Pentecost IV --- 16 June 2013

Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.

• As I was preparing this talk, I ran into an interesting interview. The person who spoke this was the lead singer of a contemporary band called U2. The man goes by the name “Bono” and the following is an excerpt from a report of that interview.
• “You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics; in physical laws every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that “as you reap, so you will sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed...”
• For lack of a better term, we like “Karma”, which is basically the idea that a person's behaviour determines their future. This concept comes from Eastern religions, where there is the implication that this is God's doing and since God is fair, each person gets exactly what they deserve.
• This balance we expect in the universe and in our behaviour does not seem to apply to Jesus and his willingness to forgive.
• From the sound of things in Luke's account, the woman who anointed Jesus' feet had a real history, a history we'll never know. All Luke says is that she was “in the city” and she was “a sinner.” Our minds jump to all sorts of conclusions from this. Was she a prostitute? That's a common but unfounded assumption. Really now, aren't there many other sins? Was she a swindler? A murderer? An eater of pork? A wearer of cotton and wool at the same time? A collaborator with the Roman occupation? Or was she simply someone who could not afford all that was required to keep the Law in its entirety?
• To the Pharisees of the time, anyone who was not completely faithful to the Law of Moses was “a sinner.” Anyone who could not afford the cost of keeping every point of the Law – the laws regarding diet, clothing, religious decoration, friendship with Gentiles, proper occupations, contributions to the Temple, and even how often to go to Jerusalem and the Temple – all those people were sinners just as much as a person guilty of murder. To offend against one of the least points of the Law of Moses was to offend the entire Law; It was all or nothing.
• Whatever the woman's sins might have been, she was known publicly and publicly condemned as a sinner. As Simon the Pharisee, the dinner's host thought "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner." Simon, of course, would have nothing to do with her. He probably would not have even spoken to her.
• Still this un-named woman somehow entered Simon's house and acted outrageously. Simon was appalled, but Jesus appeared not to be bothered and uses the woman's presence as a teaching moment. Jesus points out that the woman was willing to do with her tears what Simon was not willing to do to welcome his guests. He says her sins are forgiven and because of that, she loves a lot.
• Here is the crux of the matter. As humans, we reward good behaviour and avoid or punish bad behaviour. We expect how we act to result in a return of the same. The problem comes up when we expect God to act just the same way. God rewards those who do good and God will punishes evil. God forgives the repentant, but only the repentant.
• The Gospel lesson today should make us think twice about this idea, at least twice. Jesus seems to go contrary to our idea of repentance and forgiveness. “...the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." I'd think that many of us would think it's the other way around, that those who love much are forgiven much. Jesus word's tell us that our love is a response to God's initiative of forgiveness. We love God because we are forgiven. We'd like it to be the other way around: we want to think we are forgiven because we love God. That however is not the Gospel. The Gospel, the Good News that frees us in so many ways, is a Gospel of Grace. It is not a Gospel of balance or of equal action and reaction. It tells us that we are free, that we are forgiven and because of that, we are free to love God. God, as always, has taken the first step. The Grace of God turns everything upside down.
• As we've seen in the Gospel readings from the past few Sundays, Jesus is not afraid of becoming “unclean” by contact with sinners, Gentiles, or even the dead. It may be that his presence and grace makes “clean” all he comes in contact with, no matter what the situation. Those he contacts then respond in love. As always, Jesus reaches for the broken people, the sinners, the sufferers, the outcast, the forgotten, and the poor – those most in need of grace. As we all know there are many, many ways to be any of those folks.
• We need not be afraid to come to Jesus for forgiveness and healing for our soul. We don't have to be afraid of being needy. Those who need, receive. If we take a good hard look at ourselves, we'll know we are very much like the woman in the Gospel passage and we'll know as she did the message of grace: “Your sins are forgiven... Your faith has saved you; go in peace."