The Canceller of debts

Luke 7:36-50 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, ³⁸ and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. ³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is-- that she is a sinner." ⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. ⁴¹ "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" ⁴³ Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said. ⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-- for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." ⁴⁹ The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" ⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Charlie’s father is in prison. Her mother drinks heavily. Her brother is in a gang and sells drugs downtown. Charlie herself is an unwed teenager. Father in jail, mother on the bottle, a gang banger for a brother and a scared teenager with a baby on the way.

Now, how will you react when Charlie walks into our church? What will you say when she shares her family history?

Our churches say, “Sinners welcome.” We preach, “Christ died for all sinners, of whom I am the worst.” We sing, “Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me.” But what if the world took us seriously? What if some actual “sinners” showed up on a Sunday morning? Oh, I know we are all sinners, and you know that, too. We say it at the start of the service. But aren’t we more like “polite” sinners, “respectable” sinners, “religious” sinners – sinners who at least have the decency to hide our sins in the dark and not bring them out in the open for everyone to see?

What if some “genuine” sinners found their way into our pews – prostitutes, drug addicts, homosexuals, abortion doctors, sexual offenders, you name it. What then? What if genuinely broken people brought their actual broken lives to the only place where brokenness is a virtue – to the font, to the communion rail, to the altar, to Jesus? Would we mutter, complain, gossip, gripe about God’s amazing grace? Would we make a snide comment, at least in our heads, “She belongs on an episode of ‘Cops,’ not in my church?” Would we think, “If the pastor only knew what sort of person she was, he wouldn’t be forgiving her, communing her, laughing with her after service?” What a loser!

Imagine Simon’s surprise when just such a “loser” shows up at his dinner party! This was gutsy move on her part. She slips in unnoticed, sneaks behind a table, crouches down at Jesus’ feet. She ignores the hard stares from the men at the table. These are respectable, religious men who see clearly the sinful specks in the eyes of others, but fail to see the beam protruding from their own eyes. She knew what they thought of her. She was a sinner – OK for a little after-party fun, but judged unworthy to actually attend the party.

She was right. Simon was judging. But not only her. He was also judging Jesus. “If this man were really a prophet, he would know what kind of woman was touching him!”

But contrary to what Simon thinks, Jesus does know who this woman is and what kind of woman she is. But far worse for Simon, Jesus knows who Simon is and what kind of man he is! He answers Simon’s thoughts with a verbal question, “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred thousand dollars, and the other fifty thousand. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now, who will love more, Simon?” Simon finally gets it right, “I suppose the one who had the larger debt cancelled.”

Why did this woman come? Why was she so bold as to crash the respectable party of Simon the Pharisee? Why did she take such a chance? Luke tells us, “She learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house that day.” She came to see her God –her God who came down to earth in the person of this man, Jesus of Nazareth. She came to spend time with the Christ. She came to have her greater debt cancelled. She came with perfume, kisses and tears because she loved more.

In the home, sitting at the dinner table is the one man who understands her, who accepts her as she is, who loves her as no other man in her life. Here is a man who will not hurt her or use her or abuse her. Here is the man who would not judge her or reject her, but who had actually come specifically for her. He came to seek and save the lost. To redeem sinners. To be the Great Physician of body and soul. To be the Canceller of debts, both great and small.

The religious in the room are uncomfortable beyond words. Imagine the looks on their hardened faces as her perfume fills the air, as her gentle sobs accompany her tears, her hair undone in a most disreputable fashion as she gives Jesus a foot massage. And Jesus … He is not ashamed to receive her gifts of worship.

Simon, are you paying attention? Brothers and sisters, are you paying attention?

Just as important a question as “why did this woman come” is … “why do you come?” Why do you come to sit in these pews instead of a deer stand or a shopping mall? Why do you come with tears trickling from your eyes and guilt pouring from your pores? Why do you empty your hard-earned money over Jesus and into the offering plates? Why do you serve Him in humility and kiss His feet in reverence?

We are not here because we have anything to offer God; any service; anything of worth. God does not need us. No, we are here because we need God. We are the guilty who need forgiveness. The weak who need strength. The low who need lifting up. The dirty who need cleansing. The broken who need to be restored. The prodigal who need a Father. The poisoned who need to be rescued. The lost who need to be found. The dead who need to be raised. The debtors who need cancellation.

We come because we have learned that Jesus has come here. The Shepherd is calling His straying sheep and lost lambs. He has rescued you from the dominion of darkness and brought you into His kingdom of light. He has redeemed your soul from Satan’s clutches and is restoring you to a new life as a child of God. He breaks you free from the bondage that imprisons you. He is the Canceller of debts. He is here to seek and to save. Here is here for all of us “losers.” Dying for us so we might live with Him. Raising us to a new life. Washing us with His holy baptismal water and feeding us with His precious body and blood. Jesus is here.

We come to meet Jesus because unlike Simon, we realize that we are just like this sinful woman. Our debts of sin are huge. We are all losers. Our lives are in shambles. Our children are messed up. Our marriages broken. Our guilt unbearable. Our anger unmanageable. Our lust insatiable. Our greed unmerciful. There is no difference, St. Paul teaches the Romans, for we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There are no “winners” and “losers” when it comes to sin, greater or lesser sinners, more or less damned to hell.

It’s like this. Two people are drowning in a lake. One is struggling in fifty feet of water. The other is splashing around in ten feet of water. As both people in the lake are going under, the rescuers come out. The person who is in the water ten feet deep is closer to shore, so he thinks, “Hey, I don’t want to look like a baby. I don’t need rescuing. I’ll wave off the rescuers. I think I can make it on my own.”

However, the person in the water that’s fifty feet deep knows he’s in trouble. He knows he can’t make it to shore. He knows his only chance for survival is that rescue boat coming to get him.

In terms of sin and salvation, the sinful woman is like the drowning swimmer in fifty feet of water. She knew she was drowning in sin. She knew that Jesus was her only rescuer. But the proud Pharisee doesn’t think he’s that bad off. So he doesn’t call on Jesus for salvation. Sure, he’s nice to Jesus, but in his sinful pride, he loses the rescue from sin that Jesus earned and offers to all.

And now, the big question. Which one are you? I don’t mean, are you the upstanding person who lives a decent life or are you the scandalous lowlife? No, I mean are you someone who doesn’t think you need rescuing from sin? Or are you someone who realizes that you are struggling, dying, going down for the last time?

I pray that you realize your deep need for rescue. I pray that each one of you honestly says, “Yes, even my middle-class, Midwestern, conservative Lutheran sins send me to hell. Even my little white lies, my rude behavior to my loved ones and my stingy offerings of prayers, money and effort are sins that drown me in the lake of fire called hell. Yes, I need rescuing from sin because I cannot save myself. I need to hear those sweet words, those powerful words, those loving words. I need to hear Jesus Christ tell me, “Your sins are forgiven, go in peace.” Because you need to hear those words so desperately and Jesus loves to share them so willingly, He announces His forgiveness and peace over and over again in the words of absolution, in the Lord’s Supper, in the sermon, prayers and hymns.

Jesus has come here for you. He wants you to sit down at His feet. He welcomes you. He doesn’t just accept you or tolerate you or put up with you. He doesn’t say, “You can come into my kingdom, but you gotta stay over there in the corner where no one can see you!” No, He has come to love you. Not letting you get away with your sin, but dying for your sin in your place. Removing your sin. Washing your sin. Changing you from what you once were to what He wants you to be. He takes you as His bride. He changes you from sinner into saint. He writes your name in the Book of Life. He changes your address from Racine or Sturtevant to Jerusalem the Golden. Because He is Christ the King, He gives you the keys to His Kingdom.

The sinful woman knew that no one wanted her around. Still she came. Because Jesus wanted her. He wanted her, not because He didn’t know about her sin … but precisely because He did know. So what about you? How large is your debt? Are you still trying to glue your broken life back together? Or hide the stains in your heart? Or deny that sin is all over you, all inside you? Or commit your sins in private so you look good in public? Why? Jesus is here for you, not because He doesn’t know about your sin, but precisely because He does know. As He said to the sinful woman, Jesus says to you, “Your debt has been cancelled; go in peace.”

Oh, and if you know someone like Charlie, let her know that she is always welcome here … with the rest of us “losers.” Amen.