Rev. Mark R. Miller
Second Sunday in Stewardship
Luke 7:36-8:3
“Challenged to Grow”
If you walk from the
Why is geographical and
archeological information important? It
is important because, in the two thousand years since the time of Jesus, his
followers have been perpetuating some half truths and even outright lies. What do I mean? Well, if you look at the heading to our
scripture passage, in most bibles it says something about, “the harlot.” And, if you ask most people about Mary
Magdala’s profession before following Jesus the answer is, prostitute. It is simply assumed those are correct
interpretations. If you believe that to
be true, I only ask one thing. Please
find that in the scriptures. And the
headings do not count because in the original language there are no
headings. They are added later.
There is no mention that the woman’s
sin in this passage has anything to do with sex. And nowhere in the bible is Mary Magdalene
said to be a prostitute. In fact, she
was probably a woman of industry who ran a business at the base of the valley of
the doves. And, it is by her generosity
and financial support that Jesus and the male disciples are able to do ministry
without having to find another job. Why
do these interpretations continue to thrive?
Historian Justo Gonzales says in his commentary on Luke that, “This may
well be the result of a history of interpretation dominated by men – and by men who tended to
see women almost exclusively as sexual objects, and their sins as mostly sexual
in nature.” But the problem with this interpretation
goes deeper.
As long as these passages are about
sinful women of ill repute or sinners in general, religious people can stand at
a distance and feel secretly self-righteous.
After all, we are not as bad as someone who would do that!
And when the passage focuses on this we miss that these women are
the model for discipleship. What this
woman and others find out is that God has not divided the world into sinners
and saved. In Jesus they found out God
is not out to get them and as a result they are willing to commit their whole
lives to God.
When we sexualize the women in this
passage we miss out that it is the religious community which comes under
condemnation. The Pharisee who invited
Jesus into his home believes he is doing him a favor. In fact, he feels so self-righteous he does
not bother to offer Jesus the standard hospitality. The religious community is the barrier to
God’s love. The religious person is the
one who knows more than Jesus. But
before we beat up on the Pharisee too much I think it is important to remember
they are really an important warning to the modern church. We are the Pharisees who want to follow the
rules and make sure others do the same.
The hardest thing for the Pharisee
to see is not that this woman is welcomed and is responding to the love of
God. The hardest thing to see is his
worldview being turned upside down. If
God will accept these sinners why bother?
If God is not going to punish and reward then what is the point? The number of sermons on stewardship and
giving affirm this theology. If you
tithe, God will reward you in amazing ways!
If you give, God will give back to you!
It is a very simple business transaction. You give something in order to get something
in return. But in this encounter, and
many others, Jesus blows up the notion of insider and outsider as well as the
notion that God can be bought off.
That is a hard notion with which to
wrestle. What if by giving you get
nothing in return? What if the time and
energy you put into something does not yield the results you expect. Faith in Jesus Christ is not about trying to
stay out of hell after death. It is not
about living your best life right now and it is not about enlarging the
territory of your bank account. The
woman in this story knows and understands this and the Pharisee does not.
Because
she truly understands the power of Jesus’ message, this woman gives Jesus a spa
treatment out of the depth of her joy.
She uses what she has, the finest of what she has, to give thanks, not
to gain favor with Jesus. She does not
do this out of guilt either. Instead it
is a witness to a gift given in joy without strings, without guilt, and without
expectation. That is a radical message.
That
is the message of stewardship. The focus
is helping us grow our own sense of gratitude.
While the use of guilt, fear and even hope of reward is a successful
strategy for raising funds, it is not the way of Jesus Christ. Jesus preached the kingdom of God
In
this season of Stewardship we are invited to think where we stand. Where in our hearts do we desire the kind of
acceptance offered by Jesus? Where are
we so hungry to give of our finest gifts and abilities so that others might
know that sort of love? And, because we
are complex people, we must also ask where we are holding back? Or, where are we hiding behind our religious
practice or certainties? Where do the
places of judgment in our hearts hold us back?
We are being invited to, and challenged to grow deeper. This is not an invitation based on guilt or
manipulation but on love for us to live more authentic and loving lives. The challenge is really to accept that God’s
love actually includes everyone. And
when we do, we will follow, like the women, in sharing the message. Amen?
Amen!
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