“One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "Say it, Teacher." "A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?" Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly." Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."” Luke 7:36-50 ESV
She had heard He would be at Simon’s house. I can imagine her walking to the house, grief welling up, trying to find words that could carry the weight of her heart. And yet, standing at Jesus’ feet, any words she had found fell away with the tears that rolled from her cheeks. Tears mixed with the dust that still clung to His feet as He reclined at the table. A table to which she was uninvited.
A lack of invitation did not hinder her. She needed to see Jesus. No one had to remind her she was a sinner. She knew it, and the knowledge ached beneath her skin.
With a broken heart, the sinful woman knelt at Jesus’ feet in an unfettered act of worship and repentance. With her hair unbound, she wiped away the many tears that had fallen from her face to His feet. In reverence, she kissed them and anointed them with precious oil from a newly broken jar. With a posture of humility and desperation, she sought forgiveness for the sinfulness that had taken the place of her name.
Every time I encounter the story of this unnamed woman, my heart breaks. This is a woman who realized the gravity of her sin, but in seeing the recognition of her own deep need of forgiveness, I am confronted by mine. We share a brokenness. The aching knowledge of my messes and terrible choices is thick. I have hurt others for my own gain, carried selfishness veiled with kind actions, and spoken gossip where encouragement belonged. I am in desperate need of mercy and forgiveness. Yet in this place of desperation, hope is not extinguished. No, it is given new life. Because of Jesus.
Jesus dares to love with ferocity and mercy. He offered up His very life to make right all my wrongs - past, present, and future. He paid what I never could, and I know forgiveness because of Him. And in knowing I have been forgiven, how do I now love? The perspective that informs how I see my failings informs how greatly I love. As Jesus tells Simon, “But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” If I undervalue the cost of forgiveness, I love out of poverty. But if I see the price of forgiveness as dear, I love out of abundance.
My sisters, what if we dared to seek Jesus with abandon as this forgiven woman did? What would our lives look like? What knowledge would our hearts hold? He awaits us with tenderness, with freedom, with peace.
Are we equally desperate to adore and celebrate the One who has intervened on our behalf and paid what we could not, who took on skin to save us? If not, what is holding us back?
Robin Zastrow wants to live in a world where coffee never gets cold and kindness abounds. When she's not discovering the wonders of construction paper and cardboard tubes with her two little ones, you can find her sneaking in another few pages of a book or jotting down bits of writing on scraps of paper.
One of her favorite Scriptures is:“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” Psalm 33:20-22 ESV
