Speaker: Tom and Wendy
Date: 1.11.09Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
What is your most prized possession? Would you be willing to give it up for Jesus? The story that is described in Luke demonstrates someone who was willing to forsake all, public humiliation, her dignity to do just that. The three characters in the story that we focused on was the Pharisee, the woman, and Jesus.
Tradition says that this Pharisee was Simon the Leper, having been healed by Jesus and restored to his place in the religious system. He invites Jesus over to his house for dinner, however, does not even extend the basics of hospitality to him. The oddity of this is that of all the people to be grateful, this man was healed from a deadly disease and was restored not only physically but also socially. So why wouldn’t he bend over backward to show gratitude to Jesus? But are we not the same? Of the great gift that we have been given, the love and mercy from God, do we not take it lightly? Interesting note, although that this Pharisee was restored, he was still know as Simon the Leper.. are you still known by your old name?
The other character in this story was the sinful woman. It is widely thought that she was Mary, sister of Lazarus (noted as such in John’s account) and that she was Mary Magdalene as well. The careful distinction to refer to her as the “sinful woman” is to show how much she had changed and later on was referred to Mary. The reading that we read in the beginning of the class is an account of what she might have been dealing with prior to that incident. She went into a room full of men with her hair down, 2 major social injustices. She then took her most valuable possession, an alabaster jar of oil (worth a year’s wages) and poured it on Jesus’ feet, wiping them with her tears and hair. Of course the room was in a silent uproar and Simon thought to himself, “Surely Jesus knows what type of woman this is.” Now this woman of ill repute sacrificed everything because she truly understood how Jesus was and what He meant to her. Note the difference in the name change. Mary truly understood what it was like to be healed by Jesus, she was a different person as her encounter, she was known as Mary, no longer by her old name.
At the beginning of the class, we asked people to define what the church needs to do to make people feel welcome when they come. I believe that Jesus embodied what we put on the board and if we want to be like Him, then we should welcome people that come into the church not like Simon, but like Mary. Have we truly been changed? As Shane has been here, he has talked a lot about getting out of our comfort zone and really being Jesus to people. I, for one, find myself like the Pharisee sometimes, willing to stay in my comfort zone and not really embracing the change that I have experienced. But I would ask you all to be more like Mary, no longer the sinful woman, the person who has changed that is willing to forsake our most prized possessions to show others who Jesus really is.
2 comments:
Just wanted to say good job again, both of you.
For sure this material is not the easiest to present because it speaks directly to how we act. And its not easy to hear that we have to go outside our comfort zone to be Jesus. But sometimes that's what HE demands. He requires that nothing belong to us so that we can then allow Him to use us to our full potential.
The Pharisee and the sinful woman really demonstrate the difference in the type and willingness of change. Where there is brokenness, change comes with unconditional surrender. Whereas the change in reaching out to the broken comes by way of kicking and screaming. I know where I am at... God help me.
Great lesson guys!
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