Sermon by Tom Houston, Lay School of Theology Graduate

Bethlehem Lutheran Church-June 12, 2016

Luke 7:36-8:3

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "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." Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Teacher," he replied, "Speak." "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?" Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt." And Jesus 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 bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing 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 were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." But those who were at the 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."
Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Extravagance.  The dictionary defines this as ‘a lack of restraint in the use of resources’.  Synonyms are ‘overindulgence’, ‘wastefulness’, ‘luxury’, ‘lavishness’.

In the other gospels the story of the sinful woman washing Jesus’ feet is recounted a bit differently.  In Mark, our protagonist is referred to as simply ‘a woman’. And she pours nard over Jesus’ head, in the manner of anointing someone for burial.  In John’s gospel, it is Mary, the sister of Lazarus who is the central character.  Here she pours the nard on Jesus’ feet, again wiping them with her hair. 

The extravagance of these actions is pointed out by those present; in each incident someone is heard to say that the nard was being wasted, that it could have been sold and the money given to the poor.  Nard, a rather uncommon item today, is actually an essential oil from the spikenard plant which is grown in India and the Himalayas.  In Jesus’ time it was formulated into an aromatic salve or ointment, applied to the dead, to mask the odor of decomposition.  In each of these accounts it was said that the amount used likely cost the equivalent of a year’s wages.  In those days a laborer was paid a denarius for a day’s work, not a princely sum.  According to the most recent census the average yearly income in America today is $53,000.  Undoubtedly, that would be an extravagant amount to be spent on an anointing or fragrant ointment. 

But, not more costly than tears.  What price can be put on the tears of a woman so overcome with guilt and shame, and a desire for forgiveness that she is willing to show up, uninvited to a dinner party, and pour out her tears on a stranger’s feet?  I’m sure it took a great deal of resolve to crash the dinner at the home of a Pharisee, especially when we consider that the woman is referred to as a ‘sinner’.  This euphemistic term would only be used to describe a woman who was, at best, a known adulteress, and at worst, a prostitute.  As is the case in most biblical stories we should assume the latter.  And there are other aspects of the woman’s actions, both subtle and somewhat more explicit, more intimate.  Subtle, in that a woman in Jesus’ time would not expose her hair to strangers.  Not so subtle, in that touching a strange man’s feet was absolutely ‘not done’. 

Thus, this ‘sinful woman’, this assumed prostitute, with uncovered hair, allows her tears to freely fall unashamedly on the feet of this Jesus, this ‘prophet’, dining in the home of Simon, a Pharisee.

And as her tears mingle with, and dissolve the dirt on the sandaled feet of Jesus, she wipes the filth off with her hair.  Remember that in this time the streets were sand and dirt and animals both wild and domestic were not concerned about where they relieved themselves.  And sandals didn’t provide much protection from the waste matter found along the road.  The woman’s use of her flowing tears and her flowing hair to cleanse Jesus’ feet shows the extravagant level to which she was willing to give of herself.  The result of her extravagant actions is Jesus’ even more extravagant forgiveness; ‘your sins are forgiven.  Your faith has saved you; go in peace’, she is told.

As the woman is ministering to Jesus’, he tells Simon the parable of the two debtors.  Based on the math above, 50 denarii in today’s money would be around seven thousand dollars.  Not a small sum, but not really extravagant.  On the other hand, 500 denarii would be worth a little over 72,000 dollars.  When Jesus asks Simon which of the two forgiven debtors would love the creditor more, Simon replies it would be the one who owed the greater amount.  Jesus tells Simon he is correct and makes the point that the greater the debt forgiven, the more the forgiveness is appreciated.  That is, the greater the sin, the more extravagant the unrighteousness, the more the one forgiven loves the one who forgives. 

So it goes, the incontrovertible duality between sin and forgiveness.  Extravagant sin; extravagant forgiveness.  Extravagant forgiveness; extravagant love in response.  Quite a tidy arrangement it would seem.  It would also seem to follow therefore, that in an attempt to turn that profuse love into action, it would be expected that extravagant deeds would result.  And I daresay, they often do.  Tradition has it that Martin Luther was once caught in a terrifying thunderstorm.  Praying for preservation, he promised God that if he were saved from the tempest he would become a monk and devote his life to doing God’s work.

Brought through the storm unscathed, he informed his father that he would no longer pursue a career in the law as his father expected, but he would, out of his extravagant thankfulness join the monastery.  It’s a good thing he did, otherwise we would have to change the name of our church!

The sinful woman received forgiveness and Luther was blessed with deliverance.  In each case they were saved by their faith.  Each responded with extravagant action as a result of their love for the One who granted them salvation and forgiveness.  Did you notice the difference in the manner in which each was granted their extravagant forgiveness and deliverance?  It’s rather subtle, but there is a slight dissimilarity; Jesus forgave the woman’s sins even though she did not ask him to.  Her extravagant actions were enough for Jesus to recognize her need for absolution.  Luther prayed to God and asked to be saved.  Luther was a baptized Christian and he knew he could call on God for deliverance.  We must assume that the woman was not a follower of Christ, yet she also knew that this Jesus, this prophet was the One who was able to grant forgiveness of her sinful behavior. 

A man whose enormous debt was cancelled; Luther, who believed God brought him through a dangerous thunderstorm; and a likely prostitute whose sins were somehow washed away through the cleansing action of her own tears.  Be it unwarranted debt forgiveness, answered prayer, or forgiveness prompted by the washing of soiled feet, these three received extravagant gifts.  But they cannot compare to what we have been given.  We, the baptized, we who have been adopted into God’s family, we have been granted the extravagant gift of forgiveness of all our sins and received the promise of life everlasting.  It now falls to us to respond to the extravagant gift bestowed upon us with, and there’s that word again, extravagant acts.        

The Bethlehem community is engaged in several missions to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and be a place of shelter.  And there are a good number of people who act extravagantly in their participation at the Closet, the gardens; here and in Southbridge, and our youth in their many endeavors to feed, clothe, and shelter others.  But what would it be like if we performed simple, subtle, individual acts that others might perceive as extravagant, depending upon their needs?  What if out of our thankfulness for the gift we’ve received, we just show others the love that Jesus commanded us to express?  Open ears, with a pathway to an equally open heart might be just what someone needs at a particularly vulnerable time.  Encouraging a child in our midst might just be what they need, if perhaps things didn’t go well in school that day.  A five-dollar gift card to a fast food place given to a homeless person might not seem like a lot, but it may turn out to be the only meal that someone eats that day. 

The thing is, what might not seem like more than simple kindness to us, may in fact be perceived as an extravagant gesture by the one receiving the consideration.  Our modest deeds of kindness, our humble acts of compassion, in response to the extravagant gift we have been granted by God in Christ, may in fact, be received as extravagant by the ones they are directed toward.  And the really excellent part?  We may never know the impact our actions have on others.  So, we go forth from this place, filled with hearts grateful for God’s extravagant grace toward us.  We strive to act with love toward our neighbors and serve those around us in simple, unpretentious ways.  And who knows, all along we just might be doing great, extravagant things, without even knowing it.  Extravagance.  The dictionary defines this as ‘a lack of restraint in the use of resources’.  Synonyms are ‘overindulgence’, ‘wastefulness’, ‘luxury’, ‘lavishness’.  God grant us the ability, and the will to be extravagant.

Amen.