By: The Rev. Dr. W. Ross Blackburn
In today’s Gospel lesson there are three people. There is the woman, “a woman of the city, who was a sinner,” a woman who wept at the feet of Jesus and anointed him there. Then there is Simon.
Presumably law abiding Pharisee, he sees the encounter between Jesus and the woman and immediately presumes that Jesus cannot be a prophet, for a true prophet would have nothing to do with a sinner of this sort. Then there is Jesus. He knows Simon’s thoughts and tells him a simple story exposing Simon’s presumption and selfrighteousness, and then asks him a simple question: “Do you see this woman?”
Apparently Simon has not. He has seen the encounter between Jesus and the woman (7:39), but he has not seen her. What did he see? He saw a woman of the city. He saw a sinner. But he didn’t see her. He saw a category. He saw a problem. He saw a sin. But he didn’t see her. And, from what we can gather from Jesus’s parable, he didn’t see himself, either. As one who believed that his own sin was small, he had little love for the One who came to bear his sin.
But Jesus saw her. The scene is precious—a woman who appeared to have been locked in shame comes in lavish remorse and love to the One who would gladly receive her and without shame. And, having seen her, he was willing, without apology, to speak on her behalf, even to a religious man who was his host, and publicly forgive her sins. And what was her sin? Thanks be to God, we are not told. If Luke told us that she had a sharp tongue or was an adulteress or lied about a neighbor or sold drugs or loved money, or had an abortion we would know that Jesus forgives certain kinds of sinners. But we don’t know. And therefore we can see ourselves in her. If we don’t, we show ourselves to be like Simon.
May God give us eyes to see.