A Fresh Start
Introduction
Luke 7:36-50 NRSV
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus [j] to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. 37 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. 38 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. 39 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.” 40 Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” 41 “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, [k] and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus [l] said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward 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. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 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.” 48 Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Footnotes
Luke 7:36 Gk him
Luke 7:41 The denarius was the usual day’s wage for a laborer
Luke 7:43 Gk he
Simon's invite of Jesus to a banquet shows that he has not yet formed a negative opinion about the Lord. Simon speaks of Jesus as a prophet. Jesus calls Simon by name. He attempts to teach him to accept the woman who Simon considers a sinner. The narrative begins and ends before the story does and o we do not know what comes before or how those in the story ultimately respond. In this text, Jesus is inviting those like Simon to love as he loves.
The open-endedness of the narrative at the beginning and the end seems to indicate that the woman had a prior encounter with Jesus and that Simon now has the opportunity to do the same.
"The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future." (Oscar Wilde)
If you live long enough, you will have some areas of life that you wish you could get a do-over on.
The old poem muses:
I wish that there were some wonderful placeCalled the land of Beginning Again,Where all our mistakes and all our heartachesAnd all of our poor selfish griefCould be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door,And never put on again.
The gospel teaches us that there is a place where we can have a fresh start. On this first Sunday of 2022 while people around us are making resolutions and determined to change their lives I would like us to look at what Scripture has to say about having a Fresh Start.
1. Every Saint Has A Past
The woman had a past. She had a reputation as a sinner. The implication of the way that Simon speaks about her in his heart is that she was involved in prostitution.
Her actions seem scandalous as she uses the tools of her trade to show hospitality to Jesus. Her hair is let down and uncovered, which was unheard of. She uses her kisses. She uses her tears. And she uses her perfume. All these things she uses in ways that are sanctified and not like what she has done before, but all the religious world can see is her past.
There were not many options for some women in their society. She may have been sold into prostitution as a child. She may have been widowed and the system failed. For whatever reason, she found herself among the poor, those whom Jesus said that he came to preach the good news to.
She was considered ritually impure (unclean), by the Pharisees, who considered themselves righteous.
We do not know when, but she seems to have already had an encounter with Jesus. Her actions are a response to what she has already experienced.
Don't judge people based on the season of their life. We make a whole lot out of where people have been and what they have done, but the truth is that we all have a past. What would your life be like if you were defined by your worst seasons of life?
What if we judge Noah on that one time he got drunk? What if we judge David on the dark season of his life when he wound up allowing the idol of his own lust to lead him to...What if we judged Peter on the difficult moment when he denied the Lord three times? What if we, like the apostle Paul, judged John Mark based on the time that he left them during the missionary work?
When we meet new people and even those we have known for a long time remember that you only know a part of their story.
We do not know Simon's story. We do not know what life he had led, what thoughts that he wrestled with.
It is open-ended. Luke brings us into the story in the middle.
We do not know all there is to know about one another.
"To err is human; to forgive, divine." (Alexander Pope)
In the irony of the narrative, as Simon questioned whether Jesus was a prophet, Jesus was reading his thoughts and saw his own need. Jesus parable revealed two sinners in the room that day. One who seemed to owe a great debt and another who only owed a small amount.
2. Every Sinner Has A Future
Simon had defined the woman as a sinner, but Jesus's parable defined both the woman and Simon as sinners.
Solomon said, "There is no man that doesn't sin" (1 Kings 8:46). Paul said, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:32). James said, "We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check" (James 3:2).
Wherever you have been, whatever you have done you are standing in the doorway of a brand new moment. We are standing at the threshold of a brand new year! Today is a brand new day. In fact, every breath is a second chance.
“God is so good to give us new days and New Years since He knows we need so many times to start over” (Lacey Sturm).
Philippians 3:12-14 NLT
"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."
“Today is the oldest you've ever been, and the youngest you'll ever be again” (Eleanor Roosevelt).
“Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” (L.M. Montgomery)
3. Everyone Is Invited To Start Over
Luke 7:50 NRSV
And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
His mercies are as new as the rising sun.
As your days are, so will your strength be.
Luke does not tell us what Simon decides about Jesus.
Luke does not tell us what the woman does with her new lease on life.
Jesus is inviting Simon to realize his own sinfulness and the need to love and welcome those whose sin has broken them. Jesus is inviting Simon to be more extravagant in his welcome for both Jesus and sinners. It is an invitation to start over.
Jesus wants to reform the Pharisee in each of us.
Jesus wants to love the sinner in each of us.
Jesus wants to diffuse the cynic in each of us.
He offers do-overs.
The final words of the text are words that Jesus usually speaks to those who He has healed of some type of physical infirmity.
Your faith has saved you. Her faith was trust in what He could do. At the starting-over places in our lives, we would do well to place our trust in the faithfulness of Jesus. He is the One Who has the authority to empower us with the Holy Spirit to begin again. Water baptism is a sign of a starting-over-place where we place our trust in the faithfulness of Jesus.
Confession of and repentance of our sins, faults, and failings is a starting-over-place where we place our trust in the faithfulness of Jesus.
This woman's actions are evidence of her trust and hospitality towards Jesus.
She welcomes him in the way she knows how, with a purity of heart.
“Without a beginning I am pouring the whole of my existence into the building of endings, while the cross and the resurrection declare that God is incessantly building beginnings from the collapse of endings.”? Craig D. Lounsbrough
Jesus tells the woman to "go in peace." He is giving her the opportunity to live into the wholeness that He has declares that she has. The word "peace" is the Jewish greeting "Shalom." When someone wishes another shalom they are wishing them well in every area of life.
3 John 1:2 KJV
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Conclusion and exhortation
As we enter 2022, will you make a decision.
“Advice to my younger self:1 Start where you are with what you have2 Try not to hurt other people3 Take more chances4 If you fail, keep trying”? Germany Kent
“Starting over is opportunity informed by failure, which is opportunity made intelligent.”? Craig D. Lounsbrough
“Once upon a time, is how stories begin...”? N'Zuri Za Austin
Every encounter we have with Jesus is a place to start over.
Tomorrow morning there will be a small devotional in our FB community. I am asking each of you to dedicate an hour to prayer each day where you spend time praying for our church to have some fresh starts. You need some fresh starts in your life. You need to live into the abundant life that God has promised!
