WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.279 Well, thank you to Clive and to the folk here for the opportunity to come and to share with you. 00:00:10.759 --> 00:00:16.280 As Clive said, I teach Old Testament at Trinity College in Bristol, so I've got at least a few 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:21.940 familiar faces who are here. The good news is that they're not completing the sermon evaluation form 00:00:21.940 --> 00:00:28.879 on me today, which is nice, so I don't have to worry so much. And of course, the thing that's 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:34.479 going to shock them is that I'm preaching on the New Testament. Ordinarily, one of the things that 00:00:34.479 --> 00:00:39.079 goes with being the Old Testament tutor is that whenever there is an Old Testament reading, and 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:44.519 since Trinity is an Anglican college, there is almost always an Old Testament reading, you do feel 00:00:44.519 --> 00:00:49.620 compelled that you should preach the Old Testament text on the assumption that almost no one else ever 00:00:49.619 --> 00:00:59.579 will. Can I say, I did a survey in my first couple of years at Trinity, and over the readings where we 00:00:59.579 --> 00:01:06.099 had Old and New Testament and Gospel, there were three times in my first year that an Old Testament 00:01:06.099 --> 00:01:11.859 text was preached on. I did two of them. We just want to know who the strange person was who did 00:01:11.859 --> 00:01:17.159 the third, but there we are. So it's a shock for them to hear me preach the New Testament, but 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:22.819 now that I'm just out here as a minister of the Gospel, I am allowed to preach the New Testament, 00:01:23.119 --> 00:01:30.759 so that's all well and good. If the tech team could perhaps have that passage from Luke 7 up for us, 00:01:30.780 --> 00:01:35.979 that would be a great help, because I'd like us to be able to look at it and refer to it as we go 00:01:35.979 --> 00:01:43.340 through. But as I was preparing for this morning, and I received the notes about your series on giving, 00:01:43.340 --> 00:01:48.680 I received some notes as well, and there was a story which was given to me, which I believe some 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:53.620 of you will have seen, and since I don't feel the need to reinvent the wheel, if there's a really 00:01:53.620 --> 00:01:58.600 great story, why should I come up with another one? I decided I'll read this story to you. So those of 00:01:58.600 --> 00:02:03.560 you who have heard it, my apologies. Those of you who need to hear it again, that's fine. And those of 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:10.060 you hearing for the first time, well, you'd better listen. An old story is told about a young man who, 00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:17.280 while travelling in the southern states, came across a slave auction. He was shocked and sickened 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:23.599 as human beings were sold off as property. Eventually, a young woman was pushed onto the 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:30.500 platform. The young man watched as two men bid against one another, all the while laughing about 00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:38.180 what they were planning to do with her. Anger welled inside the young man, and finally he yelled 00:02:38.180 --> 00:02:48.360 out a bid equal to the value of his whole estate. The crowd was stunned, and the young man went to pay 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:59.700 the auctioneer. Turning to the slave, the young man said, young lady, you are free. She said, 00:02:59.699 --> 00:03:09.759 what does that mean? It means I've bought you, and I am setting you free. Here are your 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:19.859 manumission papers, he replied. Does that mean, she asked, that I can be whatever I want to be, go where I 00:03:19.860 --> 00:03:32.620 want, and say what I want? Yes. The girl with tears streaming down her face said, then I will go with you. 00:03:34.300 --> 00:03:44.720 All I want to do is serve you. As we think about this story in Luke's Gospel, let's keep that story 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:52.340 also in mind. Because although this story in Luke's Gospel is fundamentally about Jesus, as we were 00:03:52.340 --> 00:03:58.199 reminded in chapel, the Gospels are not about us, they're about Jesus. Nonetheless, one of the things 00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:04.219 that we understand when we see who Jesus is, and the forgiveness, and the grace that he gives us, 00:04:05.259 --> 00:04:13.919 that one of the things that emerges in response is giving which flows from love. That as grace 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:21.279 has been experienced, so we discover the love that is ours for Jesus, and there is an overflow of that 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:28.019 that expresses itself in how we give. Well, to see that, of course, we do need to look at the detail 00:04:28.019 --> 00:04:35.839 of this story, because what we have is a rather strange dinner. Let's have a look verses 36 to 38. 00:04:36.539 --> 00:04:42.060 Now, one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house 00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:50.139 and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus 00:04:50.139 --> 00:04:58.160 was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. And as she stood behind 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:06.259 him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, 00:05:06.259 --> 00:05:16.579 kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Now, if you've read the Gospels at all, and I'm hoping at 00:05:16.579 --> 00:05:21.579 least some of you have, if you haven't and you're a final year student at Trinity College, you've got 00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:31.959 big problems. Others, you can still catch up. There are surprises here. Here is Jesus eating dinner with a 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:37.519 Pharisee. Now, for the most part, the Pharisees come across in the Gospels pretty badly. They are the 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:44.799 hardline, ultra-alt-right opposition to everything that Jesus is trying to do. Whatever Jesus is trying 00:05:44.799 --> 00:05:51.479 to do must be bad, and they're going to stop him. Although, as we read the Gospels slightly more 00:05:51.479 --> 00:05:57.459 carefully, and also into Acts, where Luke records how a number of Pharisees became obedient to the 00:05:57.459 --> 00:06:02.439 faith, we realise that that's not true of all of them. But there was certainly some, and they were 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:11.959 at the lead of it. But not all. And here is a Pharisee inviting Jesus to dinner. Now, it's clear 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:17.779 that this is not just a quick snack. And now, to understand that, I am going to need some volunteers. 00:06:18.219 --> 00:06:21.459 One of them is called Jay, and the other is called Elliot. So, if I can get you to... 00:06:21.459 --> 00:06:31.299 Yes, listen. Right. Now, imagine you've come to dinner at the Pharisees' house. How are you going 00:06:31.299 --> 00:06:37.560 to set yourself up for dinner? I don't know. Okay. You remember the words said they were reclining? 00:06:37.719 --> 00:06:44.179 Oh, yeah. Cool. Okay. So, you're going to sit down on your side. Now, Jay, you're a South Pole, 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:50.359 and automatically I see the problem. Oh, no. You're on your right arm. You cannot possibly be on 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:54.759 your right arm and eating with your left. Your left is kept for a rather different function. 00:06:56.699 --> 00:06:59.860 I'm not going any further on that particular one. But... 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:00.580 We're good. We're good. 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:06.639 Okay. Even so, let's assume they didn't have hand sanitiser. 00:07:07.520 --> 00:07:13.980 Right. Well, yeah, I know. And this is not good. Yeah, okay. Okay. So, we've got two South 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:18.199 Paws. We're making it hard for them. Clearly, this was a difficult thing in the ancient world. 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:22.779 So, there's a table here in front of them. So, if the table's in front, you're not going 00:07:22.779 --> 00:07:26.539 to have your feet towards the table, are you? So, your feet are going to go back that 00:07:26.539 --> 00:07:29.240 way. Yeah. Thank you very much. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:30.420 I can imagine the first thing. 00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:35.919 Yeah, okay. So, you're eating the air on your left hand, and, you know, we've got the banquet 00:07:35.919 --> 00:07:41.379 in front of you. Don't eat any of this, because some of this is reserved for sacrament coming 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:47.480 up. But, you know. So, there's the dinner on the table in front of you. Now, dinners in 00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:52.060 the ancient world were not... You've got to stay there for a while. I will let you go 00:07:52.060 --> 00:07:53.279 at one stage. Don't let it worry you. 00:07:53.339 --> 00:07:54.779 How can I recline like this? 00:07:55.740 --> 00:07:56.719 Well, if you want to recline... 00:07:56.719 --> 00:07:57.860 What are they really, like... 00:07:57.860 --> 00:08:01.560 You're kind of like... There's a cushion under your arm, which I haven't been able to provide. 00:08:02.339 --> 00:08:04.319 I mean, I can get a knee cushion from the back if that will help. 00:08:04.339 --> 00:08:04.980 Carry on. Carry on. 00:08:04.980 --> 00:08:12.720 Okay. Right. Now, dinners in the ancient world were not quite as private as dinners today, 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:17.500 right? So, if I invite someone to my house for dinner today, normally I will close the 00:08:17.500 --> 00:08:23.939 door, and nobody really gets to see what goes on. This is just dinner for us and my friends. 00:08:23.939 --> 00:08:32.659 But you have to remember that houses in Judea opened up onto the street, and anybody could 00:08:32.659 --> 00:08:40.059 walk by and see that there is a dinner going on. Now, the important thing to note is, notice 00:08:40.059 --> 00:08:43.639 the gender of the people I've invited to this dinner. What do you notice about them? 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:45.559 Men. 00:08:46.459 --> 00:08:49.799 They've got that little Y chromosome that just makes such a difference. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:56.419 But people... Like, you're here, right? You can sit down. You're looking down, and there's 00:08:56.419 --> 00:09:02.259 the dinner taking place. You can see these people. It's part of the meal. And there is 00:09:02.259 --> 00:09:13.579 a woman. She's not invited. Yes, Adele, this is you. Come on. Now, she can't get to the table, 00:09:13.699 --> 00:09:19.799 obviously. It's not possible, because, frankly, they're all lying along the table, and there'll 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:24.939 be others around here as well. But we'll assume for the moment that Elliot gets to be Jesus, 00:09:24.940 --> 00:09:32.940 okay? Don't get above your status here, Elliot. Right. And so, a woman is able to come and 00:09:33.580 --> 00:09:36.900 to stand. So, if you want to just come and stand, and you'll notice that the very nature 00:09:36.900 --> 00:09:43.260 of how the meal is laid out means that it's quite possible to be immediately above somebody's 00:09:43.260 --> 00:09:47.760 feet. Whereas, if you imagine somebody sitting at dinner at one of our ones, you're going 00:09:47.760 --> 00:09:50.940 to really have a lot of trouble, because you're going to have to sort of climb underneath here, 00:09:50.940 --> 00:09:58.580 and it's not going to work. All right. And so, there's this woman. Okay. I suppose you 00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:01.560 guys better actually be more comfortable at this point and go back to your seats if you 00:10:01.560 --> 00:10:07.480 want. If you want. I mean, you can stay here, but you don't have to. It's up to you entirely. 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:19.860 All right. So, you can imagine now how this woman knows that this dinner is going on. Everyone 00:10:19.860 --> 00:10:24.759 can look up, just like you can look down the aisle here, and see where the dinner is taking 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:32.100 place. The men are lying around the table on their cushions, low table, and this woman 00:10:32.100 --> 00:10:41.180 comes in. But this is definitely getting all a bit stranger. This is a formal dinner. To 00:10:41.180 --> 00:10:45.659 have these arrangements where you recline at the table means that the courses are being 00:10:45.659 --> 00:10:54.639 laid out. This is a big meal. This Pharisee is there to raise issues. He wants to know what's 00:10:54.639 --> 00:11:04.340 going on. And here is this woman who comes in, and she stands by his feet. And we don't know 00:11:04.340 --> 00:11:11.559 a name. We don't really know anything much about her, except that we're told in the story 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:16.539 that she was a sinner. In tradition, she's often labelled a prostitute, but Luke doesn't 00:11:16.539 --> 00:11:22.799 say that. There's nothing in the story that necessarily says that's the case. But she's 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:30.279 there carrying an alabaster jar of ointment. She has come because she knows that Jesus 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:37.219 is at this dinner. And knowing that Jesus is at this dinner, which would have taken some 00:11:37.219 --> 00:11:47.439 time, she has brought something of great value. We don't know why. But while she's there standing 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:55.720 over Jesus' feet, Luke presents this image where spontaneously she begins to weep. And as 00:11:55.720 --> 00:12:05.680 she's weeping, her tears are falling onto Jesus' feet. And you almost imagine the kind of, 00:12:05.740 --> 00:12:11.540 what am I going to do now? His feet are getting wet. What do I do? Well, she has slightly more 00:12:11.539 --> 00:12:21.539 hair than Jay's, so she's able to come down. And she takes on that lowliest of positions 00:12:21.539 --> 00:12:29.139 at somebody's feet. And she begins not only to wet his feet, the thing that she hadn't 00:12:29.139 --> 00:12:36.039 intended to do. But with nothing else, she dries them with the only thing that she has 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:47.319 available, her hair. Why even the oil? Presumably, her intention was to anoint his head. That's 00:12:47.319 --> 00:12:53.899 what you would do. But having begun at his feet, that's where it continues. 00:12:53.899 --> 00:13:01.639 And as we look at this dinner, we know this is an unusual dinner. Now, there may be a sense 00:13:01.639 --> 00:13:05.860 in which you think to yourself, if you're a Pharisee and you invite Jesus for dinner, you 00:13:05.860 --> 00:13:12.860 know that things are going to be a bit strange at some point or other along the way. But we 00:13:12.860 --> 00:13:18.799 start to get this sense of who this Pharisee is as we look at verses 39 to 43, because he's 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:25.240 really struggling with what's going on. I've got a slightly updated version of the NIV, 00:13:25.779 --> 00:13:29.359 which I think corrects one or two things. So you'll see some slight differences, but don't 00:13:29.359 --> 00:13:35.559 worry. When the Pharisee, this is up to verse 44, when the Pharisee who had invited him saw 00:13:35.559 --> 00:13:43.099 this, he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:52.759 and what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner. Jesus answered him, Simon, I have 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:59.139 something to tell you. Tell me, teacher, he said. Two people owed money to a certain money 00:13:59.139 --> 00:14:06.300 lender. One owed him 500 denarii, the other 50. Neither of them had the money to pay him 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:16.219 back. So he forgave the debts of both. Now, which of them will love him more? Simon replied, 00:14:17.019 --> 00:14:24.539 I suppose, the one who had the bigger debt forgiven. You have judged correctly, said Jesus. 00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:31.399 See, at this point, we finally get the Pharisee's name. He's called Simon, which is not terribly 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:36.519 helpful because that's kind of like his name was John and, you know, there's Simons everywhere. 00:14:36.620 --> 00:14:42.860 He's Simon the Pharisee and that will do. But we notice that we get an insight into what he's 00:14:42.860 --> 00:14:50.799 thinking. And he's thinking to himself, if this Jesus was a prophet, you know, he's not at the 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:54.319 level of, is this the Son of God or is this the Messiah? But, you know, he's at least prepared 00:14:54.320 --> 00:15:01.560 to allow the possibility this Jesus could have been a prophet. If he was a prophet, he would know 00:15:01.560 --> 00:15:17.220 what sort of woman this is. But here's the thing. He doesn't say it. But Jesus asks, turns to him. 00:15:17.220 --> 00:15:27.660 He starts talking to him. Because Jesus not only knows what she is like, he knows what Simon is 00:15:27.660 --> 00:15:35.279 thinking. And so he asks a question. Now, one of the things we know that used to happen at meals 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:41.360 around the Mediterranean around this time and was kind of standard practice, apparently at good dinners 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:46.180 in Judea in the time as well, was that people would often play games of riddles 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:51.439 during the dinner. You have to remember, I know this is a weird concept for many, but this was 00:15:51.439 --> 00:15:57.299 before smartphones. And therefore, part of the idea of having dinner was that you talked 00:15:57.299 --> 00:16:04.459 to the people who were around the table with you. I know, who knew that things like that 00:16:04.459 --> 00:16:11.919 could ever have happened? But people would play these sorts of games of riddles because you've got 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:16.899 to do something to make the conversation interesting. And you can't be forever talking 00:16:16.899 --> 00:16:22.279 about my grandchildren or whatever, because eventually people get bored of your grandchildren. 00:16:22.439 --> 00:16:27.759 And apologies to the grandparents amongst you. Your grandchildren are wonderful, but it does 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:34.500 turn out that most people will still have a limit for your grandchildren. Not yours. That's an entirely 00:16:34.500 --> 00:16:39.839 different story. So you've got to have some way of making the conversation go. And so people 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:47.540 would ask each other riddles. Now, has anyone here read The Hobbit? Okay, those of you who haven't, 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:54.019 it is still in print. You can buy it and read it. It's okay. Now, in The Hobbit, there is a scene 00:16:54.019 --> 00:17:02.220 that some of you know, where Bilbo is underground trying to get away and he encounters Gollum. And they 00:17:02.220 --> 00:17:09.980 start playing a game of riddles, riddles in the dark. And they have these word plays and they're 00:17:09.980 --> 00:17:18.059 they're all very clever and working them out. What has roots that goes deep down? What touches up to the 00:17:18.059 --> 00:17:28.799 sky but has no leaves? It's a mountain. Those sorts of riddles. Now, Bilbo cheats. He says, 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:34.119 what's in my pocket? And of course, he's not trying to play a riddle at that point, but Gollum thinks 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:40.460 he is. And therefore, it becomes under the rules of the game, a valid riddle. So when Jesus, let's 00:17:40.460 --> 00:17:46.639 leave The Hobbit for the moment, when Jesus asks the question, says, I have a question for you, 00:17:47.139 --> 00:17:53.859 Simon would think to himself, okay, we're now going to play the game of riddles. Riddles are okay. 00:17:53.859 --> 00:18:00.619 We may remember that Samson told some riddles at a wedding feast, although the outcome being the 00:18:00.619 --> 00:18:06.759 Samson story was rather messy. But we won't go into that one just at the moment. So these sorts of 00:18:06.759 --> 00:18:14.859 riddles would be a normal part of the question. But this is a form of riddle that becomes a parable. 00:18:15.019 --> 00:18:21.379 And you can almost hear Simon's kind of, oh, is that all that you've got to be? You know, two people 00:18:21.380 --> 00:18:29.720 borrowed money, neither could pay it back. And the money lender forgave them, right? So 50 denarii in 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:35.180 terms of contemporary purchasing power comes to about 5,000 pounds, 500 denarii in contemporary 00:18:35.180 --> 00:18:41.400 purchasing power works out about 50,000 pounds. If you want to know what those numbers mean in 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:47.220 today's terms, that's roughly what's there. Don't, however, go to the Bureau d'Achange and say, 00:18:47.220 --> 00:18:52.339 I would like to, you know, cash my denarii in for that because they won't do it for you. But that's 00:18:52.339 --> 00:18:58.480 about where it works out. And Simon is, you know, obviously not thrilled because it's kind of like, 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:05.360 oh, come on, that's your riddle? Which one of them is going to love him more? I suppose 00:19:05.360 --> 00:19:09.940 the one he forgave most. 00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:18.920 But Jesus, you'll notice, picks up on that and he introduces a key word. He says, you have judged 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:28.140 correctly. The problem is you see that Simon had judged her, but he hasn't judged correctly 00:19:28.140 --> 00:19:34.860 from where this parable, from where this riddle was going. And from this point, we then have a 00:19:34.859 --> 00:19:47.379 slightly awkward conversation as Jesus is looking at the woman, but talking to Simon before speaking 00:19:47.379 --> 00:19:55.759 finally to the woman. And in doing so, we discover that actually Jesus now sees the woman as the host 00:19:55.759 --> 00:20:00.979 of this meal in a way that Simon wasn't. Just listen to the rest of the passage. 00:20:00.980 --> 00:20:09.700 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, do you see this woman? I came into your house. 00:20:10.579 --> 00:20:15.880 You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:22.880 hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman from the time I entered has not stopped kissing my 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:30.880 feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:38.279 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, as her great love has shown. 00:20:38.360 --> 00:20:42.220 You'll notice that's a slightly different translation to what you've got in front, but I think it's a more 00:20:42.220 --> 00:20:52.579 accurate one. But whoever has been forgiven little, loves little. Then Jesus said to her, your sins are forgiven. 00:20:52.579 --> 00:21:00.759 The other guests began to say among themselves, who is this who even forgives sins? 00:21:02.099 --> 00:21:07.000 Jesus said to the woman, your faith has saved you. Go in peace. 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:18.539 So it's slightly weird. So which one of you were Simon, weren't you? So here he is. He's talking to Simon whilst looking at the woman. 00:21:19.720 --> 00:21:29.480 Ever had that sort of conversation with somebody where they're talking to you, but they won't look at you because there is someone else who is going to be more important. 00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:42.279 And even by Jesus' body language at that point, he is making clear, and I'm making sure that I don't trip on my way back, he is making clear that there is something different going on here. 00:21:42.279 --> 00:21:48.819 Now, it should be said that nothing indicates in the story that Simon had in fact been a bad host. 00:21:49.539 --> 00:21:59.079 There was no obligation for him to necessarily do any of those things. He wasn't obliged for a daytime meal to wash his feet. 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:05.779 He wasn't obliged to anoint his head. None of that is required. 00:22:05.779 --> 00:22:10.920 He has done everything that was normal. 00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:23.079 But of course, one of the things that I think many of us will notice whenever we're invited to someone's place for a meal is the people who welcome us are the people who do more than what is normal. 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:30.200 You know, the people who say, I know I've got a bottle of house red that I had tucked away, but you know what? 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:37.559 There was a Grange Hermitage 55 that I was just keeping for a special occasion, and you being here could be the moment. 00:22:38.900 --> 00:22:45.259 For those of you who don't drink alcohol, you can have an alternative form of schlur that's mentioned at this particular point. 00:22:46.380 --> 00:22:47.640 Whichever might seem better. 00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:50.160 And it's this woman. 00:22:52.080 --> 00:22:54.039 It's this woman who has done this. 00:22:54.039 --> 00:23:02.799 She is the one who has not only acted as host, she's the one who has been generosity in itself. 00:23:03.420 --> 00:23:05.960 Generosity that consisted in giving of herself. 00:23:07.619 --> 00:23:10.220 Giving of herself as she started to weep. 00:23:10.899 --> 00:23:16.119 And then taking that most menial of things and saying, his feet are wet, how do I dry his feet? 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:17.700 And using her own hair. 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:23.700 But more than that, because she had clearly come expecting to give. 00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:30.900 You don't come with a large jar of expensive ointment unless you are attempting to use it. 00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:33.180 And all of this leads to the clincher. 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:39.519 Her sins are forgiven, says Jesus, because she is loved much. 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:44.180 Simon couldn't see the need for forgiveness. 00:23:45.140 --> 00:23:46.180 Not for himself. 00:23:46.180 --> 00:23:55.820 And because he couldn't see the need for forgiveness, he was unable to show that love to Jesus that goes beyond normal boundaries. 00:23:57.980 --> 00:24:04.680 But it's important to notice within the context of the story, and it's probably slightly clearer in Greek than it is in English, 00:24:04.779 --> 00:24:06.860 that the woman had already been forgiven. 00:24:06.980 --> 00:24:09.460 In whatever mechanism that had happened, we're not sure. 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:11.120 That's not recounted for us in the Gospel. 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:19.439 So it's not the case that she comes and she acts and Jesus says, because you've done this, you are forgiven. 00:24:20.439 --> 00:24:23.979 This woman already knows that she is forgiven. 00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:27.439 She has in some way encountered God and knows forgiveness. 00:24:28.059 --> 00:24:37.799 And because she has been forgiven, all that she can do in response is to give and to give generously of herself. 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:44.659 And Jesus can make that declaration, your sins are forgiven. 00:24:44.879 --> 00:24:48.619 And the other guests at the dinner are sitting there going, who is this? 00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:53.099 Because they know that only God can forgive sins. 00:24:54.779 --> 00:24:58.899 And this woman knew that she was forgiven. 00:24:59.419 --> 00:25:03.339 Whatever it was that had her labelled as a sinner before, 00:25:04.959 --> 00:25:07.359 whatever it was that in her society that said, 00:25:07.739 --> 00:25:12.279 you don't fit, you don't belong, you don't get invited to the table, 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:15.379 matters no more. 00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:20.799 Because Jesus, who is God incarnate, 00:25:22.059 --> 00:25:25.119 is able to declare that she is forgiven, 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:27.180 that she can go in peace. 00:25:28.660 --> 00:25:30.759 And her response to being forgiven 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:34.399 is to express her love, 00:25:34.839 --> 00:25:38.220 her gratitude to the grace that has been poured out upon her 00:25:38.220 --> 00:25:40.019 in her own giving. 00:25:40.019 --> 00:25:45.819 And it's important to say that as we read on through Luke's Gospel, 00:25:45.960 --> 00:25:50.299 we realise that the grace of God through which Jesus forgives this woman 00:25:50.299 --> 00:25:54.139 is free to receive, but it was costly to give. 00:25:56.200 --> 00:25:59.539 It is that which will take Jesus to the cross. 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:03.839 It is that which Jesus says in Luke's Gospels, 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:06.619 that anyone who would follow me must take up their cross daily 00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:09.059 and come after me. 00:26:10.459 --> 00:26:13.500 It continues to be costly for those who follow Jesus. 00:26:14.759 --> 00:26:18.719 As Dietrich Bonhoeffer so famously wrote at the start of his book, 00:26:18.959 --> 00:26:20.299 The Cost of Discipleship, 00:26:21.259 --> 00:26:24.739 cheap grace is the enemy of this age. 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:28.659 What we are fighting for today is costly grace. 00:26:28.660 --> 00:26:33.279 The grace which cost Jesus his life. 00:26:36.820 --> 00:26:38.660 The story shows us, of course, 00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:40.920 that grace changes radically 00:26:40.920 --> 00:26:43.160 those who receive it. 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:46.820 It reaches to the very heart of who we are, 00:26:47.220 --> 00:26:48.820 not only because we are forgiven. 00:26:49.600 --> 00:26:52.000 That, in fact, is the starting point, 00:26:52.380 --> 00:26:53.620 not a finishing one. 00:26:53.619 --> 00:26:57.839 What matters is what emerges from grace. 00:26:58.719 --> 00:27:03.379 And that is the ability to see that Jesus is able to transform ourselves 00:27:03.379 --> 00:27:07.539 and also those that we may want otherwise to reject. 00:27:08.659 --> 00:27:09.659 More than that, 00:27:10.159 --> 00:27:12.139 it reminds us that if we are forgiven much, 00:27:12.959 --> 00:27:17.699 and every person in this room today is forgiven much in Christ, 00:27:17.700 --> 00:27:23.799 then the response to that is found in the generous giving of ourselves 00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:28.600 and also the generous giving of our resources, 00:27:29.340 --> 00:27:33.460 whether they be time, personhood, finance, 00:27:33.460 --> 00:27:36.600 because we want to honour Jesus. 00:27:37.900 --> 00:27:38.720 In short, 00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:43.600 we've been given abundant forgiveness in Jesus 00:27:43.599 --> 00:27:46.480 and our love for him 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:48.759 is shown 00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:50.819 in our giving. 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:52.659 Jesus said to her, 00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:54.139 your sins 00:27:54.139 --> 00:27:55.559 are forgiven. 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:59.719 As we prepared to approach this table 00:27:59.719 --> 00:28:00.419 this morning, 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:03.299 Clive reminded us of that reality 00:28:03.299 --> 00:28:05.159 as we confessed 00:28:05.159 --> 00:28:07.399 and he announced for us the forgiveness 00:28:07.399 --> 00:28:08.899 that is ours in Jesus Christ. 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:13.580 my prayer for you in this church 00:28:13.580 --> 00:28:17.640 is that you will discover the abundant joy of giving 00:28:17.640 --> 00:28:21.400 far beyond your budgetary targets, 00:28:21.840 --> 00:28:23.880 that the love of God, 00:28:24.019 --> 00:28:25.660 which is poured out into you, 00:28:26.320 --> 00:28:28.620 may abound more and more 00:28:28.620 --> 00:28:32.600 as you in turn seek to give and to share this love 00:28:32.600 --> 00:28:35.220 and to bless the community around you 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:38.440 that experiences the grace that is made known to us 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:39.680 in Jesus Christ. 00:28:40.900 --> 00:28:42.059 May the Lord bless you. 00:28:42.539 --> 00:28:42.839 Amen.