Today’s scripture: Luke 7:40-50 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Vivian Wyatt):
I love to imagine that I am a character in whatever Biblical passage I am reading. It gives me greater insight; and you never know but a little nugget of inspiration may come, or an epiphany may occur. In this passage, I imagined myself to be the woman with the jar of perfume.
Who is this woman? Because the passage does not say, I imagine she is the woman whom Jesus saved from stoning. Remember her? John writes in chapter 8: “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. ‘Teacher,’ they said to Jesus, ‘this woman was caught in the act of adultery; the law of Moses says to stone her.'”
She is afraid. She has broken one of the Mosaic laws, and even the man who was with her is not being punished nor is he speaking up for her. She has been dragged into the street alone in front of a crowd and this man, Jesus. I can only make an informed assumption that the crowd was entirely male. She expects to be stoned. She has mentally chastised herself and silently asked forgiveness from her family. She cowers on the ground, crying.
She is overcome with emotion when she realizes that she is not to be stoned. Jesus does not condemn her nor berate her; he does not make her feel smaller than she already feels. He simply says, “Go, and sin no more.”
Sometime later, she hears that Jesus will be at Simon’s house. She must do something for him. She must let him know how much she appreciates what he did for her. She wants him to know that she has changed her ways.
Jesus’ response is intriguing: “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.” This woman, according to Mosaic law, should have been stoned. Instead she found love and forgiveness, not condemnation and judgment. She was forgiven much and she loved much, and she showed it very extravagantly.
Thought for the day: How much have you been forgiven?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.