Acceptance

Luke 7:36-50 

This text presents to us two personalities: the Pharisee and the sinful woman. It is interesting to note that even though Jesus publicly rebukes the Pharisees in Matt 23, and obviously did not agree with their way of leading the people, yet he agreed to honor the dinner invitation from one of them and presumably went without any hesitation. What is even more striking is that even though Jesus knew that this invitation was not a genuine one and it was a trap because He was not accorded the courtesies given to welcome a guest in the Jewish tradition at that time i.e. The washing of His feet, the giving of kiss, He still decided to recline at the Pharisees table as seen in verse 36- He was relaxed in the Pharisees presence as though He was in the house of a bonafide friend. In verse 39, we are made aware of the internal monologue of the Pharisee and of how he condemned the sinful woman and Jesus, his supposed guest. After this point, Jesus begins to address him by name, Simon. 

It is interesting to see that from that time onwards the inspired writer, Luke, no longer referred to him as the Pharisee but as Simon. I believe that the Lord wants to draw our attention as members of the body of Christ to His call of evangelization by addressing our practical way of living in relation to how we welcome and accept all, into His fold. Jesus could have been equally hostile to this Pharisee but He chose to address him as a friend. He reclined at his table, and even called him by name. A reference by name connotes a certain level of relationship with a person. Jesus desired to have a relationship with Simon. Jesus desired that he did not remain as just the random Pharisee, but as Simon the Pharisee who had a relationship with Jesus. How do we respond to the people around us who we might not necessarily agree with, or who show a certain degree of hostility towards us, e.g. the gentleman or lady at work, in the class, that neighbor two blocks from you, over even in that member in the church committee you belong ? 

Today the Lord Himself lays down the template we must follow. He is asking us to reflect His accepting love to all such people. Just as He called Simon by name to acknowledge his identity and offer a hand of acceptance into His welcoming love, He calls out through us to these people we encounter. Are we ready to accept them? Again He sets an example of acceptance for us by receiving the gesture from the “sinful” woman. This was a woman who was renowned throughout the town for her sinful lifestyle. Presumably she had been shunned by the whole community but she recognised Jesus as the source of love. She sought for this love and expressed her joy at finding Him through her actions. If she had succumbed to the negative reaction from her community she would have missed the chance of encountering the Lord. In our quest to have a closer relationship with Jesus, are we being distracted by the other members of the community? Do we compare ourselves to Bro A or Sis B to the detriment of our spiritual growth? We can learn from the perseverance of this woman and continue to make Jesus our focus. In Luke 8:15, Jesus comments that through perseverance we can bear good crop. 

Again, The Lord wants to emphasize to us tonight the need to keep an open heart to accept all peoples into the Christian community. Unfortunately there are many complaints against the church today pertaining to our rejection or isolation of people from the body of Christ due to one flaw or another. How many people have been heartbroken and withdrawn by the church because they were look down upon? Like Jesus’ openness to this sinful woman, we’re being asked to be Jesus to all people. He implores us to cease the self-righteous attitude and seek to express His love to others. So in this text the two characters are placed side by side- the self righteous Pharisee and the renowned sinful woman. Jesus opened His arms to receive both of them in love. Today, the Lord is asking us to be Jesus to all people we may encounter. I pray that through the strength of the Holy Spirit, we will rise up to this task. Amen.