She Loved Much
June 14, 2010 Leave a comment
The Gospel reading yesterday came from The Gospel According to Luke:
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. 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, 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.
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.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
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. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
*****
I have shed many tears during my life – tears of repentance, tears of joy, tears of great sorrow and tears of great loss…
She Loved Much
Surrounded by those who judge me… at a dinner party given for Jesus…
Tears pour from my alabaster heart,
Onto Your Holy earth-born feet, my kisses removing the clay, the dust;
The earthy/musty scent of my adoration-
The pure nard of my love for You-
Captures the room, pushing fear from my senses,
Permeating the place where You are,
The Place I want to be.
May my love for You, O Holy One of God,
Bring You great joy as You dine among the white-washed tombs.
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
© Sally Paradise, 2010, All Rights Reserved
*****
“What I believe about God is the most important thing about me.” A.W. Tozer
Cindy Wity 