"How Precious Did That Grace Appear"  2010

Psalm 32       Luke 7:36-47

 

Psalm 32  (NRSV)     The Joy of Forgiveness

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.  While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah  Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.           Selah  Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.  You are a hiding-place for me; you preserve me from trouble;   you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah  I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.  Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.  Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

 

Luke 7:36-47  (NRSV)  A Sinful Woman Forgiven

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.’ Jesus spoke up and said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ ‘Teacher,’ he replied, ‘speak.’ ‘A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered, ‘I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have judged rightly.’ Then turning towards the woman, he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.’

 

A small boy was restless and fidgety during the sermon one Sunday,

            until his mother whispered in his ear:

                "Your noise is going to distract the preacher,

                          and if he loses his place, he'll have to start over again.

     I was quiet as a mouse after that.

 

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that save a wretch like me –

            I once was lost, but now I'm found…

… How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed."

 

The Billy Graham crusade came around while I was in high school

            and a few of us from our church youth group 

                        were trained as counselors to speak with other youth

                                    who responded to the alter call by coming

                                                up front to commit their lives to Jesus Christ.

 

Raised in a faithful and loving Christian home,

            I really don't remember a time

                        before I was aware of God's love and place in my life.

There was no one specific moment of dramatic conversion,

            but rather there were many small steps of faith;

                   more like a gradual unveiling than a sudden burst of light.

 

Certainly there were times of deep questioning and doubt,

            but there really never was a time when I didn't

                        have   some sense  of the amazing grace  of God's love.

 

But for those responding to Billy Graham's invitation,

            it was a totally different and far more dramatic experience,

                        to encounter God's love and mercy for the first time.

 

Generally, these folks who hadn't grown up going to church

               or had much experience  hearing about God's grace and love…

   … so the Good News of the gospel was a totally new idea to them.

                It was a very emotional, powerful and life-changing moment.

 

            Responding to God's call in that way,

                        they knew that it was a most significant decision,

                                    and they sensed that something would be different.

 

It was an amazing and awe-inspiring experience to sit with someone

            as they realized for the very first time à

                that God does love them and wants a relationship with them,

                        that God is giving them a fresh start and eternal life,

                                    and that their past mistakes

                                                don't count against them anymore.

          That was shockingly good news about God,

                    and something they never imagined or expected to hear.

Even without knowing a lot of theology or any Bible verses,

            or really even understanding what was going on,

                   they know something wonderfully important had happened.

 

Their sudden recognition of God and God's abundant loving mercy

            was dramatic in  ways that were completely different

                        than my experience growing up in the church…

                                    … particularly   in the words of John Newton's hymn,

"How precious did that grace appear,          the hour they first believed."

 

There is a similar disparity of experience   in the story Luke tells

            from fairly early in the earthly ministry of Jesus.

He's been doing miracles, teaching, preaching and telling stories;

   and already he's in conflict with jealous religious authorities.

 

I think we forget sometimes                just how young Jesus was ---

            probably only 31-32 years old.  I've got ties that are older than that.

 

Generally it took at least 40 or 50 years    or more for someone

      to have learned enough to began a teaching ministry as Jesus had…

                                    and obviously he was brilliant and confident

                                                attracting huge crowds and acclaim…

            … we can picture   what these old seasoned religious leaders

                        like Simon the Pharisee were thinking about that.

 

So when Simon the Pharisee, invited Jesus for a meal in his home,

            there was more going on than just a casual social gathering.

 

Over dinner, the older and more experienced rabbis and Pharisees

            could ask a few questions, put him in a challenging situation,

                        and maybe  bring this young teacher down a rung or two.

 

We can well imagine how these older, more weathered rabbis

            might have wanted to show-up this popular young upstart;

              so,  making the most of home turf advantage,

                        Simon challenges Jesus

                             as only a veteran can go after a young rookie.

 

In those days the invited guests would recline around the table,

            and others from the community could stand along the walls

                        to listen in as the rabbis questioned and tested Jesus.

 

In the Middle East, there were and still are elaborate customs that

            as a matter of hospitality, honor and respect govern

                  how you receive and welcome an invited guest into your home.

 

You would always receive a guest with a kiss of greeting,

            there would be at least some water for washing their feet,

                        and a host provided some olive oil with eucalyptus

                             for guests to rub over their heads for refreshment.

 

These were just a matter of basic common courtesy and good manners.

            But Simon doesn't do any of that for Jesus.

 

For a man of Simon's high position and social status,

            there is no way he would have been that rude to all his guests,

                    as to ignore or deny these cultural expectations of a host.

 

            So Simon must have singled out Jesus for such treatment.

                        He probably intended to offend and embarrass Jesus

                            as a demonstration to demean the social status of Jesus.

 

By such public offense & blatant humiliation of his invited guest,

            Simon was forcing a confrontation by this outrageous insult.

 

The crowd of townspeople and the others guests would be watching --

            to see how this young rabbi will respond to Simon's insult.

 

In that culture, Jesus would have been right to angrily storm out

            at such insolence and flagrant dishonor in from of a crowd.

It was a slap in the face and intentional public humiliation.

                                                Instead, Jesus just silently absorbs the insult.

 

            But a woman is watching, into whose life Jesus had earlier

                        brought the Good News of God's love and forgiveness.

 

The language infers that she may have once been a prostitute,

            but now  she was a squeaky-clean beloved child of God;

                        it was the amazing grace thing, that defined her identity.

vs. 37-38

            And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.  She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.           

 

The unnamed woman compensates for Simon's shortcomings as a host

            ---  and Simon misses the point,

                                    that this outpouring of love by a repentant women

                                                is making up for the social graces he lacks.

 

All that Simon can see is an impure women, repugnant to him;

                        and in his blind arrogance and self-righteousness,

                                    he mistakenly thinks he has the upper hand ---

 

            he thinks that he is shaming and gaining advantage over Jesus,
                        and that Jesus, by letting such a person even touch him

                                    invalidates Jesus as a prophet, and as a man of God.

 

Simon has been incredibly rude and insulting in a gross public way,

            and this woman has spotlighted his boorish behavior,

                                    and yet Simon still doesn't get it.

 

As a Pharisee,

            he assumes that he is way superior and more important to God

                        and that in fact, comparatively,

                                    has very little need for God's forgiveness or mercy.

 

One of the ways my faith has grown and matured

            has been a change in my awareness of my sin against God.

In my youth,

            I thought my sin was just   any of the bad things that I did,

                        and that God's forgiveness was in not being punished

                                    as I deserved for doing those bad and sinful things.

 

I realize today that my problem with sin and sinfulness

            runs much deeper than just my bad deeds and mistakes.

                        It really has to do with my ulterior motives and attitude.

 

By and large I can usually control by external behavior,

            but that makes me no less in need

                        of God's ongoing forgiveness, mercy and grace…

                                        …for my internal motivations still lean toward sin.

 

Focused externally,  I can too easily fall into Simon's mistake,

            as his smug superior attitude closed him off from God's grace;

                  for if you won't accept it --- then you  will not  get it…

                           God does grant us the freedom to reject his loving grace.

 

In his self-righteousness, Simon has no idea of what is really going on --

            and so Jesus has to spell it out for him more explicitly;

                           … and tells him a parable, a story revealing the truth.

Luke 7:40~46

            "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them.  Now which of them will love him more?" Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt."       And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly."

 

Jesus has publicly compared Simon the Pharisee to the women

            and Simon is the one coming up short and wanting;

                        for he doesn't measure up to the gratitude of the woman.      

 

She had already been entirely forgiven,   and in love & gratitude,

            she served her Lord, offering him her caring hospitality …

                        … and Simon couldn't even manage manners of being polite.

 

Ironically, Simon thought he'd won with a major put down of Jesus,

            yet actually his malignant pride and rejection of Jesus,

                  was blocking this impressive religious guy's access to God.

 

True faith is our grateful response to God's goodness toward us ---

            it is when we have a truly grateful heartà

                        that loves God by living a thankful life of grace,

                                    and expresses that gratitude as grace toward others.

 

From Simon's perspective, the woman was a great sinner, a low life.

                        When asked from the parable, "who would love him more?",

            Simon answered,  "the one whom he canceled the greater debt."

He got the right answer, but Simon refused to accept what it meant.

           

The goal is to love   in grateful response to God's grace ----

            and who would respond with more love toward God?

                                    Simon's answer,  which  Jesus confirms,

                                                "the one whom God canceled the greater sin."

     "How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed."

 

            Most of us start out profoundly grateful for God's grace.

                        We start out like that woman,

                                    we know we've failed, we've made a mess out of life,

                                          and we experience real change when Jesus redeems.

                We want nothing more than to be lovingly hospitable to Jesus.

 

But with time – we can become proud of our progress.

            We forget that Jesus mercifully started the process of grace

                and that it's not something we have accomplished on our own.

 

We see ourselves as good, moral and ethical,   we start to think,

            maybe we're not as much in need of God's forgiveness as others.

                                    We can become less genuinely grateful,

                                                and even look down upon others as more sinful.

 

       Like Simon, supposing we have only little need to be forgiven,

                        our heart and feelings of deep gratitude drop away,

                             while looking down at others with self-righteousness…

            … and figuring we've been pretty good people all along.

 

As a young man,

            I became disillusioned and I got mad at all organized religion.

                        For many years

                                    I refused to have anything to do with the church.

 

God's love and grace are relentless, and refused to let me go,

            and at the right time, in the right way at the right place,

                        I found myself in church one Easter…

 

            … and after many years far away, this prodigal found himself                                  lovingly embraced into the arms of my heavenly Father.

                       - and I've appreciated and valued God's welcoming grace

                                   ever since in ways that I never understood before.

 

The Luke passage invites introspection --- has familiarityà

            stymied my gratitude and appreciation for God's grace?

 

Right now, today,

            in my walk with God and my relationships with others,

                        am I more like the grateful woman, or am I more like Simon?

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that save a wretch like me –

                    I once was lost, but now I'm found…

                             … How precious did that grace appear,

                                                the hour I first believed."