"Free to Be Forgiven" Luke 7: 36-50; Psalm 51

My apologies for not posting sermon "stuff" last Thursday.  My schedule got a little out of whack, and I did not put thoughts on paper until Saturday night.

I'm not sure I've ever preached the Lukan passage before, but what a rich story with all sorts of different nuances.  I would love to preach the sermon again and focus only on her radical, extravagant gratitude.  Or, after talking with Mario Bolivar (soon to be ordained) who studied this passage for a paper, I would like to explore household codes and how they were violated in this story.

All in all, I liked the sermon.  Because mood in the service was somber due to a pastoral issue greatly impacting the congregation, I did not get a good feel for how the congregation received the sermon.

As I mentioned in the Chapel service to the confirmand being presented for membership, if we all could understand and accept God's grace, it would impact so much of what we do.  too often, we seem to be acting out of our need to prove ourselves.

the reference to Dr. Lose's article might be a footnote for the whole sermon.  Although I had been working on the sermon and had a loose outline, when I read his article (this is his favorite passage) the question, "what kind of woman is she?" came to mind (he may have asked the question in the article), and that question gave the shape the sermon.

"Free to Be Forgiven" Psalm 51; Luke 7: 36-50; FPC, Troy, 5/11/14; Easter series

Introduction: Resurrection sets us free to be the person God calls us to be; the person we want to be.

Forgiveness – this week we reflect on God forgiving us; next week we reflect on how forgive others.

Move 1: What kind of woman is this?

a. The kind of woman who willingly inserts herself where she should not be.

1. Jesus is at dinner with some Pharisees.
2. Think dinner party with with important people gathering to eat together and talk together.
3. The Pharisees are the leaders of the Jewish church and community.
4. Jesus is an up and coming prophet who has been inspiring the crowds the crowds.
5. Maybe this is a dinner party to get to know one another, learn a little bit about who Jesus is.
6. Men's only dinner. Not the place for women.
7. Certainly not this women.

b. She is the kind of woman who knows she is a sinner.

1. She is, as the narrative discloses, a sinner.

2. We don’t know the precise nature of her sin.
3. Tradition has assumed she's a prostitute, but the text does not tell us that.
4. Presumably a first-century woman could sin in ways beyond prostitution.

5. Public sinner – the Pharisees seem to know she is a sinner.
6. Probably others in town have heard the rumors.

c. She is the kind of woman who willingly bets her life on Jesus.

1. She recognizes who she is.
2. She recognizes who Jesus is and what he has to offer her – he can free her from her sins and bring her new life.
3. She cannot restrain herself.
4. She must give herself over to the one who has the power to forgive.
5. The way the text reads, we might assume that she has met Jesus previously and already heard the good news of God's saving grace because here she is lavishly washing Jesus' feet with her tears of joy.
6. Her life is transformed by the one whose feet she washes, the one who brings here forgiveness.

Move 2: Shift to Simon. Does Simon know what kind of woman this is?

a. Maybe Simon is also a bit upset that she has interrupted his dinner party.

1. WE do not know.
2. But we do know that Simon, like the others, knows that she is a sinner.

3. He knows not only that she is a sinner, but that Jesus should not be allowing himself to be touched by this sinful woman.

b. Simon speaks to himself about this sinful woman a bit to loudly.

1. Or maybe his unheard words are revealed by the look on his face.
2. Or maybe he intentionally spoke loud enough so that Jesus could hear him.

3. Regardless, Jesus hears Simon and engages him in conversation.

100. Jesus tells Simon a story about debtors and creditors and Simon learns something else about the kind of woman she is.
     1. Jesus asks Simon that if one debtor owed 50 denarii and the other owed 500, who would be more grateful to have their debt canceled.
     2. Rather simple mathematical story problem.
     3. sometimes kids have trouble with story problems in math class, but Simon does not have trouble with this one.
     4. the debtor who owed tens times as much, the one with the greater debt, will love the creditor more.

500. and in his answer Simon reveals what he may not want to hear.
     1. this woman, this person who has interrupted his dinner party, this sinner is also the kind of woman who has been forgiven by Christ for her sins.
     2. not only the kind of woman who has been forgiven, but the kind of woman who is overwhelmed by the forgiveness and responds graciously and dramatically by washing Jesus' feet with her tears.

Move 3: Does Jesus know what kind of woman this is?

a. Jesus, apparently, has no doubt about who this woman is.

1. she is the kind of person for whom Christ will soon die on the cross.
2. She is a sinner – one of those whom he has come to save.
   b. Jesus knows her, knows her better than she does.
   1. Jesus knows her better than Simon and the others know her.
   2. The see her as a sinner.
   3. Jesus sees her as the woman who has been forgiven.

Move 4: What kind of person are you?

a. Willing to admit you are a sinner?

1. Maybe this is not true of you, but I find that in myself and sometimes in others, when we talk about being sinners, most are quick to acknowledge they are sinners.
2. And then we quickly move on to rationalizing our own sins.
3. Then pivoting to point out the sins of everyone else we know.
4. Like Simon, we are pretty sure that there is a sinner among, but it's somebody else.
5. The resurrection of Christ sets us free to be forgiven – of course, if you do not need forgiveness, than it does not matter!

5. Are you Simon or are you the woman who openly acknowledges her sins and turns to receives God's forgiveness through Christ?

b. Are you willing to accept God's forgiveness.

1. Donald Miller, writes about his struggle to accept God's forgiveness: “I would hear about grace, read about grace, and even sing about grace, but accepting grace is an action I could not understand. It seemed wrong to me not to have to pay for my sin, not to feel guilty about it or kick myself around. More than that, grace did not seem like the thing I was looking for. It was too easy. I wanted to feel as though I earned my forgiveness, as though God and I were buddies doing favors for each other…I love to give charity, but I don’t want to be charity. This is why I have so much trouble with grace.” (Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller, 83-84)

2. It's hard to believe that God sent Christ to save you.
3. Some days it is hard to believe that God would care about us.
4. Mother's Day – give thanks for our mothers; their forgiveness.
5. Magnify that to Christ – the one who chooses to die for you.
   conclusion: What kind of person are you? The kind of person whom Christ dies? The kind of person whom God forgives

(http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=2601; Forgiveness & Gratitude; Sunday, June 09, 2013 David Lose)