LUKE 7:36-50

36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table.

37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,

38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”

40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he 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 wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss 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 are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49 Then those who were at 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.”

Is it in our nature as human beings to forgive?  That’s the question that I’ve been wrestling with the last few weeks.  What do you think?  Is it in our nature to forgive?

I’ve been wrestling with that question because of all the apologies that we’re seeing in the news these days. Take Tony Hayward for example.  He’s the CEO for BP Oil.  Last week he apologized and said he was “deeply sorry” for all the oil that is spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.  He also promised that BP would make things right.  His words however have fallen on deaf ears. People are really letting him have it.  People are saying that his apology is insincere and that it’s too little, too late.  Then there’s Pope Benedict and the pedophilia scandal in the Catholic Church.  A few weeks ago Pope Benedict apologized for the sins of the past but his apology is also falling on deaf ears.  People want to know how can you can expect to be forgiven without doing penance for your sins?   Then there’s Helen Thomas.  She’s the 89 year old White House correspondent who recently said that Jews should get out of Palestine.  When asked where they should go she said they should go back to Poland, Germany and the United States.  She issued an apology the other day and said, “I deeply regret (the) comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heartfelt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.”  Not good enough according to Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League.  He released his own statement that said in part, “We believe that Thomas needs to make a more forceful and sincere apology for the pain her remarks have caused.”  I wonder if he’s happy now that she’s quit her job and retired.

Unfortunately, you don’t see a lot of forgiveness these days.  For example, take the boy who misbehaved one day in the grocery store.  When his mother got him back into the car he asked her a question. “If you say you’re sorry does God forgive you? “Yes,” his mother replied.  “If you’re really sorry God will forgive you.”  The boy went on and asked another question.  “My Sunday School teacher said that when you say you’re sorry God takes your sins and throws them into the deepest ocean. Is that true?”  “Yes,” his mother replied. “That’s what the Bible says.”  “Well,” the boy said, “you’ll be happy to know that I asked God to forgive me.”  After an awkward moment of silence the boy asked another question.  “Mom,” he said, “when we get home you’re ‘gonna go fishing for those sins aren’t you?”

When was the last time you were called upon to forgive someone?  Was it something that you did willingly or reluctantly? When it comes to forgiveness would you say you’re more like Simon the Pharisee or more like Jesus?

Jesus was sharing a meal with Simon the Pharisee one day when a woman of the city walked up to him.  By the way, woman of the city is Luke’s way of letting you know that the woman was a prostitute.  That little detail makes what happened all the more powerful.  The woman may have been a sinner but she was a sinner who was truly sorry for the error of her ways.  That’s why she anointed Jesus with that oil.  That’s why she washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.  While she was doing that Jesus embraced her and said, “Your sins are forgiven.”  It was a grace filled moment, but it was a grace filled moment that didn’t go over very well with Simon. Instead of celebrating the woman’s desire to turn her life around he howled with righteous indignation.  He looked down on the woman and Jesus. He grumbled and to himself and said, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”

Unfortunately, you don’t see a lot of forgiveness these days.  You can see that in the sign that was posted just outside an estate down in Baltimore.  The sign read as follows: “Welcome to the Sisters of Mercy Convent.  Trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

These days even Christians sometimes struggle when it comes to forgiving others. Maybe it’s because with everything that’s going on these days people are cynical and angry.   You can see that angry cynicism in a piece of legislation that was proposed last year by Congressman Emanuel Cleaver.  His bill would have designated the day before Thanksgiving as “Complaint Free Wednesday.”   The goal was to encourage people to foster positive attitudes toward life and to help them prepare for a genuine day of gratitude.  Well the bill for a “Complaint Free Wednesday” generated a lot of complaints.  One person called his office and said, “I thought dissent and complaining were patriotic.”  Another person called and said, “I want you to show me where in the Bible it says I shouldn’t complain.  I haven’t seen anything where Jesus asked us not to complain.”  By the way Congressman Cleaver is an ordained Methodist minister.

All of the anger and cynicism that you see these days makes it hard to forgive and when you do see a little forgiveness it’s a kind of forgiveness that would make Jesus cringe!

You see Jesus cringes whenever forgiveness is used as a weapon. You see that kind of forgiveness in  the attitude that says, “Before I forgive you, I’m going to make you grovel and I’m going to make you keep on groveling until you prove to the whole world that I’m a better than you.”  You see that kind of forgiveness in the attitude that says, “Before I forgive you, you’re going to have to make yourself so weak and vulnerable that I’m going to be able to control you and have power over you.”  It’s a forgiveness that demands a pound of flesh before you let the person off the hook.

That’s not forgiveness.  Forgiveness shouldn’t lead you to a place where one person has power over the other person.  Forgiveness should lead you to a place where you experience a grace filled moment like the one that Jesus and the woman of the city shared in Simon’s house.  Forgiveness should lead you to a place where the past is healed and the future comes alive with hope.  So, there’s a difference between healthy and unhealthy forgiveness.  There’s a difference between faithful and unfaithful forgiveness.

If you want to know what healthy and faithful forgiveness is all about just look at Frank and Anita Milford.  Frank Milford passed away last September just a few months after he and his wife celebrated their 81^st anniversary. At the time he was 101 and his wife was 100.  In an interview before he died Frank Milford said that if you want to have a long marriage, “You need a happy outlook and to just get on with it.”

In other words you need to be able to forgive in a way that heals the past and makes the future come alive with hope.  That’s what happened that day when Jesus forgave the woman of the city.  That’s what happened a little over a week ago in Detroit when Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga stepped onto the field at Comerica Park.  Jim Joyce is the umpire who made the bad call that cost pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game.  After the game Jim Joyce felt terrible and said, “I took a perfect game away from that kid over there.” Fans around the country though weren’t satisfied.  They flooded the Internet with calls for the umpire’s head.  What did Armando Galarraga do?  The next day, before the game, he walked out to home plate to give Jim Joyce the lineup card.  When the two men came face to face Armando Galarraga thanked the umpire for his apology and told him we all make mistakes.  Now there’s a rule that says there’s no crying in baseball but when that happened Jim Joyce broken down in tears. 

There’s always an element of risk when you forgive someone.  It’s possible that the apology really isn’t sincere but when it comes to forgiveness you need to ask yourself a simple question.  The question is this: If I’m going to make a mistake here do I want to make a mistake that brings me closer to the way Simon lived his life?  Or do I want to make a mistake that brings me closer to the way Jesus lived his life?  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

June 13, 2010