“Whoever
Has Been Forgiven
Little Loves Little”
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?”
Jesus said to the
woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Luke
7:36-50
Jesus devoted much
of His time and attention on people who were looked down upon by other people.
In fact, Jesus let one of “those people” anoint Him with oil, to the disdain of
the religious leaders.
May we see each
person as Jesus did: made in God’s image and worth of His love. Let’s treat
everyone we meet with Christ like equality and to learn to see beauty as He
does.
Everyone
we meet bears the image of God.
Our Daily Bread – November 28, 2016