The big news today is about the party. Not the one later this afternoon at Jane Warner's house to say thanks and bid a formal, if not final, farewell to Carolyn for her years of service here at St. Thomas as well as at Lutheran Campus Ministry. No, this morning I.m talking about the big shin-dig we just heard about happening at the Pharisee's house. Today's is a rather eventful gospel lesson, so it is worth starting with an important reminder about who, exactly, these Pharisees were. In first century Judaism, the Pharisees were, more or less, the good guys. They cared quite deeply for their religion. They adopted the responsibility doing the things necessary for the religious communities in their day to flourish. They were the council members, Sunday School superintendants, the tireless church volunteers of that day.

Part of fulfilling that role was to be a fellowship coordinator of sorts by, for example, throwing a dinner party. The gathering described in the gospel, however, was not just some after worship potluck, mind you. This was intended to be the central social event for the community. It was the place be and be seen. And in some respects, this is a tradition that has held throughout the years. Really, who doesn.t like a good dinner party.except for maybe the host?

Just as we would if we were to prepare such a gathering today, the Pharisee went to great lengths to make this dinner party a top notch event. You understand how these things go. First there is the guest list. You want to fill the house...but not too full. And you want to have the right mix of people to make the sure the party flows. Then there is the menu. The trick there is to find the right mix of goodies that will appeal to and meet the dietary needs of everyone who attends. Oh, and the place needs to be cleaned up, and the space needs to be set up right, and the hors d'oeuvres need to be started, and the right clothes need to be picked out, and...well you get the drill.

With everything ready the Pharisee's guests begin to arrive and gather together for this distinguished meal. As was tradition the men gathered around a large, low table and found a comfortable pillow to lean against as they sat on the floor to enjoy the meal. It is probably worth an aside here to note that homes in Jesus' day, though, were not as confined as today and these get togethers were not considered private affairs. To be sure, there was a guest list for those gathered at the table, but the open nature of the homes allowed townspeople to gather quite close to watch what went on.

So there they all were. The Pharisee, Jesus, other religious and community leaders all settled in for a delicious meal when she shows up.

Definitely not on the guest list, she was.well.she was no Pharisee. She was a "woman of the city"...she was "a sinner." And she was crashing the party. Apparently oblivious to her role staying on the edges and only peering into the festivities she barges right in and flings herself at Jesus' feet — kissing, bathing, and anointing them.

This was more than just a meal-time faux pas, it was a significant breach of social barriers and conventions of the time. And it caused the Pharisee more than a little bit of consternation. You see he was curious about this Jesus fellow and he had gone to all this trouble and invited the traveling preacher to the main event in the community. And now she was here exposing his failings as host. It raises the question of just how welcome has he been? How much has he honored his guest if he neglects even the usual customs of providing water to wash the feet of his guest, or oil for anointing his head, or even the traditional greeting of a kiss? Yet we find out that is only one aspect of offense the Pharisee has taken. He doesn't just neglect to provide basic hospitality duties to Jesus. He goes another step and has the nerve to doubt Jesus' true status as a prophet because any real prophet would be able to tell that this woman who was touching him was a sinner!! Everybody in the Pharisee's circle was well aware of this woman. Yet here was Jesus, the potential prophet, not only unable to tell what kind of person she was but also letting her make this scene in front of all these important people!

This whole scenario has me thinking I am ready to make a judgment myself. "This guy has got to be the worst host ever!" As the open-minded, fair, warm-hearted person I know that I am, I get really bent out of shape about his treatment of this woman, his hypocrisy, and his skepticism about Jesus. The :sinner" — this woman — has literally fallen to her knees in an ecstatic response to God's grace. Meanwhile that Pharisee, that holy man of the church, in the midst of his failing to provide the hospitality expected of him, has not a clue that maybe he might need some of that grace. You know what? I have to say that he is nothing but a judgmental hypocrite.

Compared to him...well I'm not just any open-minded, fair, and kind person — I am a rather excellent open-minded, fair, and kind person, thank you very much!

Funny what a little time, distance, and outside observation can do to someone isn't it? From today's vantage point I can rather easily find sympathy with this woman. After all, her singular intention was to share with anyone who could see the depth of gratitude she felt for release from the burdens of her past. And on the other side I can just as easily find Simon an object of ridicule and scorn if he is worth any of my time at all.

It is here that Jesus' words intercede. As our text reads this morning...Then turning toward the woman, [Jesus] said to the Pharisee, "Do you see this woman?" Simon, can you just stop for a minute? Can you suspend the social rules and expectations? Can you pause your prejudices? Can you just take a moment and look before you to see a child of God? Simon, can you step back and live in this moment of deeply felt thanksgiving and love? Simon, can you let grace enter your heart and change your life?

I imagine Jesus would pose a similar question to us today. Can we truly look at those who most conflict with our most cherished beliefs — like those who read the Bible differently than we do or those who disagree with us politically, for example. Can we set aside our assumptions, interpret each other's actions in the best possible light and see a child of God? Can we let grace change our lives, too?

I happen to believe that the answer to this question is an undeniable "Yes!" Yes, we certainly can let grace change our lives. I say this mostly because I have found that the flood of grace is inescapable and its power on our lives is deeply profound. God continually finds ways break through and breathe new life. More than that, however, I also believe that we hold within us the possibility of nudging that process along a bit.

One of our regular Wednesday dinner discussions at LCM this past school year addressed this notion through our discussion of segments of the book "Connecting with God in a Disconnected World". The first chapter in the book reflects on stories in Scripture about contact with God and the lessons we can take from them to prepare ourselves for a similar experience. In reading 1 Kings¹ we find the story of Elijah's forty days and forty nights of travel and we learn that one means of preparation is finding a space for silence and waiting to hear God. Moses' encounter with the burning bush, found in the book of Exodus² , teaches us the importance of pausing and taking off the blinders that keep us from turning aside and witnessing God at work on our periphery. The book of Samuel³ , in the interaction between Samuel and Eli, demonstrates the faith community's role in helping to find other ways God can speak to us. Each of these examples — silence, pausing and turning aside and leaning on our faith communities — are gifts God provides for the Spirit to enter our souls.

And today we learn of one more way from our friend Simon. Simon's experience teaches that God may come to us in ways that surprise us. In this case an outcast in the community offers a lesson of gratitude that flows from the freedom granted by her encounter with Christ.

Reflecting once again on Simon and his uninvited guest brings us back to the dinner party. We are reminded that that story leaves us wondering about many things. We do not know, for example, just how Jesus touched the life of this woman that lead to her outpouring of love. Nor do we know what happens next with Simon. We hope...we trust...that Simon's life was similarly transformed by this encounter with Jesus.

One thing we do know from the text is that Jesus expanded his circle as he continued to change lives by "bringing the good news of the Kingdom of God" to other cities and villages. And that fellowship of believers has expanded ever since to share stories and bring about the kind of transformation that can only come about by God's loving hand. May we move from this place today truly seeing one another as we await our next encounter with God's grace. Amen.

 

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¹ 1 Kings 19:9-18

² Exodus 3:1-6

³ Samuel 3:1-11