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Gospel: Luke 7:36-50
A certain 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.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Simon, I have something to say to you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.
Which of them will love him more?”
Simon said in reply,
“The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”
He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
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;
hence, 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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One of my favorite Christian songs is I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe. The singer wonders what it will be like for him when he enters into the loving presence of God.
“I can only imagine what I will do,” he sings. “Will I stand in your presence? Or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing halleluiah? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine.”
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In today’s Gospel, a sinful woman has her chance – not to imagine – but to be in God’s presence.
Her generous, humble, tear-filled response is one of the most beautiful encounters Jesus has with another human being.
And we don’t even know her name.
Perhaps because she could be any one of us.
Knowing that Jesus would be dining in a certain Pharisees’ home, she went out and likely spent all she had on an alabaster flask of ointment.
It was her intention to wash the Lord’s feet in the costly perfume, but before she could kneel, tears began flowing uncontrollably from her eyes – so much so that she bathed Jesus’ toes and ankles in them.
Then she used her hair as a towel to dry up the beautiful mess her eyes and heart have made.
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In Jesus’ day, it was considered immodest for a woman to wear her hair down in public. But the fact that this woman uses hers so readily as a towel implies that her hair was down, flowing past her shoulders.
A sign she was either did not care about social customs, or was so enraptured by being in Jesus’ presence that she saw no one else – as if the two of them were alone.
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What will we do when we enter into the presence of God? Will we stand in his presence? Or, like this woman, to our knees will we fall? Will we sing hallelujah? Will we be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine.
But I’m sure there will be tears.
Like her, tears for having been loved and forgiven.
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Image credits: (1) David Jeremiah Blog, WordPress (2) The Alabaster Jar, Ordinary People, Extraordinary God (3) Instagram