This week our nation celebrates Thanksgiving day. Ideally, families and friends will use this day to gather and give thanks for all the blessings they have been given. Which begs the obvious question, “what are you thankful for?” I imagine you are thankful for many of the same things most people like us are thankful for. I imagine you are thankful for your family, at least some of them some of the time. I imagine you are thankful for your friends, both old and new. And I imagine as you sit down to enjoy a feast of turkey, stuffing, and sweet potato casserole you are thankful for the food that is piled up before you. There are many blessings that we have been given that we can thank God for, but there is one blessing that stands above them all and in our lesson for today we are reminded what that blessing is.
In our gospel lesson for today a group of people have gathered to share a meal. We are not told the occasion for the dinner, but, as we will see, it is a thanksgiving dinner for at least one guest.
The host of the dinner is a Pharisee by the name of Simon. The Pharisees, as you may recall, were a Jewish sect which were strict adherents to the laws of Mosses as well as several additional laws of their own. The Pharisees are often described in the pages of scripture as a people who believed in obeying their laws with words and actions but not with their hearts. Jesus once said the Pharisees were “like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.”[1] Other than he is a Pharisee named Simon we don’t know anything more about the host of the dinner. Which is O.K. because Simon isn’t the most important or interesting guest at the dinner.
The most important guest at this dinner is of course Jesus. It is unlikely Simon, and the other guest (save one) knew how important a guest Jesus was. It is likely Simon invited Jesus to this dinner because Jesus had become a bit of a celebrity among the people and because Simon was possibly the most prominent Pharisee in town, he felt obligated by social protocols to invite a popular Rabbis like Jesus to dinner. What we do know is, at this time in Jesus’ ministry, the Pharisees were looking for evidence to be used against Jesus in order that they might discredit Him. It is likely the reason Simon invited Jesus to be his guest of honor had nothing to do with honoring Jesus.
Simon and the other dinner guests may not have appreciated what an important guest Jesus was, but there was one woman at the dinner that did. With the obvious exception of Jesus Himself, this woman was by far the most interesting guest at the dinner. For starters, the Greek text describes her appearance at the dinner with the words “36… and behold, a woman!”. The Greek seems to suggest this woman was not on the guest list and was an uninvited guest to this dinner. How she snuck into the dining room we do not know, but somehow someway she snuck across the courtyard, through the antechamber, past the servants, into the dining room, and stood behind Jesus at His feet. The presence of this woman at the dinner no doubt caused a stir among the guest and not just because she was an uninvited guest. You see, the guests recognized this woman as someone “37… who had lived a sinful life” in their town. What exactly that means I will leave to your imaginations.
I think every one of us here this morning is more than capable of imagining what it means to live a sinful life. Perhaps we have done a better job concealing our sin than the woman who stood at Jesus’ feet, but there is no denying that every one of us here this morning is guilty of living a sinful life. I could at this point march us all through a list of the ten commandments if it would help you to identify specific sins that you have committed against your God and your fellow man and fellow woman but perhaps, for the moment, there is no need to articulate the particulars of your sinful life. I trust when you stand before the mirror of God’s holy law, that reflects the “real you” and not just the “you” that is seen by others, I trust that when you stand before that mirror you see what the guests at Simon’s dinner party saw, you see a person who has lived a sinful life.
Perhaps your sin is different than the woman who stood at Jesus’ feet, perhaps your sin is the same. It does not matter what specific sin you see when you look into the mirror of God’s law. Because all sin; both the great gross sins and seemingly small sins, are all punishable by a death that goes beyond the cessation of breath into an eternity of punishing pain. The woman who stood at Jesus’ feet knew what she deserved because of the sinful life she had lived. This realization brought the woman to tears and “38… she began to wet his [Jesus’] feet with her tears.” I cannot help but wonder, does the realization of what you deserve because of your sinful life do the same? If not then you must ask yourself, why? Do you not think your sin so bad as to warrant the wage of other sins or do you doubt your God’s resolve to actually do what He has threatened to do to all who fail to repent of their sin? If, when you think of the sinful life you have lived, tears do not fall from your face or at least some other semblance of sorrow over sin fill your soul than you must ask yourself, “why”. Perhaps it is because you identify more with the host of this dinner party than his uninvited guest.
It is not my desire to have you leave here today and begin your thanksgiving week burdened with a Pharisee’s guilt. I only seek to cut you deeply with God’s law so that you can see yourself standing beside the woman weeping at Jesus’ feet. Because there, at the feet of Jesus, you find something to be eternal thankful for; there you find forgiveness. Take another look at our text and see all the ways Jesus reassures this sinful woman and us sinful people that her and our sins have been forgiven. As I see it there are at least 5 things Jesus does to reassure her.
The first thing Jesus did to reassure the sinful woman her sins were forgiven is He allows her to stand in His presence. Simon could not believe Jesus allowed her to do it. Simon “39… 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.” More than once I have heard the same amazement expressed among those who come to worship Jesus. They say things like I can’t believe lightening didn’t strike me on the way in or the building has collapsed on me yet. When you think of the sinful lives we have lived, it is surprising that Jesus allows us to stand, or in our case sit in His presence. Jesus allows it, so that you can be reassured your sins are forgiven.
The next thing Jesus did to reassure the sinful woman her sins were forgiven is He tells a story about a debt that is owed. After pointing out the debt could not be paid Jesus concludes the story saying the moneylender “42… canceled the debts”. The bible is full of stories such as this, but more importantly the Bible tells of a historical event that occurred in real time in a real place that accomplished this. The account of how Jesus paid our debt of sin with His death on the cross has been preserved in the pages of scripture so that you can be reassured your sins are forgiven.
The next thing Jesus does to reassure the sinful woman that her many sins were forgiven is He announces her forgiveness to her accuser. Jesus tells Simon to look at the woman whom he had condemned because of her sinful life. Though Simon himself had neglected to show Jesus basic hospitality, this woman had showered Jesus with love and affection. Jesus tells Simon the reason she has done this is because “47… her many sins have been forgiven.” Jesus has said the same thing to your accuser. After your debt of sin was paid in full, Jesus descended into hell to tell the devil and all the damned that your many sins have been forgiven and just to make sure no one forgets, Jesus also wrote your name in the book of life beside the rest of the forgiven. Jesus has made this announcement to your accuser so that you can be reassured your sins are forgiven.
Yet another thing Jesus did to reassure the sinful woman her sins were forgiven is He speaks to her directly. “48… Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” You do not have to imagine what a personal assurance of forgiveness from Jesus feels like. You know. You receive the same personal assurance every Sunday when one of God’s called and ordained servants absolves you of all your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This absolution comes not from the mind of a man but from the throne of God. And just in case you question whether you personally are absolved, Jesus instructs that same servant to invite you to the supper where forgiveness that comes from the body and blood of the sacrament is put in your very mouth. Jesus speaks to you directly in this way so that you can be reassured your sins are forgiven.
The final thing Jesus did to reassure the sinful woman her sins were forgiven is He commands her to “50… go in peace.” The sinful life this woman lived had no doubt brought temporary pleasure, but it had done so at the expense of her peace. She knew what punishment she deserved because of her sin and her guilt ate away at her soul. But when the woman confessed her sin; placed her sin at Jesus’ feet she was pardoned, and God’s grace soothed her soul. Jesus seeks to sooth your soul with the same command. At the end of every service, He commands me to command you to “go in peace.” You are to leave here with the full assurance that you will be pardoned not punished. You are to go with the complete confidence that grace not guilt fills your soul. Jesus commands me to command you to go in peace so that you can be reassured your sins are forgiven.
There are many blessings we have been given that we can thank God for: our families, friends, and food are no doubt near the top of the list, but our gospel lesson for today reminds us the greatest blessing of all is forgiveness. This thanksgiving as you gather and give thanks for all the blessings you have been given; I encourage you to spend a few extra moments expressing your thanks for the greatest blessing of all. Give thanks, my friends! your sins are forgiven. Amen.
[1] Matthew 23:27