Jesus loved to dine
with people as we hear in many of the gospel stories. Many of his most effective preaching and
teaching was accomplished during a meal, dining with others. Sharing a meal was an intimate personal activity. When you shared table with another you shared
yourself. In Jesus time they did not
have impersonal eating experiences like we have today – rushed meals at home,
eating alone or in a fast food restaurant amid strangers, filled with noisy distracting
music playing in the background.
No, meals during the
time of Jesus were important occasions.
Men of equal status would come together, invited by a host, to talk,
discuss and share with one another.
Specific customs of hospitality were observed and when guests were not
treated well by their host, they usually left insulted.
In today’s gospel story
Jesus is invited to share a meal with Simon, a Pharisee. We are not told why Simon invited Jesus to
this meal, but he certainly did not offer Jesus the common custom of greeting: -
a kiss of welcome, - water to cleanse his feet and - oil to anoint his
head. Failing to receive these
courtesies, Jesus sees the insult, doesn’t leave - he sits down to eat.
Whatever Simon’s
intentions were in inviting Jesus without showing him common courtesy was it -
·
Simon’s indifference to Jesus as a
prophet,
·
his lack of belief in Jesus’ message or
·
his disdain for Jesus as not being the
messenger Simon and the other Pharisees wanted –
Jesus has another
lesson in mind to teach.
Now, these meals were
for men only. No women or children were
allowed in the room except widows, who served the meals. Diners reclined, on their side, at table in
the Greek fashion, with their head near the table and their feet away. It was in this manner that the woman, who may
have been a widow, was able to enter the room and stand behind Jesus, near his
feet.
The woman recognizing
Jesus as the Messiah:
·
In her sorrow, begins to weep; using her
tears to wash Jesus’ feet, drying them with her hair.
·
In her shame, the woman kisses Jesus’
feet - not his face.
·
In her humility, the woman anoints Jesus’
feet with fragrant oil, not daring to touch His head.
This woman, in her
lowliness, lays all her sins at the feet of Jesus. She opens her heart to Him: baring her inner
most self; seeking forgiveness, healing and reconciliation with God through
Jesus.
Simon, not recognizing
Jesus as the Messiah and already failing to show him proper respect and
courtesy, now begins to questions if Jesus truly is a prophet or even a good
Jew, as is he. Simon knows the woman to
be a public sinner, whose touch would render a good Jew unclean. He would never let her touch him in
any way, let alone kiss him, wash his feet or anoint him.
Jesus knows the heart
of Simon and challenges him with a parable concerning forgiveness. Who should have the greater gratitude for the
forgiveness of a debt, one who is forgiven a small debt or a large debt? Simon answers wisely.
Then Jesus challenges
Simon again. He asks him, “Simon, do you
see this woman?” Jesus doesn’t
say, “Simon, do you see this sinner.”
In this, Jesus gives the woman:
·
her humanity,
·
her personhood,
·
her identity as an equal in the eyes of
God
What social constructs
have taken away from the woman, Jesus returns to her. He not only forgives her - her sins, but
returns her to her proper place among the beloved children of God.
Jesus too challenges
each of us to see others – as children of God, not by their labels or
reputations.
·
Do we see others as beloved children of
God, brothers and sister to us, in Christ?
·
Do we diminish others with names or
ideas that take away their dignity as humans?
·
Do we trap people into their pasts or do
we give them a future – do we forgive them their “trespasses as we ask
forgiveness of our own”?
By inviting Jesus to
share in a meal with him, Simon received much more than he expected. Dining with Jesus becomes a sharing of oneself
with Him. It is a way of coming into
fellowship with the Christ. Jesus brings
sinners a true understanding of their worth before God – He offers sinners
peace through the forgiveness of their sins and respect as beloved children of
God.
When we share the Body
and Blood of Christ, we also come into fellowship with Him and with one another
around the Eucharistic Table. Our meal
of fellowship with Jesus is always a graced opportunity for change and renewal. Let us be like Him in all things:
·
Sharing ourselves with the other,
·
Treating the other with dignity and
respect,
·
Seeing the other as children of God and
·
Forgiving the other as we seek
forgiveness
Laying our sins at the
feet of Jesus – who turns our tears of sorrow into tears of joy – Amen
Peace,
Deacon Don Ron
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