophet. He assumes that Jesus must be ignorant, because no man of God would willingly associate with a sinner—nevermind let her touch him!
 
Both Simon and the woman have made mistakes, and Jesus accepts them both. The difference between them is that one has an appreciation for how much grace she has been given, while the other does not. Simon believes that any sins he has committed are far less than those of the penitent woman —in other words, that she has far more need of forgiveness. Accordingly, Simon’s interest in Jesus is strictly intellectual. He respects Jesus, he includes him among the dinner guests, but has little emotional attachment to him.
 
The woman, on the other hand, shows her love for Jesus devotionally. She cares for him and weeps over the sins that have damaged their closeness. Simon’s and the woman’s relationships reflect their awareness of grace. Simon clings to the idea that he is self-sufficient and has little patience for the grace Jesus shows the woman. The woman refuses to be put off by Simon’s judgment. She acknowledges Jesus’ grace, hears his call, and comes to him despite being the undesired guest.
 
When we take time to think about how much grace God has shown us, we too learn to love God devotionally and to see more clearly the physical and spiritual needs of those around us. The grace we receive enables us to become instruments of grace in the lives of others, and we set aside the notion that we shouldn’t associate with the “unworthy.” This is what Jesus taught Simon—since all are unworthy, all are worthy.
 
- How can you break the habit of judgment? How can you help heal the damage done by judging others?
 
Adapted from Word on the Go, a downloadable resource from RENEW International