SERMON, PROPER 6C, LUKE 7:36-50

Forgiveness and acceptance -- those are the two main themes in today's gospel; but they probably aren't all where you would expect to find them.

The first instance is easy: Jesus and the woman. The woman in question is obviously a sinner, that much is clearly stated. We can probably infer that her sin isn't over-charging people for fabric at her booth in the market. And Jesus is, well, Jesus.

Acceptance. The woman, knowing she is a sinner, accepts Jesus for who he is and what he can do for her. She has come to that place in her life when she says, "I need help . . . I need to get right with God." Being in that place can move you to tears; sharing those feelings with another can move you to tears.

She accepts she's a sinner. She accepts she needs a savior. She accepts that Jesus is that savior.

Jesus also knows she is a sinner, and he accepts her as is. He doesn't banish her outside the house because she isn't good enough. He doesn't recoil from her because she has "sinner cooties." He accepts her. He welcomes her. And he forgives her.

Forgiveness. With Jesus, there is no, "If you do X, then I will forgive you." Notice that the woman never actually confesses her sins or even says she will repent. Again, we can infer from her description that she was at a place in her life where she decided to repent, but that isn't made explicit. And in this story, Jesus never tells her to go and sin no more. He simply trusts that she has come to the point where she knows she needs to amend her life.

Another instance is also relatively easy to spot, and that is between Simon and the woman. Simon is a Pharisee, a religious lawyer so to speak. Being the expert on the law and the purity codes, he is appalled that this sinful, unclean woman should enter his house and touch Jesus. And he's not sure at who to be more appalled -- Jesus or her.

Non-acceptance. Simon cannot accept the woman as anything other than a sinner. He really doesn't want her in his house. He really doesn't want her ruining his party. And he really can't accept Jesus as a rabbi or a prophet now that he has willfully contaminated himself with her presence.

Non-forgiveness. Forgiveness is a response to repentance. Both acts are necessary for there to be reconciliation and a new beginning. Simon doesn't recognize the woman's contrition. He doesn't recognize her emotional state that would lead one to believe she has changed. Because he doesn't recognize these things, she will never be anything but a sinner. He is free to keep her cast out of the community in a perpetual state of non-forgiveness; that is, until she makes appropriate amends based upon his demands.

So there are the two big storylines: Jesus and the woman, and the woman and Simon. That is what often stands out. There is a third storyline, however, and that is Jesus and Simon.

This probably comes as no surprise because Jesus and the Pharisees are always a storyline throughout the gospels. A casual reading of this passage will yield a casual understanding of this relationship. Jesus, the good guy, accepts and forgives a sinner, much to the chagrin of the obstinate and bad guy Pharisee. As always, there's more to it than that.

Our usual understanding of Pharisees is that they were legalistic know-it-alls who opposed any action they deemed contrary to their understanding of scripture, tradition and reason. John and Jesus both spend a lot of time condemning them and/or trying to get them to change. We tend to see them as a physical barrier to the gifts of God's grace.

But how does this passage begin? "One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisees house . . ."

Acceptance. One of the things my more liberal brothers and sisters like to point out is that God's love, grace and forgiveness extends to everyone. On that point they are correct. Oftentimes, however, this desire to proclaim an open, loving and inclusive God leads to the condemnation of those who disagree with them. Diversity, they say, means accepting the people who are socially outcast -- particularly lgbt people. And if you can't do that, then we don't want you.

Not quite. God's love, grace and forgiveness extends to everyone. Even to those with whom we disagree. Jesus accepted Simon's dinner invitation. As with all the other sinners and outcasts Jesus met, he meets Simon where he is. He doesn't demand Simon change his attitude before coming. He doesn't demand Simon relinquish his pharisaical duties. He accepts him as is.

Forgiveness. We don't know what Simon's sins were, but we can infer that his immediate sin was a lack of hospitality. No water, no kiss, no anointing. The interesting thing here is that Simon didn't see this lack of hospitality as a sin. Which fits with our general attitude about ourselves: I may not be perfect, but I'm no sinner.

Jesus says otherwise. We are all sinners. Sometimes we know it, as with the woman. Sometimes Jesus needs to point that out to us, as with Simon. We all need a savior. We are all in need of acceptance and forgiveness. Are we willing to accept people where they are? If you are a conservative defender of the law, can you accept those defiled sinners into your house? If you are a liberal protagonist of gay rights, can you accept the fact that Jesus came for the conservatives as well?

Forgiveness and acceptance. These are probably two of the hardest things we are called to offer as Christians, and only you can decide if you are willing to extend that offer to those around you.