“Many Sins Have Been
Forgiven”
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him,
he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town
who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house,
so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at
his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them
with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When
the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man
were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she
is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus
answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell
me, teacher,” he said.
“Two
people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money
to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love
him more?”
Simon
replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You
have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then
he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came
into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet
with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but
this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did
not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I
tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has
shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then
Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The
other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives
sins?”
Luke 7:36-49
We
are all scarred in some way by our transgressions. We are affected by our sins
of the past. But those sins, repented of and brought to Jesus for His
forgiveness, can leave behind marks of beauty.
Some
people, having tasted the bitterness of sin, now loathe it. They hate evil and
love righteousness. They have the beauty of holiness.
Others,
knowing how far they fall short, have tender hearts towards others, because
they have been there. They have been humbled at some point in their lives.
Finally,
when acts are freely and thoroughly forgiven it leads to intimacy with the One
who has shown mercy. Such sinners love much for much has been forgiven. They
have the beauty of love.
A forgiven heart is the fountain of beauty.
Our Daily Bread –