A SINFUL LIFE

LOST.

Jesus  was reclining at table at the home of Simon the Leper (Luke 7:36). Like any good Pharisee, Simon loved the law, measuring his days by the steady rhythm of the regulations by which he lived. They were a fence safeguarding his purity, protecting his sense of settled security. How good of the holy God to provIde a map for the righteous, a way of life to set him apart from ordinary Jews - like the woman who had just walked through the door...

Simon was suprised that a prostitute would enter his house. But his surprise grew as he noticed she was weeping  so profusely what her tears were spilling onto the feet of his guest. Everything about the scene repelled him and offended his sense of order - a notorious harlot kissing the man's feet, wiping them with her hair, and then pouring parfume over them. It was an astonishing performance. Even more astonishing was the fact that Jesus seemed to enjoy the attention. "If this man were a profet", Simon  thought, "he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is - that she is a sinner". His ordered way of looking at the world was safe enough, bolstered by the judgment he had rendered.

As though He had overheard Simon's secret thoughts, Jesus turned and spoke to him. "Simon, I have something to tell you. "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender...

Though this woman was a notorious sinner, she recognized her great need for grace. Repentance turned her world on its head, opening up an entirely new view of things. Simon, by contrast, was a religious man who, no doubt, had done his best to live a respectable life. His sin was tucked away, hidden even from himself. His habit of judging others had formed a fence around his one-dimensional view of the universe, shielding his neat and orderly life from the unpredictable power of grace.

But Simon and the woman both owed a debt they could not possibly repay. Though Simon's sin was less obvious, it was the more dangerous. He was like a man who was following a map he was certain would lead to heaven - but when came down and walked into his house, he didn't even know it. The woman, on the other hand, realized just how lost she had been. Forgiven much, she loved much. She found heaven at the feet of Jesus (Ann Spangler).

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